Apartment Lease Help

Question

Hi I need help with something.

I am renting an appartment with my boyfriend. The place was fine before but has all off a sudden become very unsafe. The cops are around here every night, we had people follow us home when walking our dogs last night, and the setting is not secure. The lease is for a townhome and the landlords only lease 3 apartments. They are very unprofessional and the contract has my BF's last name spelled wrong. He has called them to tell them his problems. They wont answer the phones or get back to him. I need to know how to proceed. Does the place have a right to be safe if we are paying rent? Do they have a duty to make it safe? What are my legal and personal action options?

Thanks

Answer 1

This is tough.  You needed to do your homework in advance, then move in.  The law doesn't help you as much when you get surprised later.  Gunshots are the only thing that would get you immediately released by a judge.  You would videotape the gunfire happening (from a distance). Anything else is not enuf to get you out.  

You could offer to pay a fee to the landlord.  But he is not returning your calls now, so that won't work.  THe misspelling of the last name means nothing. Either he signed the lease or he didn't. He did.

In all future leases, i want you to handwrite a "lease-break" fee into the lease.  You will pay ___ and be immediately released.  If the landlord refuses, you are put on notice that you can not get out if you are unhappy. /

Answer 2

They have a duty to provide normal, safe exterior doors, working outside light fixtures (you provide bulbs), but it ends there. Unless they do specific acts which create specific unsafe conditions (refusing to evict hookers and drug dealers or posting signs saying "junkies welcome") they are in the clear.

What specifically do you expect them to do?

The lease is valid and if you want out check for an "early termination" clause or simply negotiate the termination (expect to pay a month or two penalty).

Your option is to join/form a neighborhood watch organization and get all the neighbors involved in anti-crime activities.

Answer 3

The local police department is in charge of "safe" your landlord has nothing to do with this.

You can't get out of a lease because of it, if that is what you are thinking.

The landlord is not returning more phone calls from you because there is nothing he can do.    Are you expecting walls and armed security guards?   If that is what you want you CAN have that, you just need to lease a place that has it already, you can't demand changes after you move in.