QUESTION
Can I break my lease without penalty?
Asked on Nov 04th, 2016 on Landlord and Tenant Law - California
More details to this question:
I live in a smoke-free complex. My neighbor is smoking pot on a regular basis. I have made multiple complaints to the leasing office over the last 2 months. The only actions they have taken is to send out a letter reminding residents in my building of the smoke-free policy, and asking the neighbor if he is smoking pot, which of course, he denied. It is coming from his bathroom fan vent and blowing right into my apartment. The leasing office said they would come to see if they could do anything with the vent, but they never showed up. I have complained several times since then, and even asked why I didn't hear back from them. Now, they are non-responsive. I have been woken up from a dead sleep several times and have had to close my windows and doors at night due to the smoke / smell wafting into my home. Can I break my lease since the leasing office is not taking care of the problem? This is effecting my quality of life and peaceful enjoyment of my own home. I do not smoke and am very sensitive to smoke in general (makes me cough and dry heave / gag), and I asked before renting here due to that fact. They reassured me I would have no problems since it is a smoke-free campus. No smoking allowed of any kind anywhere on the premises.
2 ANSWERS
They have a duty to provide quiet enjoyment of your residence. Since they have made little effort to do so, they have breached the lease. ?First speak to the neighbor and tell him why his smoking bothers you and that you could successfully sue him. Then write an e-mail to the complex managers detailing your efforts, what they have done and not done, that they are in breach of the lease, and if it is not remedied by X date [2 weeks?], then you will leave as soon as you can move to a new place as they have constructively evicted you so you do not owe any rent when you move out and that there should be a refund of part of the rent you have been paying as the unit was worth less in rent they they lead you to believe. Unless your City has some type of eviction/rent control law, you likely can not collect for the cost of moving as you would have had to move sometime in the future anyway.
Answered on Dec 08th, 2016 at 5:14 PM
If you break your lease and they come after you for damages you need to be able to prove that smoke is wafting into your area. This will be difficult to prove absent the neighbor making an admission.
Answered on Dec 08th, 2016 at 5:14 PM