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Im sure people have asked how to break their lease time and time again on this forum. I have not found one with my situation though.
Last saturday, my wedding night, the new wife and I decided to stay at home and save the money for our baby on the way instead of having a honeymoon. We were sleeping and around 2 am we awoke to our landlord and his girlfriend fighting in a shared hallway, the entrance to our apartment. The fight escalated into violence. Although not confirmed it sounded as if he was choking her. Turns out the landlord has a history of domestic violence and a failed marriage because of it and apparently has received counseling.
The landlord tends to drink a lot. I do not want to raise my newborn or the my 3 year old step child in this environment. Can I break the lease? Quiet Enjoyment maybe?
As unpleasant as it may be, you have no legal cause to break your lease because of an isolated domestic dispute. What you should have done was call the police if, as you describe it, you believed that someone was being choked. If it happens on a regular basis and you have police reports to back it up you may have cause to break your lease.
Suggest that when your lease expires you move. If your lease has an early termination clause then you can move sooner and pay the penalty or, if it doesn't, talk to your LL and see if you can work something out to terminate early. You may be able to use your wife's pregnancy as an excuse (need more room, for example) to come to an amicable agreement.
Becoming familiar with your state's landlord tenant laws is always a good idea and you'll likely find them linked in the first "sticky" on this forum page. Good luck.
well if the landlord is supposed to provide a place to live with quiet enjoyment. How is beating his girlfriend and stomping around drunk 4 or 5 nights a week providing quiet enjoyment? My wife is pregnant and I work nights. She is afraid to sleep here at nights, which is causing her stress and my unborn child stress.
There might be other things as well. The apartment was recently built. The outside is not finished, the sprinkler heads have not been installed, he expects us to pay for a gas bill that is in his name. We have lived here since sep 15 and nothing has changed. He is constantly building up the upstairs rooms. Any cause to break lease there?
well if the landlord is supposed to provide a place to live with quiet enjoyment. How is beating his girlfriend and stomping around drunk 4 or 5 nights a week providing quiet enjoyment? My wife is pregnant and I work nights. She is afraid to sleep here at nights, which is causing her stress and my unborn child stress.
There might be other things as well. The apartment was recently built. The outside is not finished, the sprinkler heads have not been installed, he expects us to pay for a gas bill that is in his name. We have lived here since sep 15 and nothing has changed. He is constantly building up the upstairs rooms. Any cause to break lease there?
Caveat emptor comes to mind here. It sounds as though you didn't do your due diligence before moving in. No, you have no cause to break your lease based on the other things you've brought up. The outside of the premises isn't your concern, neither is the sprinkler system unless you're talking about an inside fire system. In that case and IF these are required by law in residential buildings, then you should request in writing that these be installed. After being given a written request, a LL is required to fix maintenance issues within a reasonable time frame. There is nothing illegal about the gas bill being in your LL's name. If what you're saying is that you're paying for not only your own consumption but for the rest of the house then that would be a problem which needs to be addressed unless your lease indicates that you've agreed to this. Again, though, these are not causes to break your lease.
As suggested, you really need to read your state landlord tenant laws carefully, as well as your lease agreement to understand how you need to legally deal with relevant issues. First you relate one recent incident of a loud domestic dispute, now you say this is a regular occurrence 4-5 nights a week. It's understandable that this living situation doesn't suit you but you need to back off the emotions and deal with the practicalities of the situation.
If you don't feel able to do this then your best bet is to consult an attorney specializing in rental cases, or contact Legal Aid in your area to find out how to proceed. Good luck.
Im sure people have asked how to break their lease time and time again on this forum. I have not found one with my situation though.
Last saturday, my wedding night, the new wife and I decided to stay at home and save the money for our baby on the way instead of having a honeymoon. We were sleeping and around 2 am we awoke to our landlord and his girlfriend fighting in a shared hallway, the entrance to our apartment. The fight escalated into violence. Although not confirmed it sounded as if he was choking her. Turns out the landlord has a history of domestic violence and a failed marriage because of it and apparently has received counseling.
The landlord tends to drink a lot. I do not want to raise my newborn or the my 3 year old step child in this environment. Can I break the lease? Quiet Enjoyment maybe?
Im sure people have asked how to break their lease time and time again on this forum. I have not found one with my situation though.
Last saturday, my wedding night, the new wife and I decided to stay at home and save the money for our baby on the way instead of having a honeymoon. We were sleeping and around 2 am we awoke to our landlord and his girlfriend fighting in a shared hallway, the entrance to our apartment. The fight escalated into violence. Although not confirmed it sounded as if he was choking her. Turns out the landlord has a history of domestic violence and a failed marriage because of it and apparently has received counseling.
The landlord tends to drink a lot. I do not want to raise my newborn or the my 3 year old step child in this environment. Can I break the lease? Quiet Enjoyment maybe?
My state is Maine by the way.
And when you called the police to report this, what did they do?
I'm not seeing any reason that will allow you to break the lease without penalty. Other people fighting outside your unit won't do it.
Now, when the landlord tries to choke you, then you have a reason to get out of the lease.
I suggest you read your lease carefully and see what sort of penalty there is for breaking the lease. If it is only a month or two of rent, then perhaps you should pay and leave if you think that the apartment is bad for your wife's health.
One thing I caution: please go out and see what else is available in your price range. You might be surprised to find that you already have the best deal. Other apartment buildings will also be noisy and might very easily have a neighbor that fights all the time. Just because you move does not mean that a new place will be 100% perfect. It might be better, but it also might be worse.
Im sure people have asked how to break their lease time and time again on this forum. I have not found one with my situation though.
Last saturday, my wedding night, the new wife and I decided to stay at home and save the money for our baby on the way instead of having a honeymoon. We were sleeping and around 2 am we awoke to our landlord and his girlfriend fighting in a shared hallway, the entrance to our apartment. The fight escalated into violence. Although not confirmed it sounded as if he was choking her. Turns out the landlord has a history of domestic violence and a failed marriage because of it and apparently has received counseling.
The landlord tends to drink a lot. I do not want to raise my newborn or the my 3 year old step child in this environment. Can I break the lease? Quiet Enjoyment maybe?
My state is Maine by the way.
It doesn't sound like you have grounds to break the lease. However, you do have grounds to call the police. If you don't have many months left, I would wait it out and move.
You can always break you lease... just be prepared for the financial ramifications.
The only one that can immediately let you out is the Landlord... tell him, it's not working for you and see what he says...
From what was mentioned... it doesn't appear anything was done to you or yours that would trigger habitability issues.
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