Unsatisfied tenant: Can I get out of paying because of the unsatisfactory service?

I have been living at a new apartment for 3 months now and have been completely unsatisfied of every bit of it. I have had complaints every month. The first is that our AC has gone out at least once every month we\'ve lived there. Causing our 1 BEDROOM apt electric bill to be over $120 a month. Next to go wrong, we lost a leg of electricity in a lightning storm and the electricians (who took a week to get there) cut and left holes in the wall and left all the drywall they cutup on the floor for us to clean. It took another week to get the holes filled in. Third, We had 3 leaks, 2 in the roof, and one from the AC motor in the ceiling which dumped a few gallons of water on the bathroom floor which a carpet guy then had to come in and rip up the padding to make sure it wouldn\'t mold. After complaining about the leaks and threatening to call the inspection people, they started re-roofing the entire complex. There is still trash and tons of dirt and on my balcony from those guys. Guess I\'m responsible for other people\'s messes huh? Now, I\'m tired of it and want to get out and they have the nerve to still charge me an early termination fee. Can I get out of paying this because of the unsatisfactory service I have recieved?

[OHlandlord]

Let me try to address your concerns one at a time. You've lived in your unit for only 3 months and those are the hottest months of the year (especially this month). When it is hot the demand for electric goes up. Electric cuts out. A/C systems go down. Did the LL send someone to repair the A/C each time? If he repaired it each time, you have no complaint. He did what he was required to do - repair the system. Believe me, yours wasn't the only A/C unit that went down in the heat. Using the A/C continually causes high energy bills. The more it is on, the higher the bill. If you were concerned about the possible utility bills in the unit, you could have called the electric company before you moved in and asked them what the budget plan was for that address. This would have given you an idea of how much the bills were there. (Did you do this?) You could turn the thermostat up when the unit is vacant (when you are at work) to reduce your bills. There are also other energy saving measures you could do to lower your bill (compact fluorescent lights, eliminating phantom electric usage, turning your thermostat up a couple degrees, etc.) It is your choice how much to run your A/C and how high of a bill you want to pay.

Lightning is "an act of God". It is not your LL's fault. I bet your circuit was not the only lost one in the area. (Be glad it didn't fry anything important or cause a fire.) You need to wait in line with everyone else to get them fixed. Contractors normally only do the work they are hired to do. An electrician isn't a janitor. He wires it in, not cleans it up. So yes, you need to clean it up. Filling the holes was a cosmetic repair and could be done anytime within 30 days.

The A/C leak was probably a stopped up condensate pump line. The end of the line was plugged and so the water overflowed back into the unit. (Is that pump/furnace within your unit? Do you know what the pump looks like?) If so, there is preventative maintenance you can do (very simple things- less than 5 minutes) to prevent any future problem like this again. These types of stopped up lines are common. I have one every year or two. It is an inconvenience, but not a major problem. It is easily fixed and is preventable with some simple maintenance.

Leaks in the roof need to be fixed, but they are not an easy fix. Since you live in a complex, they have to get approval to start a large repair like this, get the building permit from the city, then they have to wait on an experienced, licensed, bonded roofer to get to the job. This is a roofer's busiest season. Of course, the complex has to wait until the roofer finishes the jobs he already has lined up to do your complex's. And yes, roofing a building makes a lot of mess. Tearing off the old roof. Fixing any bad plywood underneath it, putting on new tarpaper, nailing down new shingles, cutting them to fit in the valleys and for the cap. Lots of work - makes a huge mess. Wait until the whole job is done and see how well they clean up. They will not clean up until the job is finished.

Quite frankly, I don't see what unsatisfactory "service" you have received. The LL fixed your A/C unit. He unplugged your condensate line. Pulled up the carpet to prevent mold. Fixed the lightning damage. Had the holes repaired. And is now re-roofing the complex to get rid of leaks. All within 3 months! I don't know what you expect, but the LL is responding and repairing every item you request in a timely manner. What more could you ask? You don't know what a bad LL is. You could have a LL that refused to fix anything at all. You could have a roach problem that he wouldn't exterminate. Mold that he wouldn't pay to have removed. Electric or A/C he wouldn't repair. Your LL is a tenant's dream. You just don't know it. Read some other people's posts here and on other LL forums. Some of them have slumlords that wouldn't care if the place fell down around them. Yours fixes everything.

Honestly, you have no legitimate reason to break your lease. The LL hasn't refused to fix anything. Everything in the unit works. You have all the amenities that were included in your lease. So what is your justification for breaking the lease? According to the law, you have none. So if you still want to break your lease, be glad they will allow it with only a lease break fee. All of your problems have been addressed according to the law.

You have no case. On top of that you have to know your claims are b.s. So honestly, what's the matter with you?