Can I break my lease if I have no heat in a bedroom?

[bmorgan30]

I moved into a 2 bedroom apartment in Nov. 2010. A week after I moved in I notice that one of the bedrooms was not getting no heat so I called the office and made a complaint. The maintenance guy came out and adjusted the vents and said "that should fix the problem.

The following week I called and made anther complaint about the heat and the maintenance guy came out and turned the blower up on the furnace. That didn't solve the problem so I made another complaint and told them to either fix the problem or give me another apartment. The Asst. Property Mgr. told me in order for me to get another apartment I would have to pay for it. So, I told her that I wanted to talk to the Property Mgr..

I told the Property Mgr. what was going on and that I wanted the problem fix, a different apartment or out of my lease. I was then told that the manager of the property wants to come and look at the problem before they deceided what to do. A few day's went by and the manager and I'm guessing the head maintenance guy came out and did the same thing that was done before - adjusting the vents. I was told once again, that will fix the problem.

A week went by and guess what the problem is not fix. So, I called the Property Mgr. and informed her that it's still a problem and she said "I will notify my mgr. and see what we can do and give you a call no later than tomorrow. Well, 4 day's went by and I had to call her and I was informed that the problem I'm having is not a reason to let me out of my lease.

Here it is the Jan. 15, 2011 and I'm still having this problem and still complaining and not getting nothing but the run arouds and b/s answers. I need to know what can I do to get them to fix the problem or is this a good reason for me to break my lease?

Thanks

 

[bluemann33]

Found this on another site....Follow up with a written and dated letter stating the problem and requesting prompt correction. Lack of heat is a violation of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and of your lease. Contact your local health department to request an inspection, and, if the landlord doesn't respond, file a complaint form with the Consumer Affairs. Document everything. Is the heat not working in one room or the whole apt? Good luck to you.

 

[bmorgan30]

The problem is only in one room, but the rest of the apartment gets tons of heat especially the 2nd bedroom. Thank you so much for the information.

 

[mightymoose]

Lack of heat at all and insufficient heat for one room are different issues.
They are right, it sounds like you don't have grounds for being released from the lease.
What you should have done a long time ago is advise them of the problem in writing, and if you read your lease you may find that it instructs you to do so. If it doesn't, the law still says so.
Do as suggested above. If the problem is not resolved and you feel you have damages that aren't being addressed (perhaps you feel you should have paid less in rent due to the problem and want some money back) then you can go to court and try to get a judge to agree.
In the mean time, get yourself an electric portable heater that you can put in the room. You could potentially include the cost of that heater and any significant increase in your electric bill as a result of the heater in your claim if you should later make one.
Otherwise, don't renew your lease and be on your way as soon as possible.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

If you're living there by yourself, why don't you simply move into the second bedroom?

Gail