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.
The rental we moved into included a washer and dryer but since we already owned a high end front loading washer and dryer we asked if they could be removed since we wouldn't be using them. They agreed to it and its in writing on the lease that the washer and dryer would be removed within 30 days of move in which we moved in on on April 15th. Its now been just over 10 months and the units are still being stored in our garage. We have sent 3 emails on August 16th, September 17th and September 25th to the property management company asking when the washer and dryer will be removed and the only response we have received was on September 17th saying they will talk to the owner to see what the holdup is. We have also verbally asked the same question but unfortunately I don't have any evidence of the conversations. I am not sure why but the owner did stop by a few months ago to see the house and I asked him about the washer and dryer and he tried telling me that he doesn't have the room to store them.
I recently was laid off from my job and the rent is pretty high at $2100 and the house isn't worth it for the neighborhood its in. There has been several break ins on our street including one of our own and we can't allow our children to play out in front of the house because people drive down our street as if it was a highway. Using a formula I found to calculate speed using video people come flying down our small street doing 30-45mph and even sometimes faster. We still have nearly a year left on our lease and I would like to find any excuse that we can to break the lease so that we can move into a home in a different neighborhood that will be safer and hopefully more affordable. So since I have it in writing in our lease that the washer and dryer will be removed within 30 days and I also have evidence of contacting the property management company asking about it would it hold up in court that the lease terms were violated by the landlord? Also please also understand we have had several other issues with the landlord and property management company so this isn't the only issue. Also we know the landlord hasn't paid the mortgage on the home for nearly a year because we have received several foreclosure notices in the mail but when we ask about it they say the landlord is trying to work with the bank which I think is a total BS lie since we just received a notice the other day saying the home will be auctioned off on April 1st.
I think you have a better shot of getting out of the lease over the pending foreclosure than having to store the washer. What state do you live in? You should pull up the tenant-landlord laws for your state and do your research. Usually those laws are pretty easy to read and understand.
Where were the washer and dryer originally located, was it in the unit or in the same place in the garage? Ypu could have an issue if they removed it from it's original location per your request and are storing it in the garage. If they removed it and are just storing it in the garage, has their presence prevented you from using the garage? Does it say removing from premise completely?
When you asked about the removal, did you just ask when or did you make it a demand for the units to be removed? If you asked when they will be removed and they said they don't know, they responded to your request and thats it. But if you made it a demand you would have better standing.
Without more details supporting some specific identifiable breech of the lease, I seriously doubt a Judge will side with you.
As for the mortgage, none of your business. You occupied the place, you owe rent. Even if they foreclose, you're protected by federal law so stick to your own financial problems and stop worrying about the landlords.
Trying to beat the system if it was a problem you should of said something 9 months ago and now its not worth it that you do not have a job. Just tell him you lost your job and cannot afford it and give him a 30 day notice.
Funny thing is when you rented this home it was perfect for your family..the rent, the location..everything! Flash forward....you lost your job, the rent is too high and the location sucks. Seems to me you're trying to find a way out of this house without having to take any more money out of your pocket.
Here's the deal...you do not need an excuse to break your lease. Read your lease and read your state's landlord/tenant laws and then talk to your landlord and tell them you want to break your lease. Your lease should contain an 'early termination' clause...read it, learn it, follow it. Stop trying to *********r landlord because you fell on hard times...man up and play by the rules.
Pay your rent every month and on time until you figure out the early termination process...the last thing you need is an eviction on top of your current financial issues.
You might want to have a quick consultation with an attorney to see if there is a way to break the lease without recourse due to the pending foreclosure auction in 1 month. A consult with a real estate attorney might cost you $100 plus or minus.
---- Check your current lease to see if there is anything written about Early Termination. Many leases have a lump sum amt that you pay in order to be allowed out of the lease. Often this amt is equal to 2 months rent.
If you don't have anything in your lease about early termination, you have 2 other options. I suggest you try the first option, then the 2nd:
1) Contact the landlord and ask if you can pay him an "early termination fee" of $3000 to be allowed out of the lease. You would give him 30 day notice and then upon move-out, give him lump sum of $3000 to break the lease.
If you do this, make sure you get something in writing from landlord that says you are allowed to break the lease early for $3000 fee and lease is terminated and you owe no more money for future rent. You can set that $3000 fee to whatever you and the landlord can agree upon(if he doesnt want to take the deal, then maybe increase it to $3500 to see if he takes it). There is a good possibility the landlord takes this offer because he is going to lose the home anyway and he wouldn't be getting future rent from you once the home is sold at auction.
2) If you cannot do an Early Termination, then you can still break the lease. In most states, you still owe rent each month on the normal due date IF the landlord hasn't re-rented the premises. Most states that law requires that the landlord attempt to re-rent(called Mitigate Damages in legal terms). If they don't attempt to re-rent, then you don't owe any future rent, and if they rerent to someone else then don't owe future rent either. Since the property is going to be sold at auction, I doubt the new owners will come after you for rent and besides, there is a good chance that they won't attempt to re-rent it, which means you don't owe rent anyway. The new owner will probably be happy that the place is vacant anyway.
Last edited by sware2cod; 02-24-2014 at 06:09 AM..
Sorry, OP, but moving the washer and dryer from the house and into the garage is removing the washer and dryer., You are not going to get a free lease break over that.
However, if you have lost your job, I suggest that you contact the management, explain that you lost your job and can no longer pay rent and ask if they will allow you to terminate the lease early.
There will be a lease termination fee, and you will have to clean the unit up spotless, but management might prefer to let you go than to have to take you to court and evict you.
Of course, now your landlord reference is that you were let out of your lease because you lost your job and don't have money for rent, so expect a small amount of trouble finding another landlord who will accept you as a tenant.
To me it is always interesting that a place is exactly what people like...than when they move in they come up with the usual complaints (only a certain type of tenant will do that)
Then something happens to change their financial situation and all of a sudden the place is bad, the owner/landlord or property manager is sooo bad.
In the end the place is not worth it...
In plain English....The tenant rented above their means and need an excuse to walk away without paying a lease break fee, and everything is someone else's fault.
if you come to the landlord/management company, and you talk to them like they were real people, with their own trials and tribulations, and present them with a problem you have and a solution that you want (terminating lease early), I'm sure you can come to an agreeable solution that won't hurt either party.
Now, if you come to them, grasping at every possible straws, making such dumb arguments and treating them like they were retarded children, then they will oppose you and make your life really hard. Forget about the washer dryer, and about location, and people driving fast, those are not reasons to break a lease.
Tell them that you lost your job and that can no longer afford the place, and that you must move asap. Promise to clean and fix the place, and not to get in the way if they want to show the place to potential renters while you are still there.
There's gotta be a little bit of give in your part, not just take and take, and then take some more.
if you come to the landlord/management company, and you talk to them like they were real people, with their own trials and tribulations, and present them with a problem you have and a solution that you want (terminating lease early), I'm sure you can come to an agreeable solution that won't hurt either party.
Now, if you come to them, grasping at every possible straws, making such dumb arguments and treating them like they were retarded children, then they will oppose you and make your life really hard. Forget about the washer dryer, and about location, and people driving fast, those are not reasons to break a lease.
Tell them that you lost your job and that can no longer afford the place, and that you must move asap. Promise to clean and fix the place, and not to get in the way if they want to show the place to potential renters while you are still there.
There's gotta be a little bit of give in your part, not just take and take, and then take some more.
This, times ten. Unless you've been completely unable to use the garage to park your car, I don't see how any reasonable person would think this would be a valid reason to break a lease (and even then, it's more cause for a reduction in rent than breaking a lease if you ask me). If you've let it go on for months, until you're unable to afford the place, you've got no leg to stand on.
Take the advice given: go speak, rationally and reasonably, to your landlord or property management company about your situation. And if the place gets auctioned off before you move out, then talk to the new owners. There are ways out that don't involve tying up the legal system with unjustified complaints.
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.
