Board of Health

[blood_run_grim]

Repairs to apartment

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MA
I just have a question about a lease. If the board of health finds that your apartment needs repairing, extermination, etc and that means that the landlord will have to do repairs while you are living there. Does the tenant have the right to move even if the lease is not up? I read that the lease can be considered broken if you do not want to stick around while they do the repairs. I found this in the Massachusetts Tenant Handbook, but if was not from an official site, so I just wanted to make sure that it was true.

Amongst many other problems we have found carpenter ants in our apartment, and who knows how long they have been in the building.

Thanks ahead of time for any good advice.

 

[Hot Topic]

In order to destroy all of the ants, drilling will have to be done in order to locate their nests, which could end up being outside the building.

Have you notified the landlord in a letter sent via certified mail, return receipt requested about the problems?

 

[blood_run_grim]

My main question is if the apartment does need repairs, can we consider our lease broken like it says in the handbook?

 

[Ctryder]

Here's the thing... we have found so many issues with this place, that we try to cover only a few at a time with the landlord, or he will just completely ignore us. I had posted earlier about my asthma and the smoke in the building. Upon further investigation, I found the list of requirements for habitable living, and it seems that I was very unaware of how many things are most likely in violation here. Only one of the problems is the carpenter ants. I had only talked to the landlord about the carpeting and the smoke and he didn't really seem to care. He wasn't willing to do anything. So I called the board of health and they offered to come out and inspect the place. It was after that, that I found the list of habitable living requirements. I am however sending out a nice letter tomorrow (certified mail) but not in regard to the ants. My main question is if the apartment does need repairs, can we consider our lease broken like it says in the handbook?

Sounds like to me you just want out of the place....repairs does not give you an excuse to ..talk to LL and be truthful about wanting out of lease....

 

[Hot Topic]

{Quote}...and it seems that I was very unaware of how many things are most likely in violation here.{Unquote}

Without a written report from the health department, the above is speculation on your part and therefore not grounds to break your lease.

Have you also contacted the city building inspector? You're going to have to have a lot of ammunition in order to break your lease without penalty, and you're going to have to prove that you notified the landlord of the problems. Without a paper trail, it's your word against his.

 

[PenelopeWaters]

"...So I called the board of health and they offered to come out and inspect the place. ..."
So what, exactly, did the board of health say?
The place needs to be pretty bad to be uninhabitable: no bathroom, no electric, no heat, no water; very dusty is not going to do it. In that instance, THE HEALTH INSPECTOR TELLS YOU that you may have 24 hours or less to get out. There are a series of steps that have to be followed, which can include written notice to the LL and they then have 30 days to fix the issues. If you don't follow them, you will look like someone who simply didn't want to keep their word in court.

I think you need an objective, qualified person's perspective on the habitability situation to know exactly where you stand, if you haven't had an inspector in yet. EVERY PLACE is going to need repairs, we moved into a house WE BUILT when I was growing up and it had problems from day one. Being upset that a place needs repairs alone is not a reasonable position to take. I'm not saying that is or is not YOUR case, just that that alone is not a reasonable position to take.

You may find it more effective to try to work WITH your LL than against him/her. I'm also a believer in: if you can resolve it yourself, JUST DO IT. Will a carpet shampooer help? Will crying about how it should have been done by the LL make you happier than just doing it & being able to breathe, sleep & think about better things? Maybe the LL SHOULD address your laundry list of things to do. Will you be happier waiting for them to do so or can you pick off the small things yourself? Perfect is not arriving. It will still be ok.