Do I have the right to break my lease? (2015, apartment)

[ladylilly25]

Here is the letter I wrote which contains most of the relevant information. I don't have the contract in front of me to write the exact words, but it says that the lease can be broken without penalty if they don't respond to maintenance requests in a timely manner.

This letter is to inform you that pursuant to (whatever part of contract) which states that the lease may be broken due to (whatever it says), we will be terminating our lease, effective November 30th, 2015.

There have been numerous issues during our time at O---, beginning from when we first signed the lease and moved in on May 1st. Least among these concerns was the lack of entrance to any fitness facilities or free membership to a gym while the facilities were being worked on. When first signing the lease, we were told that the facilities would be good to go in a month or two, but that we would be given a free membership to a nearby gym. Despite calling for information two times, we were never given access to the fitness facilities or a gym.

Additionally, upon move in, there was a near three week wait for the keys to our mailbox, during which time the two of us went to the office four times in order to collect them. Of course, this was a hassle due to our inability to receive any of our mail, including important medical bills.

On June 27th, our air conditioning broke, leaving us without any cool air. On June 28th, at around 8:30AM, I submitted a maintenance request. There was no reply, even after a call to the office. On June 29th, I submitted another maintenance request. No one came to fix the air, however, until well into the evening on the 29th, leaving us without A/C for three days with the heat in the upper 90s. Unfortunately, the repair was shoddy and the air broke again less than a week later.

On the morning of August 26th, we awoke to find a leak had sprung in our closet over the night, soaking and destroying over $300 worth of shoes. A maintenance request was submitted immediately, and we used a pot and numerous towels to prevent any further damage. This was futile, however, as a week went by with no answer to the request, forcing us to submit another on September 1st. Ultimately, no one came to look at the leak until September 4th, by which point the carpet had become full of mold and the entire apartment stunk, and thereby violating Section 92.056 of the Texas Property Code. The leak was patched up quickly, but not until another week went by did anyone return to take care of the moldy carpet, which was not removed, but simply steam cleaned with the padding underneath replaced. As you might expect, the closet still smells of mold, and the clothing in it does as well, no matter how often they are washed.

All of this issues have led to us ultimately deciding that we no longer wish to reside here at O---, and we will be breaking our lease with no expectation of any continued payments.



Thanks a bunch!!

[WorldKlas]

Check the Texas tenant protection rights here: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/tenant-rights