You may have noticed a clause in your lease agreement which talks about your right to “quiet enjoyment.” What this means is that the landlord will act in such a manner that no one can come in and displace you from the rented premises during the time that you are paying the rent there.
But if the landlord does not have the place up to code, and you call the code inspector and the code inspector cites the landlord for several violations, the landlord will have to bring the place up to code. If the landlord does not bring the place up to code, the the code inspector could post a 24 hour notice to vacate upon the rented premises, and then have you and your things tossed out the next day. If this happens, this would be a breach of the “quiet enjoyment” clause of the lease agreement on the part of the landlord.
Once you can show that the landlord has breached the lease agreement, then this absolves you of the duty to pay further rent on the lease.
So calling the code inspector may be one way to get out of your lease, but you should be warned that it might happen sooner (24 hours) than you think. So be ready to go if you summon the code inspector out to your place.
You Should Also Check Out This Post:
- Early Lease Termination
- ReRenting after Breaking a Lease
- Landlord's Bad Faith and Ability to Break Lease
- Trying to break your lease - obtain ammunition first.
- Constructive Eviction Weakened by Continued Tenancy
Hi, I have tenants that floded my rental. There was a sewer blockage & the tenants were told to shut off the water. The female residint continued doing laundry & dishes despite water flowing out from under the wall next to the machine. (She did turn off the water at the toilet.) The plumber did come out & clear the line by pushing through what was thought to be TP, But at some point 3 rooms of carpet & lots of walls were wet. $8500 damage not including emergency clean up & sanitization. Licensed clean up & contractos were on the jor restoring immediately. How does this look like constructive eviction? The tenants filed a small claims case within 6 days of the damage while the repairs were being done?