Do you think I still have time to sue my former landlord?
I know this is not the right catergory but I would like some answers. Or if you can point me in the right catergory I’d appreicate it. I also know its long but bear with me. Its been about a month but not quite yet. My husband,2 small children and I were renting a house from this woman. When my husband and I were about to sign the lease we noticed small baby roaches on the back door like 5 of them. We had asked her if it was gonna be a problem and she said no. When we moved all of our stuff in there was a huge infestation. We spent over $150 keeping it under control and it was still nasty. She wouldnt knock off anything from the rent. she wouldnt reimburse us and she wouldnt pay for it either. We caught 4 mice and there was still 4 more running around. 2 of them died from the cold and so did the roaches. we aslo had ants and those died from the cold as well. When it was summer she didnt provide us with any kind of a/c units. We had to provide our own. and that house was hot in the summer. And the winter was harsh the house came with 2 heaters but it didnt heat up the whole house. The first snow we had of the year my kids were so cold i had to put them right infront of he heater so they wouldnt freeze. we had to move to a familys house so we could stay warm. And the waterheater busted We lived at the family members house for a month and still payed her the rent. also we had a gas leak and we payed that months rent as well and our deposit. was $350. I was wondering if we would be able to sue our landlord for 2 months rent that we didnt stay there and our deposit. Cuz under Texas state law she had to take care of all the pests. provide us with a/c units and heat. The only wrong thing we did was break the lease with 4 months to go.
I could help you out
YEP IT IS
You had every right to break the lease. That kinda stuff is HER responsibility to fix it. She could get in trouble from the health department for that. You can sue, and I bet you would win.
If you saw cockroaches before you even moved in, then you should have known there was a problem. And why on earth would you rent a home in Texas without air conditioning? I certainly don’t hold your landlord harmless, but you need to be responsible and exercise some forethought as well…especially when you have small children. This is NOT worth suing over, but I do hope you learned a lesson and will be smarter in future.
I’m not a lawyer, so I can only offer an opinion. I think you “Might” get away with not paying out the remainder of the lease, if you can prove that the place was uninhabitable. (Insufficient heating, health hazard)
I don’t know about getting the deposit back. I’m thinking you might be S.O.L. on that.
As for sueing the slum I mean landlord to try to get money back from the months you paid when you weren’t actually living there, no, I don’t think so. You were under contract. That’s like having a mortgage on a house and thinking, “Well, since I was away on vacation all last month and wasn’t actually IN my house all that time, I shouldn’t have to pay my house payment that month.” Uh uh! I don’t think so. UNLESS you can prove that the place was uninhabitable, I think in all likelihood the only “compensation” would be to break free and clear of the lease. I doubt you’d get any sort of reimbersement for rent you have already paid. The deposit is questionable. You “MIGHT” get that back. I have my doubts on that.
Your best option would be to consult with someone who’s fluent in real estate/landlord/tenant laws.
Good Luck! I hope your next place is a lot better than the one you described!