Q: Does the landlord have to disclose the information of a death before the lease is signed and a payment is made?
My roommate and I signed a lease for an apartment and made our first payment, and once they received the payment, we were told about a death in the apartment in February of this year. We would like to know if this is illegal for them to disclose the information afterwards.
A:
A LL has to disclose any condition of the premises that could pose a health hazard to the proposed occupants. if the death involved such a continuing health hazard, the LL would be legally obligated to disclose it to you. Otherwise, the LL does not have to say anything. But in your case the LL did reveal the history, why? Is it haunted? Obviously the LL kept quiet about it until you signed up because the LL thought the fact of a death would scare you away. Not very nice but probably not technically illegal. If the death was from a mold infestation that remains uncured to this day, the LL is obligated to inform you, and to cure the mold before you occupy.
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