Q: Neighbors are smoking weed and the smells are giving us migraines, have a toddler and pregnant fiancé.
We live in an apartment and notified landlord about problems. Said they will address but it is still occurring. We want to leave with a 60 day notice without paying 2x termination fee.
A: You can start paying your rent on time each month into escrow with your local court, which will have landlord come in to explain what is being done about the problem. If not enough, the court can terminate the lease and refund your escrow money. Check the local court web site for the rent escrow process. If the court doesn't terminate, then you will have to decide whether you move out. If you refuse to pay the early termination, landlord could sue you. But landlord would have to get an attorney to do that, and might decide it is not cost-effective to try to collect 2 months rent from you. But landlord could make an adverse entry on your credit report, lowering your credit score and making it more difficult to rent from a landlord who checks your credit. Try to work it out with landlord.
Nicholas P. Weiss agrees with this answer
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