Lease Termination Notice
I am 6 months into a 12 month lease; there is an issue with a creature living in the ceiling of the apartment that the landlord has not been able to resolve. As they have been unable to remove the pest and it continues to scratch loudly on the ceiling (it wakes me up at…
I am 6 months into a 12 month lease; there is an issue with a creature living in the ceiling of the apartment that the landlord has not been able to resolve. As they have been unable to remove the pest and it continues to scratch loudly on the ceiling (it wakes me up at 2, 3 or 4 am) I would like to terminate the lease.
I called the landlord 2 weeks ago to discuss it and have left several messages since that time with no return calls.
At this point I am considering sending a certified letter giving the landlord 30 days notice that I will be leaving.
Does anyone feel that I will still be responsible for the remaining lease term?
Thank you
Hi,
I recently moved to a duplex and had a similar problem with rodents. My suggestion would be to buy some poison you could purchase at your local Hardware Store. Buy the kind that comes in solid green little blocks and put them around. Also close up any holes in your apartment with steel wool and spray can foam. I guarantee your rats will slowly disapear. This stuff works. I have used it as well as other people I know. In addition you could also try those electronic pest repellers. I don’t know if they work or not but I had something moving through my walls not just moving but it sounded like it was renovating. This would be everynight between the hours of 10pm and 5am. Anyway I plugged in one of those electronic things in the socket on the wall they were in and I have heard nothing but silence ever since. Try it at this point what have you got to lose. Then if you do need to leave you can at least show that you did everything in your means to try to get rid of the problem.
Sorry to hear about this. I am very sensitive to noise and critters so a critter making noise is a NO NO!!!..this would just freak me out. Check your lease to see if there is a noise clause. I put one in mine. You can also consider hiring someone yourself to have this problem solved and deducting from your rent. I would say you do have grounds to move but if the LL isn’t reasonable.. they may still take u to court. I def would not stand for this.. Good luck!
I have something living in my ceiling too and it’s eaten a whole into the kitchen ceiling and started eating into the sprinkler system…rent is too high to pay for the bs. Don’t listen to the haters. Know your rights and get ready to move.
Sounds like you might have reasonable grounds to move with no problems from the landlord. Just FYI, if that’s the case, there’s a certain format to follow. You have to send them a certified letter stating the problem and giving them an official time to “cure,” usually 30 days (depending on the nature of the issue). Etc. You can’t withhold rent for hiring an exterminator. Consult an attorney.
OP, sorry for predicament. Suggest certified letter stating the problem first. Have to appear to give LL opportunity to fix the problem. Which you’ve done but need to document fully.
“As stated on . . . and in subsequent phone messages on . . . . serious rat problem still exists. I am scared for my heath and well being, unable to sleep. Please fix effin’ problem once and for all.
Just make sure you’ve got a paper trail should you decide to leave. Emails, notes on EVERY phone call etc etc. Good luck,
bao- this much more serious than you originally posted. I will add that even with all the exterminators, sealing the holes, fixing walls, etc. the aforementioned rat came in through the tenant’s open window. Another one died under a sink, beneath the floorboards and a third died and rotted under the floor in my kitchen. That was a horrible horrible nightmare. My landlady, to her credit was always call the exterminator, get the workers over there, get it done now.
find out what kind of music the alleged rats don’t like and blast it 24/7.
ask the landlord whether the rats can be on the lease and let them pay the rent…
nobody mentioned filling the ceiling with water and drowning them…
Thanks for the advice, I think I’ll go ahead and call the lawyer and try the landlord again. Yay for critters.
sounds like a squirrel to me and exterminators aren’t allowed to kill them, unless of course, you find the right one! we had a problem, the exterminator came, killed it and it let off an malodorous smell for about a week. they came back and sprayed and i gave our tenant a reduced rental amount that month.
we do live in nyc, and unfortunately there are creatures, better a squirrel or mouse than a burgular!