Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am renting a "2 Bed" basement apartment. About a month ago, the city inspector came through, and, because one of the bedrooms does not have a window, the owner needs to knock down nearly half of the wall (5 ft of wall) separating the two bedrooms so there is a proper fire escape.
So essentially it will be 1 bedroom with half of a wall sticking down the middle.
Is this enough grounds to break the lease?
If you don't know, is there a site where I can get help or research this myself for Utah laws?
If you can still fit 2 beds in there, you may not have grounds for terminating the lease. Can you put up some sort of separator, or divider in place of the wall??
Also, the change was forced on the landlord via city ordinances, its not like your landlord saw a sledgehammer and got inspired to do home-renovations.
I would also think that anything that lowers your chances of slowly turning into a burnt crisp in case of fire to be a plus.
I would not consider this to be grounds to terminate a lease early. But I could very well be wrong.
Last edited by CarlitosBala; 12-18-2013 at 03:58 PM..
I absolutely would consider this grounds to amend the lease or monthly rental as the space is no longer 2 bedrooms (2 bed; 2 bedrooms - no difference as the implication when renting is private space for each). If you haven't talked with the landlord, now is the time.
Also, the change was forced on the landlord via city ordinances, its not like your landlord saw a sledgehammer and got inspired to do home-renovations.
The building is not up to health code and I was not informed of this at the signing of the lease. These laws have been in effect for at least 2 decades I would imagine.
I don't have an exact quote on this, but I heard the inspector say when he was here that they have been fighting with them over this building for over 10 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thelopez2
Can't he just put in a window?
They tried putting a window inside the door to my room. I don't know when they did it. It was like that when I moved in.
The room is underneath the front porch. The only solution the inspector said was to tear down part of the wall. Additionally, the window in the other room is too small and needs to be made a lot bigger.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Annie
I absolutely would consider this grounds to amend the lease or monthly rental as the space is no longer 2 bedrooms (2 bed; 2 bedrooms - no difference as the implication when renting is private space for each). If you haven't talked with the landlord, now is the time.
What should I say?
I am planning on moving across the county in a month, my roommate might be staying. I will either sublease, or we break the lease over this. He doesn't really want to share a bedroom with someone he doesn't even know.
Last edited by LunaticWolf; 12-18-2013 at 05:39 PM..
Pretty much what you've said here. The unit is no longer how your lease describes it and thus the contract is essentially no longer valid. Ergo, you either go into a new contract at a different rate or you move without penalty.
Is your roommate also on the lease? If so, the LL rented a 2 bedroom to 2 people & it is now 1 bedroom. Not OK.
Yes, we are both on the lease.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
