Can I legally break my lease? help!

[desspan]

PA
My lease rolled over for 1 yr. as of 1/1/2008. However, living in my apt. has become unbearable for the following reasons: my landlord was living in the apt. above us but moved down to the basement (no insulation in the bldg. at all) he leaves the property for 24hrs. at a time leaving his music blaring all through the day & night and if its not his music its his alarm clock, also, he is constantly fighting with his wife or someone else and yelling/screaming for hours at a time at least twice a week, he was sent to jail overnight for abusing his wife (we have had to listen to abuse several times its horrible) also this weekend we had to call the cops on him for trying to abuse her again in our driveway after several hours of yelling, so loud!!! Neighbors can back this up as well as police reports. I am 4 months pregnant and just can not take it anymore its totally stressing me out. How can we get out of this lease legally? (my lease is generic and does not specifically state anything concerning the right to quiet enjoyment, but I was hoping the laws enforce that right).

 

[Mollylaa]

Hi-

I don't know if this will help you or not, but I had a similar problem when i was living in Maryland. Under Maryland law, if the lease has an automatic renewal clause or rollover, both the landlord and the tenant have to initial or sign off on the CLAUSE ITSELF where it is written in the lease, to show both agreed to it. If that clause is not initialed they can not enforce the rollover and you are not legally in a lease since your original lease ended in January.

Again, this is under Maryland law and I'm not sure how things are in PA, but it's something you could look into.

Good luck!

 

[ecmst12]

Does your lease specifically contain an automatic renewal clause for another year?

 

[ktagseth]

lease

go google crazy--here is a start http://www.nwls.org/landlord.htm

read your lease inside and out and educate yourself about your state laws on landlords and tenants--note just because it is in your lease doesn't make it legal--read the statutes--know your rights and options

if you can't figure anything out yourself seek the advice of an attorney b/c you need to be as stress free as possible

Good luck

 

[ecmst12]

I am not aware of anything in PA law prohibiting auto-renewal clauses.