Unsafe neighborhood, How do I get out of my lease.

[ravenjinn]

What is the name of your state? Washington State

We have been the victims of two car thefts in one week and a retaliation occurance from the teen gang that is stealing the cars.

We put a 14 yr old in jail for stealing our car the first time, the second time we found our car and confronted the 17 yr old when he tried to take off int he car again, he got away but we recovered our car. 3 hours after recovering our car the 17 yr old stole another car came back to our residence and rammed to the side of our car sending it sideways 5' and jack knifing into the neighbors truck for retaliation. He was later arrested after a high speed chase with the police. A few months back there was a drive by shooting at our complex, a car break in on the street that enters our complex and a car that is all shot up in the area where the gang teens live and hang out. They live 4 blocks north and frequent our complex.

I'm afraid the gang will do more retaliation for putting two of their members in jail. They know what apartment we live in and both our cars and what we look like. Both kids that were arrested had long rap sheets and felony warrants for their arrest. They also had master keys to many cars and dead bolt locks. We do not feel safe living here anymore.

Can we terminate our lease do to this violance we are enduring?

Also there is a major leak in the walls that effects the downstairs tenants as well as our unit. The repair men came in and said the siding on the exterior wall would have to be riped out and possibly out cabinents and drywall to repair the leak and get rip of the mold which has been growing for years. they said this leak has been going on for many years. They came in over a month ago and the last I heard from the landlord is that she was waiting for a bid and would then determine what to do. Again that was over a month ago and I've heard no word. I was not the one to originally make the complaint it was the downstairs tenants that brought the leak to the landlords attention. I have several walls that are soft and wet from the leak however and a very bad stench of mold.

Thanks,
Raven

 

[JETX]

Can we terminate our lease do to this violance we are enduring?

Unless you can show that the landlord is somehow liable for these incidences or lied to you when you asked, no.

Also there is a major leak in the walls that effects the downstairs tenants as well as our unit. The repair men came in and said the siding on the exterior wall would have to be riped out and possibly out cabinents and drywall to repair the leak and get rip of the mold which has been growing for years. they said this leak has been going on for many years. They came in over a month ago and the last I heard from the landlord is that she was waiting for a bid and would then determine what to do. Again that was over a month ago and I've heard no word. I was not the one to originally make the complaint it was the downstairs tenants that brought the leak to the landlords attention. I have several walls that are soft and wet from the leak however and a very bad stench of mold.

Contact your local health or housing department and ask them to do a safety and health check.

 

[Hot Topic]

Sounds like you should have done some research before moving in. If you watch the evening news on your local television station, it's easy to note the areas that most crime occurs in, e.g., "There were two shootings in the XYZ today. That makes 5 shootings in the past month." Obviously, if you're going to move, you want to avoid the XYZ area. Conversely, you can find the areas that have the fewest instances of crime, and look for housing in those areas.

 

[FarmerJ]

So since both you and your LL know about the repairs and how extensive they could be then why dont you put on your sales mans hat and talk to your LL, Tell your LL you realise that this repair will be a huge mess in your unit to completely correct and maybe it would be better off for them to have your unit empty since you really dont want to live with your unit being torn up. Remind them that If they have the unit vacant they do not have to worry about damaging tenant personal property, they can schedule the repair work to be done with out any occupant complaints about mess. If they go for it then they need to give you a written early release letter , all it needs to say is that due to repairs that must be done you agreed to move out and they agree to cancel the lease with no penalty to you. Dont mention any of the problems related to the criminal activity , just focus on the benefit to them of having the unit empty while they work on it. IF they refuse then perhaps your best bet would be to become a PITA to local inspections desk if they wont condemn the unit. (If the LL wont let you out of the lease and the repairs are that extensive short term condemnation would be your best bet)

 

[johnd]

Sounds like you should have done some research before moving in.

Yes. You cannot hold the LL culpable for things out of his control. Can you, and should you move if your health or safety or peace of mind are at risk? Absolutely. Would you be in breach? Most probably. Whilst understandable, it is not excusable in the eyes of the law.

 

[onehotmom]

Talk to the landlord and see if theyll work out a deal.
Btut i have to ask. Didnt you see nay of this when you looked at the place.
How long have you lived there?

 

[ravenjinn]

We looked into the crime in the area and the city report doesn't specify the areas which are high crime, they generalize it to the entire city. We asked about drugs and crime and the LL said it was a very quiet neighborhood and had not had any reports of crimes. She'd only owned the units for a year or two. I have only lived in the complex for 9 months. The police told us that the area is actually high crime and has gotten worse since the gang moved into the area.

We could finish out our lease which is 3 more months, however when you can't sleep at night and are afraid what you will find (or not find) in the parking lot the next morning and are in fear for your safety you really don't want to spend another day at your apartment. We have started staying at friends homes because of this.

Why is there no law or way out for someone that is the victim of crimes other then Sexual assult, Stalking or Domestic violance? If this gang starts putting death threats on our cars could we then get out of our lease? There has to be some way to get out of your lease when you are the target of violent crimes.

 

[johnd]

There has to be some way to get out of your lease when you are the target of violent crimes.

Again, you cannot hold the LL culpable for things out of his control. Your beef is against the miscreants and criminals, not the LL. Understand?

 

[Searchertwin]

Wanting out of lease

Like the previous ones mention..the LL has no control of area, you should have checked out the area and to use the excuse of MOLD, well, I have trouble with that issue..seems for any reason if tenants don't want to stay they cry MOLD..I tell them to prove it..because 9 out of 10, you yourself contribute to mold by taking a hot shower...blah blah blah...a little bit of bleach and water, guess what! it cured!!!!! But in your case if it is from water leakage, the LL IS looking into the problem waiting for a good price to do the work, it could very well that a few weeks for just the right price to do the work, just because you say JUMP, don't mean she has to say how high! Best thing to do..BE TRUTHFUL ABOUT YOUR SITUATION...I would work with you on that aspect!