Question about breaking a lease...

[Barbossa]

If your situation is unlivable and you need to break the lease, do some research on the ramifications of doing this in your state. Nolo Press is a good resource. I was in an unlivable situation years ago, I found out that in California a plaintiff in a lawsuit has an obligation to mitigate his/her damages. Thus, if a tenant breaks a lease, the landlord is obligated to try to find a new tenant immediately (and thus minimizing his losses). The person who breaks the lease is only liable for rent that wasn't collected during the "dead period" between occupants. In my case, my landlord did nothing because he wasn't planning on finding a new tenant anyway. This is a last resort, but a good thing to know in case you really need to vacate.

 

[Cool-Beans]

There seems to be a lot of people who woke up on the wrong side of the bed today...

Didn't wake up on the wrong side of anything. You just have to suck it up. It isn't your landlord's fault that it didn't occur to you that the bars would be noisy. It's your own fault and on that count, you have to lie in the bed you made.

I'll give you a tip toward your next place. Airports are noisy, too. You might think that everyone knows that, but Dennis! Kucinich doesn't - he's spending nearly a MILLION dollars ($880,000 I think is the number) to investigate this.

I guess there are a lot of people who don't know that bars, airports, etc. make noise. So, in the event that you didn't know about airports, either, you do now.

 

[MainStMandy]

It continues to amaze me the rudeness of people. I appreciate everyone advice and opinions on the matter...and I guess I apologize for not being "smart" enough to know it's not the landlords responsibilty. That apparently is reason enough for snarky comments instead of just answering my question. Apparently on the dis, all answers are required to come with the Diser's personal attitdue and commentary.
I'm not stupid enough to think there would be NO noise, I'm just suprised that it is occuring so frequently and on what I would consider OFF nights. The city i live is not that HUGE and it suprised me that bars would be so busy on a Sunday night...

 

[Barbossa]

You just have to suck it up.

Not necessarily, see my previous post. (And lest anyone think I'm a bleeding heart for tenants, I'm actually a landlord. Landlords don't like leases for the reason I explained in that post.)

 

[mirmartinez]

It continues to amaze me the rudeness of people. I appreciate everyone advice and opinions on the matter...and I guess I apologize for not being "smart" enough to know it's not the landlords responsibilty. That apparently is reason enough for snarky comments instead of just answering my question. Apparently on the dis, all answers are required to come with the Diser's personal attitdue and commentary.
I'm not stupid enough to think there would be NO noise, I'm just suprised that it is occuring so frequently and on what I would consider OFF nights. The city i live is not that HUGE and it suprised me that bars would be so busy on a Sunday night...

Football games could the reason for a populated bar on sunday.
We rented a house next to a bar (pre-family), we just used fans to block out any disruptive noise.
The plus side is take out

 

[Ilovemylife]

It continues to amaze me the rudeness of people. I appreciate everyone advice and opinions on the matter...and I guess I apologize for not being "smart" enough to know it's not the landlords responsibilty. That apparently is reason enough for snarky comments instead of just answering my question. Apparently on the dis, all answers are required to come with the Diser's personal attitdue and commentary.
I'm not stupid enough to think there would be NO noise, I'm just suprised that it is occuring so frequently and on what I would consider OFF nights. The city i live is not that HUGE and it suprised me that bars would be so busy on a Sunday night...

Being honest isn't being rude. As a grown woman, you should know that living near a bar, noise would be an issue.

It isn't a reason for a landlord to break your lease, as they have no control over external noise.

If you want to just move in with your boyfriend, why don't you just say that?

Being coy about it doesn't change anything.

 

[KAMLEM]

Thank you. I have been thinking about that as I wasn't sure how seriously my emails would be taken. That is why I was keeping the read reciepts too so the landlord can't say they didn't get it. She responds to MOST of my emails but has ignored one or two.

I may be mistaken, but I don't think that Belle meant your emails may not be taken seriously, I think she was saying that they may not stand up in court as a valid form of communication. Emails and read receipts can easily be typed up by anyone, they are not proof of anything. If you send something through the US mail and require a signature, that's real proof.

 

[missj1975]

It continues to amaze me the rudeness of people. I appreciate everyone advice and opinions on the matter...and I guess I apologize for not being "smart" enough to know it's not the landlords responsibilty. That apparently is reason enough for snarky comments instead of just answering my question. Apparently on the dis, all answers are required to come with the Diser's personal attitdue and commentary.
I'm not stupid enough to think there would be NO noise, I'm just suprised that it is occuring so frequently and on what I would consider OFF nights. The city i live is not that HUGE and it suprised me that bars would be so busy on a Sunday night...

It continues to amaze me that you think people are being rude to you. Trust me I have read plenty of rude threads on the disboards and no one is being rude, just saying their opinions (which you asked for). Develop thicker skin and buy a fan.

You say there are other reasons that you want to break the lease but since you didn't really describe anything but the noise level, what else are we suppose to comment on?

 

[perla75]

Being honest isn't being rude. As a grown woman, you should know that living near a bar, noise would be an issue.

It isn't a reason for a landlord to break your lease, as they have no control over external noise.

If you want to just move in with your boyfriend, why don't you just say that?

Being coy about it doesn't change anything.

Well, if that's the case, why don't you just ask your boyfriend to move in with you? Then you wouldn't have to break the lease, but you might need to find out from your landlord if that is allowed. Sometimes landlords only allow a certain # of people to live there and might raise the rent for an additional person.

 

[MainStMandy]

Football games could the reason for a populated bar on sunday.
We rented a house next to a bar (pre-family), we just used fans to block out any disruptive noise.
The plus side is take out

I wish football was the reason...about 2 months ago Karoke started on Sunday nights It might not be so bad if they could sing in tune

Being honest isn't being rude. As a grown woman, you should know that living near a bar, noise would be an issue.

It isn't a reason for a landlord to break your lease, as they have no control over external noise.

If you want to just move in with your boyfriend, why don't you just say that?

Being coy about it doesn't change anything.

First of all, I have said several times it's that I didn't expect noise...I didn't expect noise ALL THE TIME. It doesn't bother me on Friday and Saturdays. I didn't know what the landlord had to release as info when renting an aparment. I obviously know there will be noise, but this is excessive. This has NOTHING to do with moving in with my boyfriend, and I can assure you I am anything but coy. This has to do with me feeling like I am not getting what I pay for. I am VERY clear now that the noise issue is my own and not my landlords, I will keep documenting other problems I have and play it by ear...and like I mentioned I may look into subletting if I hate it that much.

I may be mistaken, but I don't think that Belle meant your emails may not be taken seriously, I think she was saying that they may not stand up in court as a valid form of communication. Emails and read receipts can easily be typed up by anyone, they are not proof of anything. If you send something through the US mail and require a signature, that's real proof.

Thanks...I know that's what she meant, I guess I didn't mean taken seriously but not a viable source in court...if I were to ever go that route. What I was thinking is not taking it that far and dealing directly with the landlord stating that I have previously emailed them several times. If that is out of the question, subletting would be my next route. I am aware that I may not have any choice but to finish my lease, although that is not my preference.

It's hard to sign a year lease somewhere you don't know if you will like...I think that goes no matter where the apartment is located. Luckily I had a VERY small security deposit

 

[perla75]

I wish football was the reason...about 2 months ago Karoke started on Sunday nights It might not be so bad if they could sing in tune


First of all, I have said several times it's that I didn't expect noise...I didn't expect noise ALL THE TIME. It doesn't bother me on Friday and Saturdays. I didn't know what the landlord had to release as info when renting an aparment. I obviously know there will be noise, but this is excessive. This has NOTHING to do with moving in with my boyfriend, and I can assure you I am anything but coy. This has to do with me feeling like I am not getting what I pay for. I am VERY clear now that the noise issue is my own and not my landlords, I will keep documenting other problems I have and play it by ear...and like I mentioned I may look into subletting if I hate it that much.



Thanks...I know that's what she meant, I guess I didn't mean taken seriously but not a viable source in court...if I were to ever go that route. What I was thinking is not taking it that far and dealing directly with the landlord stating that I have previously emailed them several times. If that is out of the question, subletting would be my next route. I am aware that I may not have any choice but to finish my lease, although that is not my preference.

It's hard to sign a year lease somewhere you don't know if you will like...I think that goes no matter where the apartment is located. Luckily I had a VERY small security deposit

What were your other apartment-related issues by the way?

 

[MainStMandy]

It continues to amaze me that you think people are being rude to you. Trust me I have read plenty of rude threads on the disboards and no one is being rude, just saying their opinions (which you asked for). Develop thicker skin and buy a fan.

You say there are other reasons that you want to break the lease but since you didn't really describe anything but the noise level, what else are we suppose to comment on?

I do think people are being rude...I asked a simple question and people act like I am dumb for asking. There is no reason to take to other's that way

And this thread wasn't about my other issues, the question had to do with the noise and that was VERY well answered.

Well, if that's the case, why don't you just ask your boyfriend to move in with you? Then you wouldn't have to break the lease, but you might need to find out from your landlord if that is allowed. Sometimes landlords only allow a certain # of people to live there and might raise the rent for an additional person.

Again, it doesn't have anything to do with my boyfriend. That may be were I end up if I move out but it is NOT the source. This apartment was not a good fit and yes unfortunately I may have to just wait it out, but I am currently exploring all my options.

 

[perla75]

I do think people are being rude...I asked a simple question and people act like I am dumb for asking. There is no reason to take to other's that way

And this thread wasn't about my other issues, the question had to do with the noise and that was VERY well answered.




Again, it doesn't have anything to do with my boyfriend. That may be were I end up if I move out but it is NOT the source. This apartment was not a good fit and yes unfortunately I may have to just wait it out, but I am currently exploring all my options.

Sorry, didn't realize your thread didn't have anything to do with your other apt issues-someone may have been able to help you get out of there quicker for other reasons.

You have to be careful when you are apartment shopping. Landlords aren't always (and aren't required by law) forthcoming about the neighborhood you are going to be sharing & it's good to do that investigation on your own before making a commitment. Landlords will often leave out undesirable info like that, because they want to rent the place.

 

[maccagerl]

If you have other, valid reasons for breaking your lease, I'm not sure why you would need to use the "noise factor" to do so.
What is it that you paid for according to your lease but aren't getting?
Perhaps if you shared what the real problems are , you would get more relevant help here?

 

[GoodFairies]

If you no longer want to live there, just pay whatever amount you agreed in your rental agreement to break the lease. It is not that difficult. Are you trying to get out of it for free or something? That isn't going to happen given the nature of the complaints listed in your OP.

 

[chrisw127]

I broke a lease when I was in undergrad and even managed to get my security deposit back, but there were some pretty valid issues. What are your other reasons for wanting to get out of the lease? How large is the apartment complex?

 

[KAMLEM]

It's hard to sign a year lease somewhere you don't know if you will like...I think that goes no matter where the apartment is located. Luckily I had a VERY small security deposit

What does the security deposit have to do with it? If you break your lease you will owe much more than your security deposit, you will have to pay the full lease unless you find someone to sublet. The purpose of the security deposit is to cover any damage you do to the apartment.