Lookin for some legal advice about vacating an apt.?

iv been living in my apt since dec 08. i signed a 6 month least with a military clause stating i may leave one month early with proper notice. everything has been going along just fine and i was ready to give my notice when my heater stopped working. I called my landlord to let them know the heater was broken and to let them know i needed to give my notice...but no body answered so i left a msg. now its a week and a half later, numerous msgs have been left, i now have the city inpectors office involved too, and now they call me to ask about rent!! i explained to them about the msgs and the heat not working now they say they will call me back. i have actually moved my belongings out of the apt now since i have not been able to live there without heat.(i live in rhode island...2 snow stoms no heat!!!)





sorry that was so long but i thought all info was important to know when answering....what i want to know is...should i be required to pay the rent for this month if i am not even living there?? i tryed to do things the right way and give notice but they decided not to pay attention to me so i dont believe i should have to pay...and also should i get my security back...i did no damage to the apt.Lookin for some legal advice about vacating an apt.?
you should absolutely get your security deposit back.





One is NOT expected to pay rent on a dwelling that is UNINHABITABLE - due to one of the things the renter is responsible for.Lookin for some legal advice about vacating an apt.?
Giving notice on the phone is not how the military clause works. It must be in writing showing a copy of your orders (more than 50 miles aways). Even most leases require at least a 30 day notice.





As far as the heat that is a different matter. Look at your lease. What does it say.





With all contracts in the future cover your butt and put things in writing.
What is proper notice? Is it defined in your lease? Unfortunately it sounds like you have nothing in writing, which is usually what proper notice is. 30 days in writing to vacate a property early, which means you are under contract to pay the rent.
hi there....don't pay the rent. if they threaten or keep trying to make you pay, consider getting a lawyer for legal advice. you shouldn't pay a nickle and if needs be..take it to court. they're scamming you..u cant pay if your not living there and the heat doesn't work good luck :D
There really is nothing you can do, except maybe file a complaint against the management at the apartments. Since you signed the lease, whether or not you are not living there, you still owe rent. Sorry!
Usually notice of any kind has to be made in writing. Answering machine messages don't count (which is probably why they didn't answer to begin with). Look at your lease agreement to see what exactly proper notice means.
i would say no! i've lived in several apt and one flooded and we moved out a month later but i did the same i contacted the apt several times for the flood and informed them on everything to prevent water damage just in case but they didnt' seem to care so i did what i as a tenant am suppose to do. 30 days notice lease is over and just left dropped my keys off and that was the end of it. if there turns out to be water damage they can't blame me cause i did inform them and did all i was to do....so no you should have to pay the deposit usually takes a month to get back if you do. i fyou want the situation to just be over then leave the deposit. sometimes they will just mail it to you or get a hold of you for the deposit. however if you really need it back i would call them in about a month or so after you have moved out and they have had time to clean and inspect the apt and all that good stuff...most apts wont' go through a whole lot of hassel...due to having alot of tenants unless they owe back rent or somthing really serious.
The duty of the landlord is to make sure the premises in habitable. You gave notice to the landlord that the heater was in-op and it is his job to fix it in a reasonable time. I would say that you are not responsible for the rent during the time heater was not working. I would say that if the heater was not fixed within a few days from your notification the landlord voided the lease and you have a right to leave the premises without any further notice.





Since you are in the military go to your adjutants generals office and get them to help you.
You are totally in the wrong here and have not done anything right.





It is ILLEGAL to withhold rent for things needing to be fixed and they have every right to evict you. You also CANNOT just move out for things needing to be fixed.





In order to break your lease for repairs they have to be something major that makes the unit uninhabitable and it has to be court ordered. When you have a lease you can never just leave





You are breaking the lease!! You do not get your deposit back!





The proper procedure is: Send a certified letter stating the needed repairs. They then legally have 30 days to get it done. If it still is not fixed then you can have a licensed contractor fix it and take ONLY that amount off the rent.





Learn the laws before you get sued and cannot rent any place again.
I have lived in apartments for a long time and the usual procedure is to write the landlord a 30 day notice and make a copy of it. You send the landlord the copy informing him that you are vacating the apt. in 30 days. If the landlord takes you to small claim court you should win anyway, since you tried to call him and they never returned your call. If he doesn't return your deposit then I would take him to small claims court.
I'm not up to snuff with RI landlord/tenant laws, but It's more than likely that you've forfeited your security deposit and are on the hook for rent. Tenants can't withhold rent in every state, and in the states they can, there are procedures that _must_ be followed to a T.





On top of calling, you should have submitted both your notice of intent to vacate AND your request for repair *in writing* (making a copy of your letters, then sending the originals via certified mail with return receipt requested, and storing the receipt with your copy of the letters when they arrived). Doing it in writing would have provided a paper trail. Without that paper trail, you have no real proof that you gave notice, or informed them of your heating issue and gave them a chance to respond.





Without that proof, IF/WHEN this goes to court, a judge will likely side with them awarding them 1-2 months rent + their court costs + any expenses they incurred during a search for a new tenant, MINUS the cost of rent for the days the apartment was proven to be uninhabitable after the landlord was proven to be notified.
When it comes to the law they cannot evict you if you have an outstanding work order for issues with the apartment. If they do, you can sue! Even though they may go through with everything for the eviction, it cannot effect your credit, had you called them about your heater not working (specially being winter). When you need maintenance, in serious cases like heat, water, electricity, and it has nothing to do with something that you have caused or not paid a bill for, you are not legally obligated to pay your rent until said issue is resolved. If they have an issue with it and are pressing you for rent, it's only because they hope that most people do not know about this clause. If you are paying rent on an apartment that is not considered to be in livable conditions, they can be sued for being ';slum-lords';