angrytenant09
New Member
I started renting a room out of a house with a family on August 1, 2009.
I gave them a $500 deposit and I paid the rent for 10 months in advance. I did this because I thought I would be staying there for at least a year and I knew that they were remodeling the house, so I was being nice and helping them out. Within two weeks of moving in, I was already unhappy with the living conditions and only three months later I could not handle the conditions anymore and moved out.
On top of pretty much paying for amenities that were unusable, I basically did not feel safe in the house.
At the advice of a lawyer consultation, I wrote a letter detailing the day I would be moving out, every condition that made the house "uninhabitable," saying that I am leaving the lease because of the above conditions, and my demand for the funds associated to the rent that I had paid in advance, totaling around $4,000 with the security deposit.
After I give the landlord my letter, she goes off and says that I already breached the lease twice. One was for allowing the friend to stay with me, EVEN THOUGH HE PAYS HER RENT and she verbally said he could live in my room. The other time was when I let my parents visit me for a week and they stayed in my room, however, my landlord INSISTED they stay with me so they wouldn't have to stay in a hotel. It is disgusting to me that she is now throwing my parents one week visit in my face as breaching the lease. On top of all that she says that I am still responsible for fullfiling the one year contract, that they will not give me my money that I paid in advance, and that I can sublease the room if I want my money back.
I want to see what my best plan of action should be. Should I try to hire a lawyer, should i go to small claims court, should I threaten to take them to court, and if so how do I go about that?
Any advice would be helpful.
I gave them a $500 deposit and I paid the rent for 10 months in advance. I did this because I thought I would be staying there for at least a year and I knew that they were remodeling the house, so I was being nice and helping them out. Within two weeks of moving in, I was already unhappy with the living conditions and only three months later I could not handle the conditions anymore and moved out.
On top of pretty much paying for amenities that were unusable, I basically did not feel safe in the house.
At the advice of a lawyer consultation, I wrote a letter detailing the day I would be moving out, every condition that made the house "uninhabitable," saying that I am leaving the lease because of the above conditions, and my demand for the funds associated to the rent that I had paid in advance, totaling around $4,000 with the security deposit.
After I give the landlord my letter, she goes off and says that I already breached the lease twice. One was for allowing the friend to stay with me, EVEN THOUGH HE PAYS HER RENT and she verbally said he could live in my room. The other time was when I let my parents visit me for a week and they stayed in my room, however, my landlord INSISTED they stay with me so they wouldn't have to stay in a hotel. It is disgusting to me that she is now throwing my parents one week visit in my face as breaching the lease. On top of all that she says that I am still responsible for fullfiling the one year contract, that they will not give me my money that I paid in advance, and that I can sublease the room if I want my money back.
I want to see what my best plan of action should be. Should I try to hire a lawyer, should i go to small claims court, should I threaten to take them to court, and if so how do I go about that?
Any advice would be helpful.
