Can I sue my former landlord/management company for losses for having to move due to unsafe living conditions?
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Can I sue my former landlord/management company for losses for having to move due to unsafe living conditions?
A llandlord that rented me a inhabitable home. I have pictures to back me up. I leased it on-line. Moved from out-of-state. They let me out of the lease. Returned my money. Within 2 days I was out. My elderly father and grandchildren were with me. We had to stay at a hotel for 10 days and have endured many expenses. Not to mention the emotional distress we went through. Can I sue to recoup my losses and extra for distress? This was an awful experience for all of us.
Asked on October 3, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Alaska
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
It is possible that you could recover your out-of-pocket expenses--such as costs from the additional move, the hotel fees, etc.--from the landord, due to his violation of the implied warranty of habitability, possible violation of the lease, and--depending on how he represented the place prior to your renting it--fraud.
However, you would not be able to recover for your emotional distress in a case like this. The courts only allow recovery for emotional distress in very rare circumstances, such as involving being an accident, in the "impact zone," and seeing a loved one killed, or having someone (like a stalker) go out of his or her way to deliberately inflict emotional distress. An uninhabitable home does not rise to those levels.
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