Note: I haven't moved forward with anything yet. For all I know this could work out nicely (my landlord has been nothing but polite and reasonable so far) and I wont have to do any hard work, but I'd rather have some back up knowledge just in case. I will be visiting the tenant board office probably tomorrow as well to speak to someone. I've only been here for a month, if that matters.
I have a VAGUE understanding of the tennant / landlord laws surrounding this. From what I read on the Board's website, I can end the lease early through an N11 form, as long as both parties are okay with the lease ending. I'm looking for advice about what to do if the landlord doesn't agree to end the lease, and has already made clear that subletting (and by extension assigning the lease) will not be allowed.
When I found the listing, it boasted of renovated and updated bathrooms, kitchen, and fully furnished common area, as well as laundry facilities onsite. The showers, bathrooms, and kitchen are shared, but that was not an issue and I knew I was signing into this. I do have a copy of this listing to back me up. At the first viewing, I was told by the landlord the renovations were projected to be finished 1 month in advance of the posted move-in date.
When I signed the lease approximately a week before I moved in, I also signed a form stating I was aware of (and okay with) frequent noise as these "renovated and updated" facilities were still under construction (I have a copy of this as well). What I wasn't told, is that there is currently a stop work order placed on the building, that had been there for more than a MONTH before I moved in; it had been there since the projected finish date. It still has not been lifted, and I have access only to a "temporary" kitchen - a hot plate, microwave, toaster oven, and a refrigerator which wasn't plugged in until recently - which does not contain a sink, so I do my dishes in the common bathroom sink (as this building used to be a club and the bathrooms have not actually been touched, you can imagine how gross that is), and there is only a small table that holds the appliances. The cookware provided is old and dented and honestly looks like it's been pulled out of a dumpster.
No contractors have come into the building since I have been living here, and no work has been done. It does not look like this is likely to change either, although I have no way of knowing as my landlord has only occupied her office maybe twice in the time that I have lived here, otherwise she is off-site and basically inaccessible in person.
The "furnished common area" does not exist (the roof in the room it was supposed to go in leaks and leaves literal lakes that take days to dry), nor does the "onsite laundry facility"; the washing machines and dryers are in a back hallway gathering dust.
As far as I can tell, all of this would fall under "interfered with my reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit", and "landlord has not properly maintained or repaired ... the residential complex".
The building also hasn't been re-zoned, and is still a commercial property - I know this because I received a commercial rental agreement that they would like me to sign and return. I'm hesitant to do this as I don't want to be more trapped than I already am. This also makes me wonder if it would exempt the building from the concern above, as it technically isn't a "residential" complex.
My apartment (a bachelor) also doesn't contain any ventilation aside from the small window (which doesn't have a screen, so I can't open it or I risk letting bugs in) - is this legal? It concerns me as it can get very cold in the winter where I live and I obviously wont have access to central heating, aside from the vent in the hallway, and I am not comfortable having to leave my door open to allow heat into my unit.
If you made it through all that, thank you for taking the time out of your day to help me!
Submitted May 26, 2017 at 09:22AM by ARatNamedClydeBarrow http://ift.tt/2rnodGT legaladvice
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