Left what I viewed as an inhabitable house, had signed the lease but I think it's moot...if you agree that I'm right...what can I do? legaladvice

(North Carolina)

I moved into a place site-unseen because I was moving for work, I know that's my first mistake. I found a place on craigslist (maybe mistake 1.5 but I had good luck multiple times before this). The guy seems legitimate the place seems good from the pictures, that same old story.

The place described a good starter home the cost of living where I moved North Carolina is fairly low so I was able to afford what was about an 1100 ft.² place. The craigslist listing described central air, that the place was partially furnished, any pictures showed pictures of clean countertops and decent lighting.

Well, I showed up and it wasn't that. Not noted in listing was a broken window in the rear of building, inoperable central air, mold and mildew smell, permanently stained flooring, the remnants of dead bugs an animal droppings.

Clearly this place hadn't been touched in months. When I showed up he had not even cleaned the refrigerator, which was a disgusting mess, He didn't while I was there.

I did sign the lease, after walking through. I know that's mistake number two. But in my defense, I would have literally been homeless that night as I had driven from over 10 hours away and had no place to stay.

The lease terms would've brought me through December. I left effective at the end of June and went and was in the new place by July 1. I notified the landlord of the discrepancies from craigslist. I also notified him that not of the smoke detectors were working. I notified him that there was no fire extinguisher. And notified him that none of the repairs that he had promised had been done by the third week of June.

This past Wednesday, I had a city code enforcement officer come over to the house, he noted the discrepancies above including the fire extinguishers and smoke detectors broken windows and exposed wires in some of the closets and lack of coverings on some of the outlets. He is sending a certified letter to me and an to the landlord noting these discrepancies.

Right now the landlord has my last months rent and security deposit in his hand. It may be important to note, that my company actually paid that as part of the agreement for taking the position, and it was their money--a check issued by them directly to the landlord.

So my question is, what are my options do I have any leverage even though I signed the lease? Any advice would be truly welcomed, and I thank you very much.

Submitted July 11, 2015 at 06:12AM by JstnJ http://ift.tt/1HTS6iE legaladvice