Can a landlord charge us a lease termination fee if we’re breaking the lease over a non-disclosed cockroach infestation?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a landlord charge us a lease termination fee if we’re breaking the lease over a non-disclosed cockroach infestation?
We have cockroaches in our new apartment. This was not disclosed to us prior to moving in. The landlords admitted to “bombing” the apartment prior to our move-in, however we’re still finding them and their bodies in the place. We have somewhere to move, but they’re trying to charge us half the lease termination fee, but we don’t feel that we should have to pay the termination fee when they failed to disclose the infestation and bombing to us. Do we have a leg to stand on?
Asked on July 3, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If the infestation is so bad as to render the property not fit for its intended purpose (e.g. residence) and the landlord refuses to (or cannot) correct the situation after written notice to fix it and reasonable opportunity to do so, then the infestation may breach the "implied warranty of habitability" and provide grounds to terminate the lease without penalty. Therefore, the situation could provide a legal basis for escaping the termination fee, but it depends on how severe the problem is, whether you provided the landlord notice of it, and whether he has failed to act after some reasonable oppotunity to do so following the notice.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.