This is a letter my girlfriend sent to our landlord. Do you think a judge will let her out of her lease??

quote Amanda XXXXXX Apartment 815 Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Enclosed is a letter I delivered to the tenants at Apartment 816 regarding the constant noise coming from their unit. I cannot continue to pay my rent if the music remains so loud after 10pm. While this may seem drastic to you, it’s really quite simple. If I cannot get a full nights rest I cannot feel refreshed enough to get out of bed in the morning. If I do not get out of bed in the morning I will not show up to work and they will fire me. Considering I have no other income I will have no money and not be able to pay my monthly rent. Considering the letters I get in my door when my rent is even a single day late I know how important my 365.00 a month is to you. If you wish to retain me as a tenant please take immediate action as I have. I feel I have been a very good tenant always paying my rent and not attracting the attention of law enforcement as so many of my neighbors have chosen to do. I have even been understanding when my car was broken into, my gas tank got sugar in it, the security guard left, my apartment was broken into, my apartment was flooded twice, my cars window was shattered in the parking lot, and I was one car away from the three that got hit by the drunk underage girl leaving the loud party a few weeks ago. I refuse to be understanding anymore. I’m typing this at 1:44 in the morning on a Wednesday, when for the fifth night in a row my neighbors in apartment 816 wish to test their radio out with the latest R&B album. I have contacted law enforcement on several occasions but considering my lease has a clause regarding excessive noise I feel this is your responsibility. If no one has pointed this out to you let me make it apparent now that these things didn’t happen when we had a security guard. Back then this was a quite, peaceful place to call home. Considering I’m an eighteen year old female that lives alone, the security guard was a determining factor when I decided to rent a unit here. Considering the broken laundry door that has plagued my dining room since it flooded, and letters you post every week outlining the crimes in the complex. The constant maintenance workers and inspectors and pest control employees that enter my apartment without prior notice. The fact that I cannot sleep at night due to the noise and all the other factors that prohibit my daily enjoyment as outlined above I will not be renewing my lease. Amanda XXXXXX

And this went to the neighbor

quote Amanda XXXXXX #815 12/20/2006 Copies to: Priess Company Tenants of Apt #816 I am writing to you over the concerns I have for the noise that is coming from your property, Apt #816. I have spoken to you on a number of different occasions politely asking you to either turn down your music or not play it at high levels after 10pm. In the past week your music has disturbed my sleep and prevented me from enjoying my own home. Your ongoing noise is preventing me from enjoying my house and it also prevents me from welcoming visitors to my home – as your noise is very embarrassing and disturbing to them as well as to us. I do not wish to prevent you from enjoying your home, as I hope you don’t wish to prevent me from enjoying my property. I feel I have been patient, very tolerant, polite and a well-mannered neighbour to you since we have been neighbours. Unfortunately, I have reached the point where I cannot tolerate any more noises as I have outlined above, for the detrimental reasons that I have mentioned in this letter and the effects this is having on my sleep schedule and well-being. I am asking that you return the favour by addressing the noise problems I have outlined to you here. I understand that we live in close proximity to one another, and the walls aren’t as thick as we sometimes wish. I hope I can come to an amicable and friendly agreement and arrangement with you, to stop these noise problems and prevent them from re-occurring in the future. If ever I am too loud or you need anything that I may be able to help you with please feel free to ask. Yours Sincerely, Amanda XXXXXX

quote Originally posted by WBailey1041: This is a letter my girlfriend sent to our landlord. Do you think a judge will let her out of her lease??

get yourself a glock 17. wait outside your girlfriends negbors door next time there playing loud music. when they finaly open there door to go out. grab them so that you are behind them and have them around there neck with one hand, with the other hand press the barral of the glock 17 to the side of there head. then shout into there ear : Hey you wanna here somthing really loud!!!!!!
well I don't!! and the next time I here your noise! im gonna come find you, and let you hear mine! comprende!

remember to act very twitchy and wired up. as if your going nuts from your lack of sleep, if you have trouble doing this. take some speed 5 days before u attempt this.

this was all a joke don't really attempt this. it did work for someone else I know, it may not work for you. and is very dangrous. and someone can end up dead.


JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE THIS WAS A JOKE DO NOT DO THIS DO NOT DO THIS

[This message has been edited by 84fierotrevor (edited 12-20-2006).]

Unfortunaly the landlord has the upper hand. Failure to pay rent, regardless of the problem will lead to your eviction from your apartment. You can however, go to small calims court and attmept to resolve your issues there. Or you can ask your landlord to let you out, he/she may do so nicely

S. Williams
Or if you need out really quickly, join the Guard and volunteer to go to Iraq.

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1988 Fiero Formula T-tops
CJB 143 of 1252 "factory T-top cars"

If she does move, she can break the lease due to the problems. If they see it necessary to take her to court about her breaking the lease, she needs a paper trail. Keep copies of all the police reports, copies of letters sent to landlord or management, and copies of anything sent to neighbor. If there are no copies, keep a diary record of everything....time, dates, violations, threats, etc. In court with all that, no judge would enforce her lease. You can call your police station and get filed copies of all the reports for a few dollars.

It's seems to be a pretty well written letter and I would hope a judge would be understanding especially considering she is a young girl alone in what appears to be a rather dangerous crime filled area.

What is the penalty for breaking the lease? I understand how finances can be a determining factor in a lot of things, but her safety is more important.

I was away for a short period of time some time back and I was told by my gf of the time that men had entered the apartment when noone was home to check some stuff for the landlord. I went directly over to the landlord and made it very clear that I did not want strangers in my home when 1. nobody was there 2. my gf was there alone. and if it occurred again I would file charges. I also asked him how he would feel if strangers came into his home in the same situation (he is married and has kids) and suddenly he understood. A letter may be dismissed, a personal visit may get a lot more accomplished.

1st thing I do when moving into any apartment is change all the locks. Nobody should be able to invade your privacy, and if its an emergency they can call emergency personnel, police etc, and you usually have to put contact info on the lease/agreements so they can certainly contact you if something needs to be done.

Hope it all works out for you/her.

Do you have a CD player?
When I was in the service I had roommates that worked different hours. They would come in and play music until 3 in the morning. I got an alarm clock and set it to go off every day at 10:00 am while I was away at work. Nothing like getting woke up every day 2 hours before you want to get up to make them hear you out.
Just setup a CD player so it comes on every day playing some Slim Whitman to help them enjoy themselves.

I hate to be the "legal weenie" here, but a landlord has the right to enter your apartment at anytime with or without notification if they deem it necessary to service the unit, or to help law enforcement with a warrant search. (Check local laws and your lease--yours may be different)

"1st thing I do when moving into any apartment is change all the locks. Nobody should be able to invade your privacy, and if its an emergency they can call emergency personnel, police etc, and you usually have to put contact info on the lease/agreements so they can certainly contact you if something needs to be done."

See above-- If an emergency occurs, they can enter at anytime. Apartments here (In KS) have evicted people who change the locks to prevent access by landlords. If the "right to enter" is in your lease, your doomed.

In other words, check your lease. Also if your in a "managed" property, im sure they have the legal stuff down real well.

S. Williams
EDIT: Managed peoperty : A management corporation whos mission is to manage coporate property, IE a large apartment complex, like those found in larger cities, college towns.

[This message has been edited by htexans1 (edited 12-20-2006).]

If it's a true emergency or police related I can understand that. but sending strangers into your apartment, I just dont understand.

Just a few examples of why that whole, come in your house whenever they want thing bothers me.

What if you have confidental work documents laying on your desk/table? what if your wife sleeps naked? what if you have valuables or even just things that are important you to. I know some will say those things can be put away in a safe and such, but you should be able to feel safe that your belongs won't be gone thru, or even possibly taken.

If you come home and find strangers going thru your apartment, can you shoot them? or do you have to ask if the landlord sent them first? lol

If someone comes into the apartment without your notification, call the police and report that someone has broken in and you want them arrested.

Renters have a lot of rights. Didn't you see the movie Pacific Heights? hahahha joke
(well maybe not everywhere) I guess it does come down to checking your area.

[This message has been edited by Gecko (edited 12-20-2006).]

quote Originally posted by Gecko: It's seems to be a pretty well written letter .....

Not too bad but I disagree.
Aside from that, the music must not be too loud. Maybe too loud for her tastes but, evidently the neighbor is not breaking the law or breaking lease rules. I have been arrested for music complaints when I did not even break...umm...I didn't even have a noise ordinance. The thing with apartments is that you share lifestyles. Some apartment dwellers sleep all day when what ? The music can be louder ? Some apartments are near the airport or the train tracks.
What ever. If she wants out of the lease she should be able to because she leased with the knowledge that there was on-site security. Now there is not. She can ask for her security deposit back but she might have to pay to go to court to get it.

Hi William. Wifey keeps asking how you are doing.

The extent of your agreement with the landlord is defined in the lease you signed. It is a binding contract. Also defined are what the landlord's responsibility's are as well as the leasee.

If, for example, the lease says no music/loud noise after 10pm, then you would have to demonstrate the noise (say a tape recorder) and the manager was aware (the letter) and did nothing about it.

If the lease said a security guard would be provided, and they did not provide security, they breached the contract. Having said that, you would need to continue to pay rent, but I would take him to small claims court and sue for breech of contract. Just like they would if you failed to pay rent.

I would also sue for damage to your car as a result of their failure to provide security as agreed in the lease.......Good Luck..........Paul

Just like everythig else, laws vary from state to state. In Minneapolis, for example, the noises have to stop at 9pm. After 9pm, the cops can be involved. As far as the bad neighborhood, that isn't the landlord's fault. As far as the laundry, there would have to be some promise in the contract that all appliances will work all the time, otherwise all she can do is complain to the landlord.

Shared living stinks worse than my cat's litter box, but sometimes there isn't much you can do.

As far as the letter being "well written," I strongly disagree, but that is purely my opinion and not entirely related to the feedback being requested. The only reason I mention it is because an effective letter can gain or lose leverage on something like this, so maybe the letter needs to be revisited if this is going to be taken further.

Most leases have an arbitration clause to prevent lawsuits. Basically, you agree to use arbitration for any disputes. File an arbitration claim to have the lease terminated because the landlord has not upheld their responsibilities under the terms of your lease.

It's also been my experience that confronting the neighbor causes problems, it doesn't solve them. If you've asked politely for them to be quiet and they don't, that's as far as you can go without risking it escalating into an episode of Cops or Jerry Springer.

Keep calling the cops for any noise complaints.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 12-20-2006).]

Pretty much what they said ^^^^^^^ not too bad for an 18 y/o girl with no formal education in legal or technical writing. It's a little too emotional, it's important with letters of that nature to stick to the simple legal facts. All the emotional "if this than that then the other thing and I can't do this because that happened....." stuff is meaning less to a court, and probably to the management company, it's more important to be siccinct, to the point, and directly indicate precisely where the management company is in violation of the lease. And from this day forth, document EVERYTHING, and if possible, document everything in detail that has happend so far, with dates and times as accurate as possible. Don't just make stuff up or claim to know a date if you don't, because if this becomes evidence at some point and even the slightest detial can be positively disporven, it will completley blow your credibility.

You need to read the lease very carefully and establish exactly where the landlord is being negligent in their responsibilities, such as any noise guidlines, or as was mentioned, if a security guard was or some sort of security was mentioned in the lease and is no longer being provided you could certainly use that as a violation of the lease on the landlord's part. Look for anything that was promised or ensured in the lease that is no longer being satisfied.
From this point, since she's already sent out the above letter I would do this: I would write a second letter aplogizing for the overly emotional tone of the previous letter. (It *is* somewhat "threatening" in that she is saying she isn't going to pay the rent, so far at this point, that puts HER in violation of the lease) I would explain that it was very early in the morning, and she was upset and emotional and would like to resolve the situation amicably. In this second letter she could in a non-accusatory manner specify exactly the nature of the problems she's had. Such as the constant noise from directly above her, her car being broken into, etc etc etc. Then she could ask of they would be willing to address the specific problems by perhaps hiring a new security guard, or installing better lighting in the parking lot. Maybe they'd even be willing to move her to a different unit away from the noisemakers. She could emphasize that a mitigating factor in choosing the apartment was the security guard and that since that situation has changed she no longer feels safe and would they be willing to address the problem of the music and the security, either by hiring a new guard or by other measures. Make it very formal and ask them to resolve the problem, don't make threats of any kind. Nothing about witholding rent or anything of that nature. Tell them that if they don't feel it necessary to resolve the problems that she would appreciate it if they would be willing to terminate her lease early. They may recognize the potential for a court issue and figure it's easier to just let her move. Make sure that if they DO agree, she gets it in writing, and the termination agreement indicates that it is without prejudice and is not due to any violation of the lease on either part. Also specify that you would like a response within 2 weeks or some reasonable time. This is very important that you make sure they understand you aren't sitting on this indefintely. Send this letter regestered with signature required. That makes a serious statement. I'm not sure about the specific of the law, but I'm pretty sure that if she puts her rent in escrow she has to file a lawsuit for termination of the lease either prior to that, or within a specific time period. Then it becomes a matter of putting it in the court's hands and letting things happen as they may. If you file a suit for early termination, be sure to calculate what it will cost to move, including utilities and everything, and sue for that sum in addition to the lease termination. Make sure she is paid up on rent (in escrow) and that they don't have any cause to try and countersue. Chances are once they're served with papers they'd just let her move.
Make sure you get photos of the apartment and leave it in spic-n-span condition so they also have no cause to withold her deposit. Or work it out so that they keep the deposit in leiu of the last month's rent.
Good luck!
That failing, she can NOT just refuse to pay rent. What she CAN do if they fail to respond to the above outlined letter or refuse to satisfy any of her requests, would be to write a follow-up letter where she indicates that since she is dissatisfied with the current sitauation and that they won't address her concerns, she must take further action. This step is where she contacts an escrow company and puts her rent in escrow. She would indicate her intention to do this if they are unwilling to at least address her concerns.

[This message has been edited by Taijiguy (edited 12-20-2006).]

First thing is she states that she will not renew her lease due to problems. It was good that she did not state she wanted to break the lease.

Second, Although a lease is a binding contract and every state has different laws, The best thing to do is to go and personally talk to the landlord about breaking the lease. (Talk nicely) It sounds like she has been a good tenant while living there and it sounds like she has been there for a while. The landlord may waive the rest of the lease (depending on how much remains) or they may come to some other agreement. Maybe the landlord has another apartment complex in a better area and is willing to let her move there?

The point is she may be able to break the lease without having to go to court or getting into an arguement with the landlord.

How much is left on her lease? If it is only a month or two then the landlord may just let her go. If it's early in the lease, Look at the lease contract and see what it says about sub-letting.


If all else fails, Turn on her stereo system and have it play "Afternoon Delight" starting at 8am and engine at 2pm (while she's at work.) If they are up until 1-3am I'm sure an 8am wake-up to that everyday would make a point.

Ohio law says a landlord has to file for an eviction. They cant throw you out or stop you from entering without going to court. That takes a minimum of 30-60 days. Non payment of rent shouldnt be done.....BUT ....you can put the rent into an escrow account untill the problem is resolved one way or another. Get a lawyer to set that up. It shows you have the ability and want to pay the rent, and the landlord can have it when the case is settled. Ive known people to put their rent money into such an account for almost a year before things were settled. If its an active court dispute and the money is all in the escrow account, they cant kick you out. This may be different in your state/ city.

Do as I did once due to maintenance problems. Stop paying the rent. Yes STOP PAYING THE RENT!!

Save your rent money till the problems get addressed. Read your lease agreement and see where they are breaking the contract. If your nieghbors are breaking the sound barrier with their music and it is against the same rules you both must follow then your contract is not being honored by your land lord. As you mentioned "lease has a clause regarding excessive noise I feel this is your responsibility" well it is.

I had several maintenance problems when I did this. Since it was the responsibility of the place I rented from to maintain this they were in breach of contract and could not evict me till they were in compliance. As the months went by one by one they completed the list of complaints (IN Writing) till the last one was complete. The very day the last item was completed I got an eviction notice. Smiling while he handed that notice to me I ask him to wait just one moment. Then I handed him the notice back with a check for the full amount I owed him. I smiled and said thank you and I hope everything stays maintained.

Fact is they weren't legally able to collect rent for the time they were in violation and if I wanted to remain there after things were fixed I needed to pay the back rent. DOCUMENT this before you begin with dates. If they don't fix the problems stay there as long as you can while you collect enough money to move on. You surely don't want to remain there with the situation as is.

quote Originally posted by Butter: Do as I did once due to maintenance problems. Stop paying the rent. Yes STOP PAYING THE RENT!!

As far as the law is concerned, two wrongs don't make a right. Witholding rent puts you in violation of the lease, and destroys your credibility. not paying rent is just a really bad idea. Escrow is the only legal way of not making rent payments.

She doesn't want to play hardball unless there's no other alternative.

So, she should go to the office and politely explain the situation and ask if she can get out of the lease with 30 days notice and full return of her deposits. She should have an outline of what she wants from them, and ask the onsite rep. to sign it acknowledging what was discussed. (Helps with the paper trail if it does turn nasty.) The property management should agree in writing to either remedy the situation (by evicting the offending tenants) or to let her out of the lease. In Nevada, it's relatively easy for a landlord to toss someone--30 days and they're out if they're violating the terms or spirit of the lease.

If the answer is no, she should get an escrow account and pay the rent into it, forwarding receipts of the deposits to the landlord. Shows that she's on the up and up, not trying to get out of her obligation to pay the rent. (If you believe Judge Judy, or People's Court, judges love clean hands and lots of documentation.)

She should be calling the police and making curfew violation complaints everytime she's disturbed. In Reno, they do send a cop, who makes a report and will issue a citation. Your friend's municipality might be different. But again Judges in small claims court love clean hands and lots of documentation. (So she should keep a diary of the violations, the police calls, and the complaints to the property management.)

Any complaints mailed to the property management should be photocopied and mailings should be sent "registered, return receipt required." Judges love documentation, time stamps, and signed receipts.

After a week or so more, she should file a small claims court case--only a court order can break a lease if both parties won't agree. There might be landlord tenant arbitration in your area--if there's a university close by, their student affairs department might know, certainly a full service real estate office would be able to advise.

What she doesn't want to do is abandon the lease, abandon her deposits, and move somewhere else. Leases are legally binding contracts, they can be enforced in court with punitive damages, and the big (factory style) apartment complexes WILL file a credit ding against her credit record which may affect her ability to rent or buy another place, get a credit card, or even get a new job.

If your friend does have to go to court, tell her to appear extremely well groomed, light on the make up, in conservative feminine clothing. She wants to appear young but sophisticated. And she needs to have all of her documentation organized and ready to present to the judge. She should bring her originals AND a photocopy for the judge. She doesn't want to appear sleazy or hard.

And she needs to KEEP CALM through all of this. Do the least damaging thing, and act mature. Losing her temper or crying won't help. And can hurt.

Wow alot of great advice here. Here is the update from me.

1) She never actually sent the letters, when I got to her apartment today they were in envelopes ready to go but she hadn't delivered them yet.
2) I thought the letter to the management company was a little overdone myself. Anyone with more experience in these matters care to re write that for her? Or even give some tips.
3) The lease doesnt state that the security guard is promised doesn't even mention one actually.

quote Originally posted by htexans1: I hate to be the "legal weenie" here, but a landlord has the right to enter your apartment at anytime with or without notification if they deem it necessary to service the unit, or to help law enforcement with a warrant search. (Check local laws and your lease--yours may be different) "1st thing I do when moving into any apartment is change all the locks. Nobody should be able to invade your privacy, and if its an emergency they can call emergency personnel, police etc, and you usually have to put contact info on the lease/agreements so they can certainly contact you if something needs to be done." See above-- If an emergency occurs, they can enter at anytime. Apartments here (In KS) have evicted people who change the locks to prevent access by landlords. If the "right to enter" is in your lease, your doomed. In other words, check your lease. Also if your in a "managed" property, im sure they have the legal stuff down real well. S. Williams EDIT: Managed peoperty : A management corporation whos mission is to manage coporate property, IE a large apartment complex, like those found in larger cities, college towns.

It is a managed property a mile from NCSU. The lease does state that they have to give 24 hours notice before entering for repairs...which they have yet to do.

quote Originally posted by Oreif: Second, Although a lease is a binding contract and every state has different laws, The best thing to do is to go and personally talk to the landlord about breaking the lease. (Talk nicely) It sounds like she has been a good tenant while living there and it sounds like she has been there for a while. The landlord may waive the rest of the lease (depending on how much remains) or they may come to some other agreement. Maybe the landlord has another apartment complex in a better area and is willing to let her move there? The point is she may be able to break the lease without having to go to court or getting into an arguement with the landlord. How much is left on her lease? If it is only a month or two then the landlord may just let her go. If it's early in the lease, Look at the lease contract and see what it says about sub-letting. If all else fails, Turn on her stereo system and have it play "Afternoon Delight" starting at 8am and engine at 2pm (while she's at work.) If they are up until 1-3am I'm sure an 8am wake-up to that everyday would make a point.

She tried to get out of the lease when the apartment above us flooded due to a faulty fire sprinkler.....over 400 gallons entered her unit (Fire Marshalls estimate) They were very rude and said NO.

She has lived there 8 months now, never been more than one day late on rent. They told her she had a 12 onths lease but I just read it and it states 18 months. Worst part is this is her first apartment.

So what we are going to do right now is try to re type the letter to the management company, and send it and the letter to our neighbor registered return receipt requested. Then buy a journal.....wont take long to fill that up lol

Did I miss anything or should we take any other action??

Skip the letter to the neighbors. It's pretty much meaningless. If she's tried talking to them and they've ignored her requests, a letter won't do anything but aggrevate the situation and create a potentially hostile environment for her. I *would* put in the new letter as a possible remedy that the management company address the noise problem. It doesn't fix everything, but it's her primary heartburn right now it seems, so if they can make that stop she can probably stick it out for the next few months and then get the hell out.

[This message has been edited by Taijiguy (edited 12-20-2006).]

Lets try to be real savvy about this.

This technically is a legal issue so you need to pick up a copy of the North Carolina renters / tennant rights, laws and protections handbook. It is free in most states, here is the NC link. http://www.hud.gov/local/nc/renting/tenantrights.cfm

Get a Yellow Pages book out and start calling up lawyers, most have a 5 or 10 minute free consultation, you may even find a lawyer that specializes in this area. They may be able to offer invaluable insight.

Don't give the landlord a legal loophole by making an uninformed mistake, find out exactly what your legal rights are first before acting. Like I said, lets be smart about this, educate ourselves first before making a move.

Good luck, I hope that you get the difficulties solved in short order.

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jetman
Silver 86 SE 2M6 4-speed, with "check wallet light"