Being sued for remainder of lease

[amiele86]

I signed a lease for an apartment, the lease started on December 1 and ended on June 31 2011. I found the apartment on craigslist, the tenant showed me the apartment and it looked nice when I saw it on November 15, 2010 so shortly thereafter I met with the land lord and gave them my rent check for December. They cashed the check. After wards they mailed me my lease which I signed and mailed back. I was supposed to move in on December 1, so I met my landlord and got the keys, and gave them the security deposit.

The apartment was in deplorable condition. Water damage to the floors, what looked like mold around pipes, and heavy damage to the walls. All of this the tenant, who showed me the place before, managed to cover with furniture etc.

I called my landlord, quite a few times, asking them about the possibility of fixing the walls and the water damage. They were really rude and refused to fix anything. In the end, I canceled my security deposit because I did not want to live in a place that I did not feel was habitable.

I wanted them to know, because I thought that it was fair for them to know etc, and they told me that they were going to sue me and when and were basically really mean.

So now they are suing me. I guess my question is, is there anything I can do about this? If they rent it, am I still liable for the rent? I know I screwed up, but one of my family members is a co signer and I'm more concerned with that than anything (if it were just me I wouldn't be so worried).

Thanks!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Every state has specific guidelines for tenants regarding repair issues. I've attached information from a tenant handbook that outlines what you could have done in Pennsylvania regarding this matter:

http://tenant.net/Other_Areas/Penn/harris/pa-part2.html

Generally you have to inform your landlord of your repair requests (getting this in writing is best as it gives you documentation) and allow them a reasonable amount of time to address these. It is important that if they are not addressed and you believe you need to take further steps that you do what is allowed in your state.

Because you did not follow these, you have no real evidence to show a court as justification for you canceling the deposit. This is why you are being sued. The landlord has an obligation to find a replacement tenant for you but until they do you (and your cosigner) would owe rent on this unit. Once the unit is rented you would no longer be liable for any further rent.

Gail

 

[mightymoose]

Your landlord might have some success getting one month's rent from you, but is not likely to get the full amount for the length of the lease.
The landlord must make a good faith effort to rent the place to someone else to minimize the loss.

When you appear in court you will want to argue that you were deliberately misled as to the condition of the apartment when you agreed to the lease. Hopefully you took some photos of the damage. You might have some luck with this... you never know.