How to break a rental lease
October 10, 2016 7:17 PM Subscribe
How would someone break a lease at the beginning of a rental agreement and what are reasonable causes for doing so?
I just rented my first place. Yay! Until I saw a roach...after I had already done the walk through and signed the lease. In addition, for some reason an electrician came the day before I had moved in and and broke a circuit breaker so the whole front of the house has no electricity. which is odd because the light worked when I signed the lease but not now. The proprty manager said they sprayed but I moved here from another state and wasn't here when that happened so I'm not sure. What I am sure about is the fact that the roach seems more active than ever and it's severely grossed me out. In addition, to this there have been numerous other issues with the apartment. There was sawdust everywhere when we moved in, theyou were still renovating etc and I just want out. I've only lived here for 3 days, what are my legal rights as tenant and how do I break the lease without paying a hefty fee? I live in Columbus, OH if that helps.
I just rented my first place. Yay! Until I saw a roach...after I had already done the walk through and signed the lease. In addition, for some reason an electrician came the day before I had moved in and and broke a circuit breaker so the whole front of the house has no electricity. which is odd because the light worked when I signed the lease but not now. The proprty manager said they sprayed but I moved here from another state and wasn't here when that happened so I'm not sure. What I am sure about is the fact that the roach seems more active than ever and it's severely grossed me out. In addition, to this there have been numerous other issues with the apartment. There was sawdust everywhere when we moved in, theyou were still renovating etc and I just want out. I've only lived here for 3 days, what are my legal rights as tenant and how do I break the lease without paying a hefty fee? I live in Columbus, OH if that helps.
What does your lease say about you breaking it?
Rental law is so specific to each state and city. Either Ohio State U or someone in town has a tenants legal service. Contact them.
Roaches are fairly normal though.
posted by k8t at 7:43 PM on October 10, 2016
Rental law is so specific to each state and city. Either Ohio State U or someone in town has a tenants legal service. Contact them.
Roaches are fairly normal though.
posted by k8t at 7:43 PM on October 10, 2016
Your landlord probably doesn't want an unhappy tenant in the apartment. However, you mention a property manager - is it a corporate lease? If so you may have challenges extricating yourself from the lease.
I would turn your attention to your lease. Does the lease mention anything regarding roaches? Ask the landlord to immediately fix it - and take care of getting cleaners in to tidy up the construction waste.
posted by arnicae at 7:44 PM on October 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I would turn your attention to your lease. Does the lease mention anything regarding roaches? Ask the landlord to immediately fix it - and take care of getting cleaners in to tidy up the construction waste.
posted by arnicae at 7:44 PM on October 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Have you tried resetting the circuit breaker? It could just be tripped, but if it is actually nonfunctional, that's the thing I'd be complaining about the loudest.
posted by sageleaf at 8:01 PM on October 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sageleaf at 8:01 PM on October 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'd call these people and ask. But reasons for breaking a lease have to be pretty major, like essentially uninhabitable. Fixable problems aren't generally enough.
posted by kjs4 at 12:36 AM on October 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kjs4 at 12:36 AM on October 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
Welcome to Columbus! Sorry it started out on such a low note.
How do you break the lease? Easy. You move out and stop paying rent. That probably won't end well for you, though. What does your lease say? If it's a corporate lease, there might not be much you can do.
Have you talked to your landlord yet? That's the first step. See what they're planning to do. They can't let you live without electricity, and they probably don't want their property overrun with roaches. Try to see them as partners before you see them as adversaries. Your interests coincide, and you can do more by cooperating.
As someone suggested, if you're affiliated with OSU (although you're probably not, if you just moved here in October), there is a landlord/tenant legal clinic that could give you more specific advice.
If you don't have any electricity at all, you should look up "constructive eviction". You can stop paying rent (well, put it into escrow) until your landlord makes the property livable again. But I presume they're actually going to fix it, so this won't be an option unless they're really fighting you.
One thing to keep in mind is that, in general, if you find a new tenant to rent the apartment, your landlord will not suffer any damages, and therefore can't go after you. Easier said than done, but if you live in a desirable area, it might be.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:36 AM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
How do you break the lease? Easy. You move out and stop paying rent. That probably won't end well for you, though. What does your lease say? If it's a corporate lease, there might not be much you can do.
Have you talked to your landlord yet? That's the first step. See what they're planning to do. They can't let you live without electricity, and they probably don't want their property overrun with roaches. Try to see them as partners before you see them as adversaries. Your interests coincide, and you can do more by cooperating.
As someone suggested, if you're affiliated with OSU (although you're probably not, if you just moved here in October), there is a landlord/tenant legal clinic that could give you more specific advice.
If you don't have any electricity at all, you should look up "constructive eviction". You can stop paying rent (well, put it into escrow) until your landlord makes the property livable again. But I presume they're actually going to fix it, so this won't be an option unless they're really fighting you.
One thing to keep in mind is that, in general, if you find a new tenant to rent the apartment, your landlord will not suffer any damages, and therefore can't go after you. Easier said than done, but if you live in a desirable area, it might be.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:36 AM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I know someone who broke a lease due to finding squirrels in the house. New place had rats. Both these places seemed quaint and clean during lease signing. Both those problems were also solved promptly with pest control.
Unless this problem is unfixable (e.g. the apartment is above a restaurant with a dirty kitchen, or the neighbor with adjoining wall hoards garbage), the best plan is probably to ask for the problem to be fixed. Breaking a lease over one cockroach would probably be a very expensive proposition.
Definitely ask the landlord to solve the problem. If they refuse, or can't, then it's time to explore your options for getting out of the lease. Sorry, roaches are gross.
posted by reeddavid at 10:04 PM on October 11, 2016
Unless this problem is unfixable (e.g. the apartment is above a restaurant with a dirty kitchen, or the neighbor with adjoining wall hoards garbage), the best plan is probably to ask for the problem to be fixed. Breaking a lease over one cockroach would probably be a very expensive proposition.
Definitely ask the landlord to solve the problem. If they refuse, or can't, then it's time to explore your options for getting out of the lease. Sorry, roaches are gross.
posted by reeddavid at 10:04 PM on October 11, 2016
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You need to document the problems in writing. Even so, unless the landlord fails to rectify the problems, it's not likely to be enough to break the lease unless the landlord agrees to do so. If it's a work in progress and you make it clear that you'll hold them to the letter of the law, they may decide that letting you out of the lease will be easier than dealing with you. However, they might do the same in reverse to you.
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. ยง 5321.07 might cover the circuit breaker problem.
Honestly, roaches are something that happens sometimes in apartments and houses as is sloppy work by contractors. The power is absolutely worth raising a stink about, but if it's a single roach and not an infestation, get some roach killer.
posted by Candleman at 7:42 PM on October 10, 2016 [9 favorites]