landlord/lease

[terminatedone]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

can i get out of a lease if the local county that i live in state that the house we rent is not habitable? meaning it is required by the local county law (as well as the state of PA) that all rooms are to have heat. one room in the house does not have heat cause landlord said the pipes leaked so never fixed it. also there are holes in the wall which are in violation of local county law. now there are holes in the roof (thankgoodness no water in the house yet). also the only window in the kitchen is sealed shut and local county law indicates it should be able to be opened for ventilation (esp in kitchen). landlord has not taken care of property or did any updates or fixes to the property for 3 years. all the landlord is worried about is getting his money and that his bushes are trimmed back out front of the house. also, landlord was to get a permit and license to be a landlord in the county and never did this and is getting fined for it. can i sue landlord for not having this place up to code and rented it to us knowing that there were problems with the property? or can i just break my lease and get out?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Contact Code Enforcement regarding the holes in the roof, etc. issues for documentation as to why you are moving out.

Gail

 

[Searchertwin]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA


If the LL is being fine, than I would assume that the county knows the house. And he would be fine on the condition of the house at the same time. Something tells me that you just want out and using things like this to find a way.
Did you send a letter to LL asking for the pipe to be fixed so to get heat? How does holes in wall be in violation of county law? Was the walls like that when you rented it? If so, you accepted it. Did you send a letter to LL to fix the holes? Did you send letter to LL about holes in roof? How do you know there are holes if water doesn't come through? Did you send letter about window being shut to LL?
LL does not have to update property to suit you. And how long in between time to update is no concern of yours. LL is so worry about getting his money is like you worry about getting your paycheck. What is the difference? And if he worried about bushes in front to be taken care of, seems like he takes pride in the appearance of the place.
Can you sue LL for what? He is paying his fines. You never told him about the repairs nor gave him the chance to fix the repairs.
Can you break lease? Yes. Can LL sue for breaking your lease? Yes

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

can i get out of a lease if the local county that i live in state that the house we rent is not habitable?

**A: yes, if the landlord agrees or by court order.


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meaning it is required by the local county law (as well as the state of PA) that all rooms are to have heat. one room in the house does not have heat cause landlord said the pipes leaked so never fixed it. also there are holes in the wall which are in violation of local county law. now there are holes in the roof (thankgoodness no water in the house yet). also the only window in the kitchen is sealed shut and local county law indicates it should be able to be opened for ventilation (esp in kitchen). landlord has not taken care of property or did any updates or fixes to the property for 3 years. all the landlord is worried about is getting his money and that his bushes are trimmed back out front of the house. also, landlord was to get a permit and license to be a landlord in the county and never did this and is getting fined for it. can i sue landlord for not having this place up to code and rented it to us knowing that there were problems with the property?



**A: yes you can sue the landlord.

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or can i just break my lease and get out?

**A: no, read my first response.

 

[FarmerJ]

If a city / county agency condemns the home saying no one can live in it until specific corrections are made wich are code violations make sure you get a copy of the order for your own records and yes you can sue a LL if the condemn orders last day permitting your occupancy falls after you have paid for a month , EG: you paid aug rent on time like normal and inspections condemned house today giving you 72 hours to vacate and the last day you can live there is tuesday the 19 you can sue for the days of rent in aug you paid for but could not use to be refunded to you and it doesnt hurt to learn if your states laws speed up the return of damage deposits when a property is condemned.

 

[terminatedone]

i was cleaning the gutters (which is not my responsibility) but when up on the ladder you can see holes in the roof. i have let the landlord know of all the issues and you know what was the response?! well, i dont have the money at the time so i have to wait until something happens and my homeowners will take over. what kind of response is that? and yes there is county-local township that has these requirements.

no i dont just want out. i have told the LL for some time to fix problems and then people show up to give estimates and then never hear anything from the LL.

here under chapter 104......and LL has violated township law


eCode360

 

[FarmerJ]

Term stop telling the LL put it into writting sent via certified mail so you have a provable paper trail that you have complained. If your really not ready to move all you can do is learn what the housing code is , document violations with pics and keep them as part of your own records so in the end you would have proofs re the units condition if there is a deposit dispute. It is really up to you if your willing to live with the homes condition for now ( as in not calling inspections) and just waiting it out sending proper notice to vacate in certified mail far enough ahead of a lease renewal that LL has proper notice ( if you have a written lease review it) theres allways the chance that you wont have to call inspections your self, they might just show up some day or be driving by , note the homes condition, look up owner records and if a rental lic is required and one not on file. That sort of thing sometimes does happen where city inspections discover things them self and investigate. If that happens and they show up they will have proper city Id.