Q: If rental is uninhabitable and I was forced to leave do I need to give a prior notice? Landlord knows it's uninhabitable
Mold was making my family ill so we moved ourselves to a hotel in hopes the landlord would remedy it properly. That didn't happen and was made worse by exposing asbestos in dry walls. We found a new place but don't feel it necessary to give a 30 day or even 2 day heads up since they fully know the state of the property and the conditions. Everything is out and we cleaned despite getting sick from being in there.
A: You did what was right to move your family out of a hazardous situation. But you could have better protected yourselves legally. A 5-day notice to the landlord is required by ARS 33-1361 to terminate a lease where there is a health or safety danger. Since the lease was not terminated, you may not get your deposit back and you might be sued for rent that accrues until the premises can be re-let. If you did a good job of documenting the problems in this unit, and your medical records prove that your health problems were caused by the conditions in the unit, you may have a good defense and possibly a good counterclaim in the event an action is brought against you.
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