TL;DR: I signed a lease for an apartment complex that moved me into an incomplete apartment, and after over three days, they still haven't resolved any of my issues. Is this reason enough to void/break the lease so that I can leave, or am I stuck here?
I've signed a 12-month lease for a new apartment in Huntsville, AL, where I'll be starting a new job soon. My move in date was last Thursday, June 15, and so far, moving in has been anything but smooth.
So I was out of the country while trying to apartment hunt with my aunt's help back in the US and wasn't able to visit the apartment complex in person to check it out. Had I done so, I highly doubt I would have applied and especially if they had showed me the apartment that I would be moving into.
I had been emailing the Assistant Property Manager with questions, and in an informational email that he sent to both me and my Aunt, he added everything that would be included in my apartment:
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updated flooring, paint, cabinetry, counter tops, and appliances
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washer and dryer
Everything sounded great, so I applied and provided all of the required documentation. I then had to have money orders sent to them to pay for the application and admin fee ($95), deposit ($200), and move in prorate ($271.65). After they finally received them (and acknowledged receiving them, three days after the tracking information marked them as delivered), I received my start date - June 15, 2017.
Well, I returned to the States on June 13, finished packing my stuff, and got an email from the apartment complex the next day stating that my move in time was at 4:00 pm. I wasn't too happy about this since I had planned to be there as early as possible, it was a six hour drive from where I was, and I had already scheduled a internet installation from 3:00 - 5:00 pm (which ended up getting cancelled anyways.)
June 15 arrives, I've got everything in my car, and I'm headed to Huntsville. I get to the complex a few minutes after 4:00 pm where they told me that they were still performing maintenance and would have to wait. After leaving and coming back about 45 minutes later, they were still performing maintenance, but I was allowed to go ahead and start moving stuff in. The maintenance guy explained that he was still doing a few things in the apartment including fixing the broken oven door. Not long after I arrived though, he left and hasn't returned since.
So I've been here for over three days now, and these are the things that are still wrong with the apartment (all of which has been noted on the move in condition form or through email with the aforementioned assistant property manager):
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broken oven door (in fact, the whole stove/oven unit doesn't work or isn't plugged in)
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incomplete tub faucet and tile work
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paint on everything. When they repainted, they just painted over everything on the walls - outlets, light switches, vents, and even the breaker box which I can't even open now because it's basically glued shut from the paint over the latch and door frame
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missing closet door
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several dead bulbs
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refrigerator: disconnected water line, missing door shelf, and dead bulb
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missing light switch cover (with some exposed wire, some painted over..)
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poorly built drawers that dislocate from rails
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one expired fire extinguisher out of two
Note: the assistant property manager walked through the apartment with me as I pointed out everything wrong with it, so they definitely know about all of this.
As the icing on the cake, I was also without a front door key the first night because they gave me the wrong key and they already closed by the time I realized it. I wasn't too concerned though as I did plan to leave and could go through the patio door (for which I did have a key) if I did need to. Also, a couple of Amazon packages I had shipped to this address the day before my arrival were stolen from my front door while I was under the assumption that they would be held at the front office (which the apartment complex later confirmed that they do hold packages, but USPS claimed that it is against this complex' policy to hold Amazon packages..?)
In short, I signed a lease for a crappy apartment complex and they moved me into an incomplete apartment and haven't resolved any of my issues in over three days. Is there anything I can do to break the lease under these conditions, or am I stuck here?
Thank you for looking at all of this and for any help/advice you can provide! I will be posting pictures and a copy of the lease soon.
Submitted June 19, 2017 at 01:48PM by displeased_renter http://ift.tt/2tDXnHo legaladvice
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