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My husband and I rented a house where we live with his grandmother and mother, the house is in shoddy condition and is extremely tight corders. His grandmother's health has declined to the point of her needing to be in a wheelchair and sometimes walker if she can handle it, this is impossible with the structure of the home. We need to move her to a place where it's not only accessible but where I can care for her, the current set up of the house makes this basically impossible as you come into the house on the second floor. My husband, 2 very young children, and I live on the bottom floor most easily accessible by a very unstable spiral staircase. This makes it so the only way I can watch out for her is to keep an ear out, which is obviously not ideal as she needs help with meals, at times getting out of bed and to the restroom, depending on her state a that day. As this is a difficult financial period for us with his grandmother's state as well as our second daughter being diagnosed with a genetic disorder that requires constant care and doctor visits, we cannot afford to be responsible for the remainder of the lease. I've read exemptions can be made for lease termination if it's a matter of health crisis but I'd like to make sure that our case qualifies under this law.
"We cannot afford to be responsible for the remainder of the lease."
Does that mean you found a better place to live and don't want the burden of paying for two residences? Or are you implying that a house with 4 ADULTS (and 2 kids) can not gather the funds to pay rent? (Again, other things set aside)
To answer your question, just be honest with your landlord and say A B C happened and being in such tight quarters in a wheelchair is becoming a burden. I doubt they'll say "sorry about your luck" Being a landlord may be their profession, but they're still people who understand.
First, are you looking to get out of the lease because of your own personal financial situation or is it because the property is not suitable for the family's personal disability needs?
As a general rule, lease termination is a "reasonable accommodation" however, HUD and your state requires specific steps be taken before jumping on lease termination. if you do it correctly and it;s legitimate, you will be released; muff it up and this can end up hurting you.
Sorry for the confusion, what I meant was that we have found a suitable place but cannot afford to pay the reminder of this lease as well as the rent for the new place. The new place is actually more expensive but it's an absolutely necessary move, it's impossible for her to even move through doorways or maneuver the restroom in a wheelchair here. This has caused her to not use the wheelchair as she should be, which is extremely dangerous and worrisome to us all. We did not move in knowing she'd need accessibility, her health has rapidly declined in the few short months we've been here.
As a general rule, lease termination is a "reasonable accommodation" however, HUD and your state requires specific steps be taken before jumping on lease termination. if you do it correctly and it;s legitimate, you will be released; muff it up and this can end up hurting you.
Do you know these steps or how I can find them out? I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row before we speak to the landlord in case he's less than understanding.
Maybe you ought to bring this up with your landlord instead of asking strangers on the internet. Explain the situation and make arrangement to terminate the lease early. You'll have to give proper written notice, for sure, and there might be a termination fee.
Your landlord should be willing to make a reasonable accommodation for the disability, but allowing you to leave with no notice would not be considered reasonable.
It's going to make a difference if the disabled grandmother is actually on the lease as a tenant or not.
I'm planning on speaking with him, I just like to be educated on the subject before going into things. It's always smart to know your rights!
We're not attempting to leave without notice, the owner of the (hopefully) new house is a family friend who is more than willing to give us the time we need.
She's on the lease as an occupant but my husband and I are the ones who signed the lease and are the actual tenants.
My husband and I rented a house where we live with his grandmother and mother, the house is in shoddy condition and is extremely tight corders. His grandmother's health has declined to the point of her needing to be in a wheelchair and sometimes walker if she can handle it, this is impossible with the structure of the home. We need to move her to a place where it's not only accessible but where I can care for her, the current set up of the house makes this basically impossible as you come into the house on the second floor. My husband, 2 very young children, and I live on the bottom floor most easily accessible by a very unstable spiral staircase. This makes it so the only way I can watch out for her is to keep an ear out, which is obviously not ideal as she needs help with meals, at times getting out of bed and to the restroom, depending on her state a that day. As this is a difficult financial period for us with his grandmother's state as well as our second daughter being diagnosed with a genetic disorder that requires constant care and doctor visits, we cannot afford to be responsible for the remainder of the lease. I've read exemptions can be made for lease termination if it's a matter of health crisis but I'd like to make sure that our case qualifies under this law.
I'm assuming the Cali means you live in California.
The good news is that California law requires the landlord to make good faith effort to find a new renter. However, you might be held responsible for advertising costs and money lost, such as painting early. The above link goes into it briefly.
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The good news is that California law requires the landlord to make good faith effort to find a new renter. However, you might be held responsible for advertising costs and money lost, such as painting early. The above link goes into it briefly.
Thank you! The cost of advertising and such is much better than the $12,250 we'd be on the hook for if we had to pay out the lease!
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