Ot-your thoughts on breaking a lease

[Jason_W]

We moved into our apartment (half of a duplex) this August under a year lease. All was going ok until the new neighbors moved into the other half of the duplex and the weather got cold.

I already used 100 gallons of propane since mid September, only occasionally running the heat (at night and on the odd cold day). This is a small apartment, so I didn't know why I burned fuel so fast. It turns out there is no insulation under the downstairs floor. I just don't think I can keep up with the heating bill this winter.

Also, something really rubs me the wrong way about our new neighbors. For one, the smoke on the porch and in their half of the duplex. The smoke wafts in through the shoddy windows and the uninsulated wall making our upstairs smell like a dive bar. They also have random cars coming and going at all hours of the night (there was a loud argument outside last saturday) and they are rural white people who dress like urban black people. I know I shouldn't judge based on appearances, but something about them screams drug dealers.

I'm not usually one for breaking contracts, but in this case I don't know what else to do. Legally, I can be held responsible for another 5 months of rent whether I bail or not.

[pharmseller]

Is there an "out" clause in your lease in case of situations like this? Have you talked to the landlord? If you or anyone in your family is allergic to cigarette smoke you could have a medical reason to break the lease.

P

[Jason_W]

Is there an "out" clause in your lease in case of situations like this? Have you talked to the landlord? If you or anyone in your family is allergic to cigarette smoke you could have a medical reason to break the lease.

P

Not a diagnosed allergy, but my fiancee gets instantly ill around smoke.

There is no out clause, but I'm hoping they'll let me go for the security deposit plus one months rent, plus what's in the fuel tank.

[Andrew]

Have you talked to your landlord? Maybe they might do something, maybe not, but you could try talking to them about the situation.

[Hobie]

Might it be cheaper for you to insulate the floor yourself... I don't know what to tell you. As to your neighbors, you can complain to your landlord (as I understand that is their landlord, too). You have to balance cost vs benefit. Winter isn't here yet.

[mescalero1]

The neighbors make it untenable to live there, you should be able to leave for that reason.

[Gun Smith]

There is some kind of legal term for your problem. I can't think of it now. You need to contact the landlord in writing and describe the problems you have. If the insulation is not per code, or a non-smoking agreement is in the lease, either could be a reason to break the lease. The laws in your state may forbid the other tenents from causing smoke to come onto your property. I can't understand how smoke can come through the wall, has it got holes in it? Whatever you decide to do, put EVERYTHING in writing! One question. Do you share the propane tank if it is a non-public system? The heat loss through the floor is small in comparision to the ceiling, windows, doors, and walls. If there are foundation vents, you might close them for the winter. This would keep cold air from flowing under the floor. Something seems odd here. You would have more success reducing heat loss by caulking and weatherstripping windows, doors, and any internal to external flow of heat. I AM NOT a lawyer! This is just my feeling on your situation.

[Ysabel Kid]

The neighbors make it untenable to live there, you should be able to leave for that reason.

+1 In this market too, with all the foreclosures, rental properties should be in demand again. Will the landlord have problems renting it?

[Slick]

Buy an "indoor safe" propane heater and turn off the central heat... Freeze them out - if that doesn't work, look over your lease agreement and find someting (legal) that you can do to make their lives absolutley miserable. Become comitted to driving THEM out instead of the other way around. Yeah, you'll have to suffer some (maybe a lot) - but "winning" has always been worth the price to me. If you break the lease - you could get sued to pay for it anyways so go to town and make things stink. There's a 1001 things you could do with a few ounces of malathion.

[Jason_W]

I'll keep all this stuff in mind. I'm willing to be reasonable and work with our landlords if they will.

We're looking at a new place tomorrow, if we like it, I'll contact the landlords.

[Ysabel Kid]

Many landlords own more than one property. Many will let people "trade up" between their properties with no penalty. It is good for them and you.

[mescalero1]

In your attempt to be reasonable ( an admirable trait ) do not sacrifice too much.

[Jason_W]

In your attempt to be reasonable ( an admirable trait ) do not sacrifice too much.

I won't. I just want do the right thing while at the same time improve my living situation.

[Rusty]

Smoke can come through walls in a building. A friend of mine has a business in a strip center where a bar moved in next to a fitness club and it caused no end of trouble. You could walk into the fitness club and it smelled like grandpa's smokehouse.

[kirkwood]

Reminds me of a duplex I lived at in Georgia. Didn't have a problem with the insulation, but new neighbors moved in who I suspected were into drugs. Made me very uncomfortable, especially with cars coming and going all night. One night the husband decided to beat up his wife and throw her down the stairs and then turned a handgun on himself when the cops came. It was very tense for a few hours until the guy's brother came and talked him out of killing himself. I decided I wasn't going to stick around to see what happened next. The last thing I wanted was the possibility of some guy shooting his wife and himself and putting my life at risk. I terminated the lease because I considered the property unsuitable for living and told the landlord they could sue me (they didn't). If you feel uncomfortable with the neighbors with good reason, you shouldn't have to live like that.

[2ndovc]

Jason,

Talk your landlord. Tell him about the neighbors and the problems your having especially if you think there's drug activity.
Be polite and sincere. He may other vacant properties or will sympathise with your feelings.

Between my Dad and I we have several rentals. We do what we can for our tenants but if they need to move out before their lease is up we always let them. It's more hassle and hard feelings to sue over a broken lease than it's worth. long as the place is in as good a shape as it was when they moved in.

There's always a new tenant around the corner.

Good luck. There's nothing worse than trying to live somewhere that you don't want to be.



jb

[Pisgah]

Contact your landlord with your complaints. Document your communication -- perhaps a copy of a registered letter, plus a receipt for the letter. If he blows you off, find a landlord/tennant attorney, show him a copy of your lease plus your documentation, and follow his advice.

[adirondakjack]

Ya might wanna NOT approach the landlord with a laundry list. If ya seem like ya really wanna move and are using multple reasons, looking for any that will stick, he may simply say "OK, but yer gonna pay costs. If it takes me four mos to rent it, etc..."

If I were you, I'd, research and LIVE WITH the law on the smoke. If smoking outside is legal, live with it (at least they aren't smoking inside, allowing their magic smoke to drill through the sheetrock)

If indeed the neighbors are dopers, with traffic at all hours, a DISCREET word with the DETECTIVE DIVISION of the PD might be in order, simply outlining what you KNOW, what you suspect, being careful to sort the data honestly. Just be careful not to be "outed" as a snitch. That could prove fatal, or at the very least end ya up with damaged cars, etc. IMHO, ridding yourself of the neighbors would be most of the trouble.

As to heating costs, yeah, heat costs, and the landlord or a judge if ya get that far isn't likely to wanna hear about it.

[86er]

What State? HUD has a series of rules that many states follow. Your's may have something like it in the Landlord- Tenant statutes. Here is an example of what could help you out: "A tenant renter or lessee contract, unless specifically stated in the terms of said contract, may be deemed invalid if a condition, circumstance or event under the control of the Landlord creates a health, safety, security or legal risk to the contracted tenant, and the Landlord does not rectify the event to remove the risk or is unable to do so".

[marlinman93]

Jason,
Before you break the lease better look for advice from a real attorney. Any advice you get free on a gun forum is worth what you pay.

[Jason_W]

Ya might wanna NOT approach the landlord with a laundry list. If ya seem like ya really wanna move and are using multple reasons, looking for any that will stick, he may simply say "OK, but yer gonna pay costs. If it takes me four mos to rent it, etc..."

If I were you, I'd, research and LIVE WITH the law on the smoke. If smoking outside is legal, live with it (at least they aren't smoking inside, allowing their magic smoke to drill through the sheetrock)


As to heating costs, yeah, heat costs, and the landlord or a judge if ya get that far isn't likely to wanna hear about it.

All I know is that the place didn't smell like smoke before the neighbors moved in, and it does now. I don't know how it gets in, nor do I care. I don't feel it's fair that I have to smell smoke in the dwelling I pay to live in, especially since my lease specifies no smoking.

As far as the heating situation, at this rate, it's going to cost me as much to keep the place above freezing as it does to pay the rent this winter. It's simply not doable on what I make.

I'm starting to feel like I was swindled a bit. I hate it when I make myself a dupe.

Sorry if I seem hostile, I'm not directing it at you, but my situation. I've had a bit of a hair trigger temper of late.