Can I break my lease?? (apartment, lease agreement, tenant, renters)

[Liss829]

Sorry this is kind of long..

I came home from work last night to find that maintenance had entered my apartment to repaint the walls/ceiling in my bathroom, closet and dining area. I was not notified that they would be coming in to do so nor did I give prior consent to allow them to enter my apartment. I looked over my lease agreement and it stated that they can come to do routine inspections, repairs, etc. as long as they provide reasonable notice that they will be doing so, unless there is an emergency. Repainting my walls I don't think would constitute as an emergency at all.

There was a big leak in the apartment a couple of weeks ago and maintenance came to fix it while I was not there, but I knew before hand that they would be entering my apartment. I remember when I came back to my apartment that day though, they had left multiple huge fans blowing throughout my apartment, left my lights on and never turned the water back on so I had no running water at all. Not to mention the huge mess they left throughout my apartment from fixing the leak and drilling holes in the walls. I wrote an email to the PM about this and tried to contact him several times with no luck.

Anyway, a couple of days after they fixed the leak they came to patch the walls where they had drilled holes into. This was over two weeks ago. Then, yesterday I guess they decided to come paint over those areas, this time without informing me first and while I was not at home. They left a huge mess again and there was paint and dust all over my belongings. I also noticed someone went through my hamper that I have in the bathroom with my laundry, including my underwear.

I went down to notify security that maintenance had entered my unit without my permission and that I wanted to speak to management, but they had all gone home for the day. I'm planning to just go up to the management office Monday morning to discuss this issue. I'm wondering if I will be able to terminate my lease. I don't think they had any right to just come into my apartment without at least informing me first.

[STT Resident]

Originally Posted by Liss829

I'm wondering if I will be able to terminate my lease.

You can break your lease whenever you feel like it but not without penalty. If your lease has an early termination clause you can use that; if you're unlucky enough to live in a state where a landlord isn't obligated to mitigate damages by re-renting then you'll have to try and negotiate the penalty or be on the hook for rent payments until the lease term ends. But the fact that maintenance people came into your unit to fix stuff that needed fixing and didn't notify you in advance isn't sufficient legal grounds to break your lease without penalty.

[Corn-fused]

Can I Sue My Landlord For Entering My Home Without Notice Or Otherwise Invading My Privacy? | Nolo.com

How to Deal With Landlord Invasions of Tenant Privacy

Landlords (or managers) who enter your home without your consent or knowledge, or without providing the advance notice required required by your state, may justify legal action. But many tenants—especially those who do not have a long-term lease or live in a city with rent control that requires just cause for eviction—try to work things out with the landlord first, by voicing their concerns in a firm (but friendly as possible) way. See the Nolo article How to Stop Your Landlord’s Illegal Entryfor advice on the subject, including how to write a demand letter threatening to sue the landlord if your rights to privacy continue to be violated. Keep all copies of your communications with the landlord, including notes as to date and content of oral conversations; you will need this type of evidence should you end up suing your landlord.

Legal Grounds for Suing Your Landlord for Invasion of Privacy



If a conciliatory approach doesn’t work, and your landlord continues to enter without notice or legitimate reason, or otherwise invades your privacy, you may want to sue your landlord in small claims court for money damages on one or all of the following legal grounds.

• trespass—entering your rental unit without your consent or proper authority, in violation of state access rules
• invasion of privacy—interfering with your right to be left alone by spying on you, interrogating your visitors, knocking on your door at odd hours to see who answers, or entering when you’re not at home with no legal justification.
• breach of implied covenant of quiet enjoyment—interfering with your right to undisturbed use of your home (leases often include a “covenant of quiet enjoyment” clause obligating the landlord to ensure that tenants live undisturbed).
• infliction of emotional distress—a pattern of illegal acts someone (in this case, the landlord or manager) which caused serious emotional consequences.

Repeated abuses by a landlord of your right of privacy may give you a legal excuse to break your lease or end the tenancy early, without liability for further rent. If the landlord sues you for the rent after you leave, your defense can be that repeated intrusions of privacy.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

It sounds like a continuation of the same job, so maybe a bit iffy about continuing to give notice. A lot of tenants would be happy to have the damage repaired instead of left or only done halfway.

Talk to management about getting out of the lease. They will let you know what you have to do and how much it will cost you.

Report that your underwear was played with. Management might prefer to fire that particular workman.