Q: We rented a house with mold and roach infestation.can we get rent and deposit back even though we signed a lease
He promised it would be clean, but it is filthy with mold and roaches. We have small children
A: The landlord has the obligation to notify prospective tenants with regard to any issues present on the rental property which might pose a danger to their health, including mold contamination and pest infestation, prior to signing the lease. Accordingly, if your landlord wittingly omitted to disclose these problems, they can be held accountable for failing to comply with the warranty of habitability. You can either withhold rent until they properly attend to the mold contamination and pest infestation in the house, have these issues personally taken care of by hiring a mold removal company and, respectively, a pest control company, and subsequently subtracting the cost of their services from the rent, or end the lease on the basis of failure to comply with the warranty of habitability. Withholding payment and subtracting the cost of professional services from the rent is reasonable and also perfectly legal in this case, since your landlord had been aware of the state of the property before you officially became a tenant.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
