How To Break A Lease Legally Due To Safety Hazards
While prospective tenants should inspect a potential property before choosing to rent, sometimes safety hazards remain concealed or appear after the lease is signed. In most parts of the country — Arkansas and Colorado are the only exceptions — renters are fully protected by laws that guarantee the right to break a lease if the property is not safe to live in. When faced with problems that could potentially render a house or apartment uninhabitable, tenants must take steps in order to break a lease legally.
Your Rights as a Tenant
If you feel unsafe in your rental, there is no specific law that forbids you from breaking your lease immediately if there is a problem. Doing so, however, may leave you with significant financial liabilities and a damaged rental and credit history that will make it harder to rent elsewhere. The implied warranty of habitability — a law that most states enforce — requires landlords to maintain a rental property so that it is safe for residents to live in. While Arkansas and Colorado have not enacted this law on a state government level, many city and county governments in these states have their own laws that are equivalent to enforcing a warranty of habitability.
What Legally Justifies Breaking a Lease
If you are considering breaking your lease, it is important to know which repair issues are generally classified as major or minor in nature. Major issues are defined as problems in an apartment or house that endanger the health and safety of a tenant. Examples of major habitability problems would include lead paint peeling off the walls, a front door that doesn't close, or an air-conditioning system with a broken compressor in the middle of summer.
Reporting the Problem
When a major issue is detected, a tenant is generally required to respond first by asking the landlord to conduct the repairs necessary to eliminate the problem. Before breaking the lease, Nolo suggests bringing these issues to a landlord's attention in a written letter and politely requesting that the landlord fix the issues. Calling the landlord may be necessary in an emergency situation, but this should be followed up by a written request for repairs. If other tenants are having similar problems, they should be encouraged to send letters as well. All correspondences should list the problems that are compromising the property's habitability, along with explanations as to why these are problems.
Record Keeping
Tenants should keep organized records of all problems with their residence, as well as all correspondence with the landlord or property management company. This may include photographs, inspection reports and letters. If a renter has to break a lease for health and safety reasons, these records will be essential in protecting his rental and credit history.
Breaking the Lease
Breaking the lease should be the last resort. This should be done only if the landlord has refused to fix the major habitability problems and the issues present an immediate threat to the resident's health or safety. In addition, the problems must not have been caused by the tenant's actions or neglect. Tenants must also not be behind on rent.
Your Rights as a Tenant
If you feel unsafe in your rental, there is no specific law that forbids you from breaking your lease immediately if there is a problem. Doing so, however, may leave you with significant financial liabilities and a damaged rental and credit history that will make it harder to rent elsewhere. The implied warranty of habitability — a law that most states enforce — requires landlords to maintain a rental property so that it is safe for residents to live in. While Arkansas and Colorado have not enacted this law on a state government level, many city and county governments in these states have their own laws that are equivalent to enforcing a warranty of habitability.
What Legally Justifies Breaking a Lease
If you are considering breaking your lease, it is important to know which repair issues are generally classified as major or minor in nature. Major issues are defined as problems in an apartment or house that endanger the health and safety of a tenant. Examples of major habitability problems would include lead paint peeling off the walls, a front door that doesn't close, or an air-conditioning system with a broken compressor in the middle of summer.
Reporting the Problem
When a major issue is detected, a tenant is generally required to respond first by asking the landlord to conduct the repairs necessary to eliminate the problem. Before breaking the lease, Nolo suggests bringing these issues to a landlord's attention in a written letter and politely requesting that the landlord fix the issues. Calling the landlord may be necessary in an emergency situation, but this should be followed up by a written request for repairs. If other tenants are having similar problems, they should be encouraged to send letters as well. All correspondences should list the problems that are compromising the property's habitability, along with explanations as to why these are problems.
Record Keeping
Tenants should keep organized records of all problems with their residence, as well as all correspondence with the landlord or property management company. This may include photographs, inspection reports and letters. If a renter has to break a lease for health and safety reasons, these records will be essential in protecting his rental and credit history.
Breaking the Lease
Breaking the lease should be the last resort. This should be done only if the landlord has refused to fix the major habitability problems and the issues present an immediate threat to the resident's health or safety. In addition, the problems must not have been caused by the tenant's actions or neglect. Tenants must also not be behind on rent.
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References
http://www.ehow.com/info_12116308_break-lease-legally-due-safety-hazards.html
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