can I get out of lease?

I would like to know if my daughter can get out of her 1 year lease. She has been there for 3 months. She has paid her deposit and all of her rent is up to date. She has found a water problem with musty, moldy smell in her basement. She has other problems also but this is the main issue. She has asked her landlord to fix the problems. Her husband and 5 year old daughter have allergies and we fear they will be worse this winter when the house is shut up. The landlord put pea gravel in the basement and basically said the problem was fixed-it isn't. Since my daughter has complained, he has entered her place of business and talked to her rudely about the problems. He told her husband he was becoming a nuisance. They plan to move as soon as possible, but is there any recourse for them? Isn't the landlord obligated by law to make a rental home safe and healthy for it's tenants? Thank you for any information available.

[OHlandlord]

The LL is obligated to repair water problems. However, your daughter and her husband are going about it the wrong way. You don't *ask* the LL to fix it. You *write* a detailed repair request, stating what the problem is and why it needs fixed, and send it to him by *certified* mail, return receipt requested. She should *keep a copy* for herself. Sending it this way forces the LL to see he has a problem. It also proves for any court that she complained about the problem, that she sent it to her LL, and that the LL received it. (All very important if she wants to later break her lease.)

The LL then has a reasonale amount of time to repair it. If he does not, she needs to go farther. Call the health dept., a city building inspector, or anyone else who is qualified and can atest to the fact that the problem is not fixed and poses a health hazard. He needs to be able to write a statement to this effect and cite that the LL's "repair" did not fix the problem. This also is very important.

In order for her to *legally be able to break her lease without consequences*, she has to be able to show to a court that she made repair requests, that the LL ignored them, and the problem was one that materially made the place unliveable. If this basement is not a living space, that is, it is not a finished basement and is not designed to be used by tenants, it will be even harder for her to break her lease.

Can your daughter tell where the water in the basement is coming from? I assume from the description that there is a water problem from somewhere. If she can pinpoint the source of the water, it would be especially helpful and may assist in fixing the problem. Additionally, why the pea gravel? Is this a concrete basement, or just a cellar? Is there a french drain of some kind on the basement to remove the water?

Finally, your daughter may have other legal options available to her. She may be able to rent withhold *with the court's consent* by placing her rent each month with the clerk or court or a special account. The LL cannot get his rent until he makes repairs. She may be able to have the court order the LL to do the repairs. She may also have the right to repair the problem herself and deduct the repair amount from the rent, sending the rest of the rent and the repair receipt to the LL. All of these options are state specific and each is not legal in all states. She must take the above steps to send the certified letter BEFORE she can explore any other options.

If she breaks her lease before being able to prove the repair request and giving the LL a chance to fix it properly, she will end up still being obligated for: rent until the unit is re-rented, advertising costs, any utilities she would have paid, any other expenses the LL suffers by way of her breaking her lease, etc. She will lose her deposit for the above charges and may be sued in small claims to get the rest. A civil judgement granted for these monies will affect their credit and can result in garnishment from their jobs. Since the problem will be aggravated by their allergies (which aren't her LLs fault of course) she needs to take this action quickly to get this resolved prior to winter. Good luck.