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I've been renting a shack on a lake for almost 6 years. The owners refinanced the house and asked me to sign a lease to show rental income on the property. I think it was in January. I've tolerated living in a shack because I loved the location. I had hoped to buy it and remodel but the owners didn't want to sell. The location is no longer worth it and now I want out.
Long story short the owners have been building on the adjacent lot for the past 9 months. It has prevented me from being able to even enjoy being outside. I've had people in my yard, on my deck, heavy excavating equiptment outside my window
and I've had to keep curtains closed just to have a bit of privacy. The owner comes and goes in my garage without asking, people park in my driveway blocking me in, they disrespect any boundaries and don't seem to think I have any rights as I'm just a renter. Construction is finally ending but they tore up about 1/3 of my yard and while they sodded to the property line on my side they decided to do seed. So basically I won't have a yard for the summer. It's frankly the last straw and I want to move. Problem is they didn't give me a copy of the lease and I'm not sure what my rights are.
The house is barely habitable, water damage has caused the walls to bow out and crumble, half the windows are missing screens, the ceiling is falling down in one bedroom, my yard is mostly dirt at this juncture and the list goes on. Are these issues with the house enough of a reason to move? The owner is well aware of the problems, he just doesn't want to put money into the house.
I would ask for a copy of the lease. Do you remember anything about the lease you signed 7 months ago (the term, an early termination fee, anything)?
Obviously, you should always keep a copy of something like that for your records. Without it, it's hard to say. The other side is the owner may simply let you out and not worry about it (but this isn't usual at all).
If the owner is uncooperative, the issues with the house may be serious enough to call it uninhabitable, in which case the owner would need to fix immediately or let you out. Walls and ceilings caving in aren't safe.
What it sounds like you have is an eviction situation. You have been evicted with the infringement upon your quiet enjoyment. Now, that phrase doesn't mean lack of noise; it means not having people on your deck, in your garage without permission, etc. So, get your new rental in order, get packed, and tell the landlord you will no longer fight his constructive eviction. Do this in writing. In fact, while getting yourself ready, put all these things in writing and send a list of problems to the landlord, not just the physical items, but the behavior.
What it sounds like you have is an eviction situation. You have been evicted with the infringement upon your quiet enjoyment. Now, that phrase doesn't mean lack of noise; it means not having people on your deck, in your garage without permission, etc. So, get your new rental in order, get packed, and tell the landlord you will no longer fight his constructive eviction. Do this in writing. In fact, while getting yourself ready, put all these things in writing and send a list of problems to the landlord, not just the physical items, but the behavior.
Don't do that, and stop telling people to just walk out of a lease there are laws in every state that govern these situations.
OP, contact a local landlord and tenant lawyer for advice. If you did what Annia suggested here in AZ you would be screwed. For almost all, if not all, places there is a law that says you have to give notice of the issue and time for the landlord to cure the issue. Doesn't seem like you have taken that step so if you walked out of your lease you would owe until a replacement tenant was found. In some states there is no duty to mitigate damages so you would owe until the end of your lease and the LL wouldn't have to lift a finger.
What it sounds like you have is an eviction situation. You have been evicted with the infringement upon your quiet enjoyment. Now, that phrase doesn't mean lack of noise; it means not having people on your deck, in your garage without permission, etc. So, get your new rental in order, get packed, and tell the landlord you will no longer fight his constructive eviction. Do this in writing. In fact, while getting yourself ready, put all these things in writing and send a list of problems to the landlord, not just the physical items, but the behavior.
Bad advice OP. Whether the infringement with your use actually constitutes an eviction is a legal question that no one here can answer. I doubt very much that having people on your deck or in your garage without your permission is enough for a court to determine you were constructively evicted.
You need to ask an attorney who is familiar with the laws in your area if the facts are such that would support a claim of constructive eviction. Just walking away from your lease is not a good idea.
I've been renting a shack on a lake for almost 6 years. The owners refinanced the house and asked me to sign a lease to show rental income on the property. I think it was in January. I've tolerated living in a shack because I loved the location. I had hoped to buy it and remodel but the owners didn't want to sell. The location is no longer worth it and now I want out.
The house is barely habitable, water damage has caused the walls to bow out and crumble, half the windows are missing screens, the ceiling is falling down in one bedroom, my yard is mostly dirt at this juncture and the list goes on. Are these issues with the house enough of a reason to move? The owner is well aware of the problems, he just doesn't want to put money into the house.
You did decide to rent this "shack" knowing it's condition. You liked the location and felt it was worth putting up with. Obviously the LL wasn't interested in improving it. Sounds as if it hasn't improved with age, but you were still willing to put up with it. Now you aren't. I can understand all the commotion next door and the inconveniences resulting from it may have been the last straw.
You need to get a copy of your lease. You need to be clear about why you feel justified in breaking the lease at this time, not bringing up old issues retroactively (it was always a dump or because you couldn't get the LL to sell the place to you).
Call the landlord(or discuss with them in person) and verbally discuss that you will soon be moving out . Because you have been there 6 years it's highly likely the landlord will simply square up the move out date with you and wish you well.
You want to give official written move out notice approx 30 or 45 days prior to move out, in writing.
But first talk to landlord about it. If landlord agrees to let you move without additional rent owed after move out day, jot it down in writing and send email with summary of the phone discussion. Ask them outright during the call...that you won't owe more rent after the move out date per whatever lease you signed. They probably don't care about said lease but were forced to have it in order to get a loan. (although they can enforce it if they choose, which is important). This is why you want a written confirmation of what was agreed in the verbal discussion - so you have proof.
Let the landlord know, during the call, that you're ok with the landlord showing the unit to future rentals as long as you get proper notice of showings(usually 24 hr notice ). This will help the landlord find a replacement renter which is a win-win for everyone.
Thank you everyone for the responses. I had not realized until recently that people had offered input. The person who owns the house now was not the original owner. It changed hands and the owner bought it to tear down. He actually told me last summer I would need to move in less than a month because he needed to start building, he later decided to build on the lot on the other side. I told him at that point that I wanted to purchase which was the plan if he didn't build. He decided that he wanted to keep the property for his kids and I told him things would need to be fixed if I was going to stay. Some of those things have been fixed but certainly not to where I would want to live here. I had not had a lease for 4 years. In December he said he needed it just for proof as he was refinancing as a rental property. Hence the reason i didnt get a copy. I should have and usually I wouldn't sign something without review but he was in a hurry. I did text him about a number of issues and told him I had enough and I was moving and he didn't respond. I plan to give him 30 days notice. So much has changed since I rented, I have a dog for instance and they removed they removed the fence during the build. I can't have shades or curtains open because I have no privacy. Without someone putting money into the place it's falling down. I don't want to live like this. I'll be giving notice tomorrow and I'll have to hope it goes well. I already started moving stuff and they haven't said a word. They just stare at me. It's tense and uncomfortable.
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