landlord a child molester

Recently my husband and I looked at a house to rent. We met the lady and she walked us throught the house and seemed very nice. We had our almost two year old daughter with us. Well, we signed the lease and gave her a deposit of $975.00. Come to find out her husband has been convicted of sexual crimes against children. Not only that but there were moving out of the house that we were going to rent and into there mothers house next door. We have not moved in yet nor has the lease started. We cannot move there for fear of out childs safety. Clearly this is morally wrong for her to allow us to move in next door to this man knowing we have a small child. We have talked to her and she said she would think about returning our lease. When I called her back i was hung up on. What should I do? I would really like to get my money back.

[OHlandlord]

I'm afraid this is a case of buyer beware. It is your responsibility to check the area and neighborhood for detriments to living there, whether it be traffic noise, crime statistics, or a child molester in the neighborhood. Had you checked the sexual offender site online to see if any sex offenders lived in the area prior to signing a lease? If you had checked, the address of the house you are leasing should have come up. Certainly that would have raised a red flag in your mind and you could have checked the offender's name (and found out it was the LL's husband). As long as the offender is registered as required by state and national law, and is not living within the state law's measurement of schools, day care centers (or whatever your state requires), they are doing nothing illegal. They have the right to live wherever he is permitted to live (per the guidelines in your state law). They also have the right to rent out their old house and move into a relative's if they choose. Without checking this, you could rent any house with a child molester next door and not even know it.

Have you checked to see, specifically, what the husband was convicted of? Sometimes an offender gets labeled a sexual offender on a child, and must register, for having sex with underage individuals (like a 17 yr old). I formerly worked for a state corrections record office and have seen this happen. Not often, but it does happen. This is still labeled as the same type of crime on record. Try checking out the specific crime and circumstances, they should be public record. There is a slight chance that he could be one of these few. I have even seen an ex-wife listed as a sex offender because she took revenge on her cheating husband (in a way I won't mention here). After reading the whole transcript, I felt she should be punished, but didn't feel she should be labeled a sexual offender (but I'm not the judge). So check out the specific crime, just in case. (And you should know, for your child's safety.)

Your best option is to send a letter to the LL asking to get out of the lease. You may have to pay a lease break fee for this. (Offer to.) Let them know why you do not feel comfortable leasing from the LL and living next door to her husband. Offer to advertise the property for her. Send this letter to her by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy. Ask for a written reply within a short time period. If they agree, get it in writing that you will not longer be liable for the obligations under the lease. If they will not allow you to cancel, you may just have to break the lease and pay the consequences. You will owe rent until it is re-rented, advertising fees, utilities if you were liable for them, etc. If they take you to court over this, it will affect your credit. Hopefully, this will work out for you. And next time, check out the area before you sign.

The crime was lude lascv.acts in front of a child but it was a plea bargain. He is in his sixties. When I met him i was so creeped out I went straight to my computer and searched for him on the offenders. There is no way even without a daughter that I would want to live next door to him. I am kinda afraid right now because he knows where I live. Is there no law about fear of your safety? I live in GA.

Also there are 4 schools and 1 daycare within a 5 mile radius. None are under 2 miles though.

[OHlandlord]

No, there is no law on fear of your safety. This is only your perception under the eyes of the law. Until or unless he threatens you, there is nothing you can do. If he does not live within 2 miles of these types of places (I assume your state's required distance), then he is breaking no law. And since you found him on the web site, he must be correctly registered with the state or local authorities. Your only alternative is to either try to negotiate you way out of the signed lease as stated before, or to break the lease and take the consequences. Sorry I don't have better news.