Rodent Issue

I signed a 1 year lease on Nov 1 2007, within 2 weeks of living in apartment I
discovered rodents. My food was being eaten and there were droppings in the kitchen. I notified apartment immediately by phone, twice, had to leave messages. I received no response, so I sent a certified letter the next day, 3 total over the next few weeks describing issue and demanding response. I got none. So the final letter included keys and that I had moved out. I had paid rent for Nov and December. I have finally received a response over two months after my initial contact and it states I owe them a termination fee (equivalent to 2 months rent) and they are going to report to collection agency if I dont pay. Do I have to pay? I made 5 attempts at contact and nothing. I want to fight this because I believe I was reasonable and they offered nothing, not one solution. They never even entered the apartment to access the situation (I asked them to come by and see for themselves). Now there were not rodents running everywhere, and I didnt see them, but they clearly ate my food, on more than one occasion, and droppings were all in the kitchen and pantry. I am prepared to fight this as my credit is perfect! But on principle I should not have to pay them. I have documented the notification process, meaning return receipt-certified mailings, and I have pictures of the droppings as well as the damage the rodents did to the food and container. The LL said in the account statement that i ws "generally unhappy" as reason for termination, but should I be forced to live with rodents. Again they made zero effort to contact me nor come to apartment to access situation.

[OHlandlord]

By sending the letter certified, rrr, you did the right thing. Most tenants forget that they need proof for court in case the termination is contested in court as unjustified (as this one might be by your LL). You need to check your state law (under LL-Tenant law, look for a section on LL Failure to Fulfill Obligations) and see what it says you rights are when the LL fails to do his duty. In some states it gives the tenant the right to rent withhold with the clerk of court, the right to repair and deuct, or the riight to terminate. Look this up and see which right it states you have.

One other thing you could have done was call the building or code inspector for the city or the health department. They would have cited the LL and forced him to exterminate the pests (and would have given you extra documentation of the problem). Look up the law and see what it says.