Another Lease Breaking Scenario

[shark6664]

I know there's a bazillion of these and I understand the basics, but I want to get some advice on if I have enough to break out of the lease and win if they try to chase me in small claims court.

1. I have no had heat for the last three weeks (it gets down to about 10~20 at night in Indiana right now) and its because the furnace is completely shot. According to the repair guy, its older than the house. This was a week ago that he told me this and called me the other day and asked if I'd heard anything from the landlords and I said no. He said "Me neither" because they're supposed to let him know how to proceed. He's called them and they're being awfully slow.
2. Maintenance has always been like this. We have a window missing from our house (while there's no heat... awesome) and the repair guy has not been back in about two weeks. Again, waiting on the property managers to make a decision and tell him to move forward.
3. The real kicker: my roommate and I don't feel safe in the house. We've been here 7 months and have had to call the police 5 or 6 times. 3 times for assault, once for nearly being assaulted, and the other couple irrelevent. Two of these times were definitely documented by the police, once the police came to the door but we couldn't hear them knocking (the landlord refused to replace our doorbell) so I drove him to the hospital myself (we can get his medical bills together at least).

Anyways, I have been looking for the police reports online and trying to call them, but so far I don't see our incidents showing up.

Do I have a legitimate reason to get the hell out of dodge or is fear from a bad neighborhood not something landlords have to care about? Would the medical bills suffice as evidence (especially if they mention the lacerations/black eyes)?

Thanks in advance This apartment has been a nightmare and I need to get the hell out of dodge.

[OHlandlord]

You have 2 entirely different issues here. First is the repair issues. You need to write a letter to the LL requesting immediate repair of the furnace and the window. Ask him for written reply as to when this work wil be done and give him only a couple of days to either call or write to you to let you know. Send this to him by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy. Written notification is necessary if you plan to break a lease over this. You can also call the local building inspector or health dept. and complain to them. Without written notification, the LL can claim ignorance of the problems.

The other issue is crime in the neighborhood. Unless the LL is the one doing the assaults, this is not his fault. He is not responsible for crime in the neighborhood. If the assaults happen inside your locked building or unit, you can include this in the complaint to the LL and ask him what steps he will take to prevent this from happening. If the building is unlocked or the assaults occur outside, there is little you can do. This is not an issue you can break your lease over. It is your responsibility to research the unit and the neighborhood prior to renting to be sure it meets your needs and expectations. This means you must do due diligence prior to signing the lease on isssues like crime, noise, neighbors, child molesters in the area, etc.