can i fight a lease termination fee?

[fjguy]

What is the name of your state? California

Hello. I moved into an apartment and signed a lease for a year. They gave us the first month free as a promotion.

Ever since moving in, we had the following problems

1) needed to get both toilets fixed because it wasn't flushing everything the first time. Seems like they have a really bad tank because it seems to use about 3 gallons of water to flush.. anyway they fixed this by replacing some kinda rubber

2) the faucet in the sink took a lot of effort to move around. after complaining they found the faucet to be broken, so they fixed it

3) the screens on windows were popped out, we complained and they fixed this

4) this is a three storey apartment, and we got the middle floor. The people upstairs smoke and drop the butts on their balcony which falls through the cracks onto our balcony, not to mention the ashes also fell through on our patio

5) the door seemed to have been painted with a thick layer of paint, and it would stick to the rubber overnight, so required a lot of force to open. We complained to them about 6 times.. they would fix it and the problem would come back. evnetually they removed the rubber padding which fixed the door sticking issue, but left a big gap for air to pass through, which left the apartment very cold. i complained and they put the rubber back. now the sticking of the door problem is back, and worse the rubber is falling off.

6) we get 1 assigned parking, and got an additional one by paying $40 a month extra. One day i go to my car (additional parking spot) and there is a note that i have parked ina reserved spot and they will tow my car if i don't move it. I go to the office, and they have no record of giving the spot to me (even though they gave me a sticker with the extra spot number) so i tell them i have been paying for the spot for 3 months, and sure enough they can see the additional amount in my rent so they issue me a new recipt for the spot

anyway now i need to get out of that place because it just seems like it's more of a problem and every day i go back i see the same old issue with the palce. The contract says that I have to pay a termination fee which equals the same amount as one months rent.

Can i legally fight that because they have failed to provide me with the services and courtesy i deserve as a tenant. I pay my bill on time, keep the apartment nice and clean so i've done my part in keeping up with the contract but i think they've failed to provide the same.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? California

Hello. I moved into an apartment and signed a lease for a year. They gave us the first month free as a promotion.

Ever since moving in, we had the following problems

1) needed to get both toilets fixed because it wasn't flushing everything the first time. Seems like they have a really bad tank because it seems to use about 3 gallons of water to flush.. anyway they fixed this by replacing some kinda rubber

2) the faucet in the sink took a lot of effort to move around. after complaining they found the faucet to be broken, so they fixed it

3) the screens on windows were popped out, we complained and they fixed this

4) this is a three storey apartment, and we got the middle floor. The people upstairs smoke and drop the butts on their balcony which falls through the cracks onto our balcony, not to mention the ashes also fell through on our patio

5) the door seemed to have been painted with a thick layer of paint, and it would stick to the rubber overnight, so required a lot of force to open. We complained to them about 6 times.. they would fix it and the problem would come back. evnetually they removed the rubber padding which fixed the door sticking issue, but left a big gap for air to pass through, which left the apartment very cold. i complained and they put the rubber back. now the sticking of the door problem is back, and worse the rubber is falling off.

6) we get 1 assigned parking, and got an additional one by paying $40 a month extra. One day i go to my car (additional parking spot) and there is a note that i have parked ina reserved spot and they will tow my car if i don't move it. I go to the office, and they have no record of giving the spot to me (even though they gave me a sticker with the extra spot number) so i tell them i have been paying for the spot for 3 months, and sure enough they can see the additional amount in my rent so they issue me a new recipt for the spot

anyway now i need to get out of that place because it just seems like it's more of a problem and every day i go back i see the same old issue with the palce. The contract says that I have to pay a termination fee which equals the same amount as one months rent.

Can i legally fight that because they have failed to provide me with the services and courtesy i deserve as a tenant. I pay my bill on time, keep the apartment nice and clean so i've done my part in keeping up with the contract but i think they've failed to provide the same.

**A: yes, you can legally fight it and you can also legally lose too.

 

[TaxiDriver]

The contract says that I have to pay a termination fee which equals the same amount as one months rent.

Can i legally fight that because they have failed to provide me with the services and courtesy i deserve as a tenant. I pay my bill on time, keep the apartment nice and clean so i've done my part in keeping up with the contract but i think they've failed to provide the same.

hey bud i don't think your story has the effect that you think it does. your post illustrates a landlord that has made a decent stab at correcting every problem you've had. one month's rent as a termination fee is a pretty good deal.

 

[PghREA]

What is the name of your state? California

Hello. I moved into an apartment and signed a lease for a year. They gave us the first month free as a promotion.

Ever since moving in, we had the following problems

1) needed to get both toilets fixed because it wasn't flushing everything the first time. Seems like they have a really bad tank because it seems to use about 3 gallons of water to flush.. anyway they fixed this by replacing some kinda rubber

2) the faucet in the sink took a lot of effort to move around. after complaining they found the faucet to be broken, so they fixed it

3) the screens on windows were popped out, we complained and they fixed this

4) this is a three storey apartment, and we got the middle floor. The people upstairs smoke and drop the butts on their balcony which falls through the cracks onto our balcony, not to mention the ashes also fell through on our patio

5) the door seemed to have been painted with a thick layer of paint, and it would stick to the rubber overnight, so required a lot of force to open. We complained to them about 6 times.. they would fix it and the problem would come back. evnetually they removed the rubber padding which fixed the door sticking issue, but left a big gap for air to pass through, which left the apartment very cold. i complained and they put the rubber back. now the sticking of the door problem is back, and worse the rubber is falling off.

6) we get 1 assigned parking, and got an additional one by paying $40 a month extra. One day i go to my car (additional parking spot) and there is a note that i have parked ina reserved spot and they will tow my car if i don't move it. I go to the office, and they have no record of giving the spot to me (even though they gave me a sticker with the extra spot number) so i tell them i have been paying for the spot for 3 months, and sure enough they can see the additional amount in my rent so they issue me a new recipt for the spot

anyway now i need to get out of that place because it just seems like it's more of a problem and every day i go back i see the same old issue with the palce. The contract says that I have to pay a termination fee which equals the same amount as one months rent.

Can i legally fight that because they have failed to provide me with the services and courtesy i deserve as a tenant. I pay my bill on time, keep the apartment nice and clean so i've done my part in keeping up with the contract but i think they've failed to provide the same.[/QUOTE]

I disagree with this statement you made. They have fixed every problem you had. There is not much they can do about your front door but, they did try. Your upstairs neighbors need to use an ashtray for their cigarettes. The landlord can't do much about that but, you could buy one and give it to your neighbors. The extra parking spot was an error on their part which they corrected. They gave you the first month's rent free and they are only charging you 1 month's rent for early termination of the lease. (Most places charge you for the full year unless the landlord rents it out again.) I think they have treated you courteously. Take some time and read some of the other complaints on this forum.

 

[south]

You Sir are a nut........ That is all I have to say

What is the name of your state? California

Hello. I moved into an apartment and signed a lease for a year. They gave us the first month free as a promotion.

Ever since moving in, we had the following problems

1) needed to get both toilets fixed because it wasn't flushing everything the first time. Seems like they have a really bad tank because it seems to use about 3 gallons of water to flush.. anyway they fixed this by replacing some kinda rubber

2) the faucet in the sink took a lot of effort to move around. after complaining they found the faucet to be broken, so they fixed it

3) the screens on windows were popped out, we complained and they fixed this

4) this is a three storey apartment, and we got the middle floor. The people upstairs smoke and drop the butts on their balcony which falls through the cracks onto our balcony, not to mention the ashes also fell through on our patio

5) the door seemed to have been painted with a thick layer of paint, and it would stick to the rubber overnight, so required a lot of force to open. We complained to them about 6 times.. they would fix it and the problem would come back. evnetually they removed the rubber padding which fixed the door sticking issue, but left a big gap for air to pass through, which left the apartment very cold. i complained and they put the rubber back. now the sticking of the door problem is back, and worse the rubber is falling off.

6) we get 1 assigned parking, and got an additional one by paying $40 a month extra. One day i go to my car (additional parking spot) and there is a note that i have parked ina reserved spot and they will tow my car if i don't move it. I go to the office, and they have no record of giving the spot to me (even though they gave me a sticker with the extra spot number) so i tell them i have been paying for the spot for 3 months, and sure enough they can see the additional amount in my rent so they issue me a new recipt for the spot

anyway now i need to get out of that place because it just seems like it's more of a problem and every day i go back i see the same old issue with the palce. The contract says that I have to pay a termination fee which equals the same amount as one months rent.

Can i legally fight that because they have failed to provide me with the services and courtesy i deserve as a tenant. I pay my bill on time, keep the apartment nice and clean so i've done my part in keeping up with the contract but i think they've failed to provide the same.