How to get out of a lease? (apartments, tenant rights, security deposit)

[Maggi07]

I would love some advice as far as what we need to be doing.

We moved into this house last December. Here is a list of what has happened since then:

December: broken pipes when we moved in. It took two weeks for the owner to fix it. We could not live here in the meantime, yet we had to pay full rent for the month. The property manager insisted everything was done correctly. In the same month, we found that the heat did not work. It took several days to get someone here to "fix" it. It then blew out lukewarm air and I thought it must just be a crappy heating system.

January: Heat stopped working again. They sent the same guy to fix it. It turned out he hadn't actually fixed it the first time. It was nice to have heat. Last winter in Florida was cold!

February: Sewage back up in the shower. The entire plumbing system seemed to be clogged. We called the property manager, who said it was our problem, not the landlords. The guy we paid to fix it said it was from sludge buildup in the pipes under the house, not from anything we had done.

Dishwasher broke. I called PM, who LOUDLY insisted that it was from something we had done. No room for discussion. I still do not have a working dishwasher.

March: LL called us directly and told us we could take the money we paid for the plumbing off the rent. From this point on, we have not spoken to PM, only to the LL directly.

April: A neighbor walks by and tells us the tree in our yard is sick. He shows us the white coating all over the inside of it, where it has rotted away. Every time the wind blows or it rains, a large branch falls either on the house or in the backyard. DH calls the city and figures out exactly what to do and lets the LL know, who says he will file papers and have it looked at. He hasn't done it yet.

BTW, we live in Florida, and should a hurricane come through, that tree, which is very large, could easily fall on the house and put a nice big hole in it, hopefully not hurting or killing any of us.

May: Even though I wasn't ready to use the AC much, I figured I better test it out. It didn't work. Just blew warm air. We had to pay someone to come out and fix it. It turned out the guy the PM had sent over had broken the AC by improperly installing a used thermostat. We have not seen this money back yet. LL says we can take it off July's rent.

In the same month, we discover we can not run the AC because it literally smells like dog pee and I can't breathe at all when it's on. It was scary. My lungs felt full of cotton and knives. We were not able to run it at all. It took three weeks to fix this. When someone finally came and spent four hours cleaning the air compressor, we could run it and I could breathe again.

During a good heavy rain, we discover the roof is leaking in the kitchen. It took about a week for LL to get someone here, he tells us he just "caulked it up".

While FIL was visiting he attempted to finally fix the dishwasher. This man can fix anything. He tells me the motor is corroded, the heating element is corroded, and the drainage tube was improperly installed. Somehow, I don't see this as my fault.
Also, the heating element was turning on at random, causing a fire hazard.

June:
The kitchen sink starts leaking. I have to keep a bucket under it whenever I wash dishes and dump it out frequently.

The LL was told about the state of the dishwasher and the leak in the sink last Thursday. He said he'll "take care of it". No word yet.

While we were getting ready to head out the door this morning, dh starts yelling from the garage. The hot water heater is letting loose all over the floor. There is water all over the floor. So now we have no water because we can't figure out how to turn the water off just to the hot water heater. Maybe you can't? We turned off the electricity to the garage because I'm afraid it will cause a fire.

It seems like there's more, but I can't remember right now.


What can we do? I think we need to move. It's too bad; I was just starting to feel at home here and there's lots of space for our family. Can we get our security deposit back up front so we can use it on a security deposit for a new house? Can we legally get out of this lease? How? Do we need a lawyer?

Unfortunately, we can't buy right now because we still own a house up north and no one is willing to give us a second mortgage.

ETA: We've been calling both the LL and PM all morning and neither one will answer their phone. So here we sit with no water and six little kids.

[ShaneSA]

It sounds like the LL has a house that needs to be totally refurbished. Not your problem. However, it also sounds like the LL is willing to deal with problems. He let you deduct costs that the PM said was your fault. It sounds like the PM is a bad one who isn't taking care of things the way he should.
At this point, I would call a plumber and get the water heater replaced. It sounds like it's a goner. Tell the LL you did this in an emergency. Inform him you attemted to contact the PM and the LL with no response. A water heater is an emergency and needs to be addressed within 24 hours. You can discuss by telephone with the LL about the water heater. Ask to deduct it from the rent.
As for getting out of the lease, IN WRITING, inform the LL of all the problems with the PM and the faulty systems in the house. Request to be let out of the lease due to unhabitable conditions for you and your children. Send the letter by cetified return receipt to have proof you notified the LL of your wish to vacate. Do not ask for anything exceot, be released from the lease.
If that doesn't work, you will have to get a lawyer to help you. I don't know Florida laws. A lawyer will.
The key is that major systems in the house are faulty and or dangerous. Also the tree is dangerous and needs to be addressed. It IS hurricane season.
Good luck with getting out. Let us know how things work out.

[virgode]

Habitability Checklist

http://www2.fiu.edu/~caj/landlordtenantinformation.htm
Taken directly from the above link

* Florida Statutes, Section 83.51, require a landlord to comply with the local
Property Maintenance Code. This means:

1. The roof must not leak.
2. The walls must be weather-tight, and in good repair.
3. The stairs must be safe for normal use and maintained in good repair.
4. Windows and doors must be basically weather-tight, water-tight, rodent-proof,
and kept in sound working condition. Outside doors have to have proper
locks.
5. Window panes cannot have cracks and holes. Outside windows must have
screens.
6. Inside floors, walls, ceilings must be basically rodent-proof and kept in sound
condition and good repair, and should be safe.
7. The house or apartment must have hot water, which is connected to the
kitchen and bathroom sinks, tub or shower.
8. All houses or apartments must have a flush toilet in good working condition.
9. When cooking and heating equipment are provided by the landlord, they must
be safely installed and in good working order.
10. There must be adequate garbage disposal facilities or garbage storage
containers.
11. Every habitable room must have at least two separate floor or wall electric
outlets and, additionally, every kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and hallway
must have a ceiling or wall-type fixture, or an outlet controlled by a wall
switch near the entrance to the room.
12. All electrical systems must be in good repair and good working order.


IF THE LANDLORD DOES NOT COMPLY


* If your landlord has failed to comply with the previous listed code responsibilities,
and has ignored your request to undo their unlawful action, you can contact The
Code Enforcement Branch of city or county in which you reside and
request that they contact your landlord and explain that their action is illegal and
violates your local code.

* If your landlord fails to do what the law or lease requires, you may be able to
withhold the rent. You must give notice of your intention by certified mail at
least seven days before the rent is due to allow time for the landlord to remedy
the problem. If the problem is not corrected within seven days and you withhold
the rent the landlord may take you to court to collect it. You must them pay the
rent into the court registry pending the judges determination of the case.

* Always call the Consumer Affairs Division in your city or county regarding your landlord/tenant rights before withholding rent!!!

[Maggi07]

Thank you both for your responses! We are trying to decide whether or not we should pursue breaking the lease. We both have perfect credit, and I'm not willing to ruin it if something doesn't work out with that.

We are talking it through and looking into our options further before we decide what we should do. Once we open our mouths to the LL, there's pretty much no going back. We've been joking that with all the repairs he's had to do since we've moved in it's going to be a pretty wonderful house for the next people!

Honestly, my biggest concern is a fire. So many things have gone wrong. I guess I wouldn't be shocked if the wiring was faulty. But we never trip circuits or anything, so maybe that's an unfounded fear.

I also discovered that the guy we have contact with is really young and not the actual owner of the house. He is the go between for his parents, because they don't speak English. So I feel kind of bad for him having to juggle all this at his age.

We did get a new water heater last Sunday night. It was an adventure, but it did happen. The guy who installed it told us the wires were exposed and a fire hazard, so it was a good thing it got replaced.