phillydan
01-22-2007, 05:00 PM
I have run into a situation in an apartment that I am renting in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. I moved in July 1st and have just under 6 months remaining in my lease.
To start, I have had some maintenance issues that have gone un treated even after several requests. The worst being that i live in a basement apartment and the window wells are filled with debris. Leaves and food trash that have been tossed out of the windows by other tenants. I have asked several times to have these cleaned out and they have done nothing. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, until I can’t open the windows because the stench of rotting food and leaves is overwhelming.
About 2 months ago, I returned to my apartment to find a man smoking crack in the laundry room in the basement. I escorted him out of the building and didn't think much of it.
2 weeks ago, I went into my storage locker in the basement to find that someone had climbed over the top of the locker and stolen many of my belongings. Nothig worth much, I know better.
I walked around looking in the other storage areas to try to find my things and discovered that someone had set up their own little sleeping quarters and was living there. I returned the next night to find him in there, the same guy that I caught in the laundry room. Again, he was smoking crack.
He ran out of the building and true to form, the Philadelphia police never arrived. The next morning, I checked again and he was back. Sleeping. This time the police came rigt away, but he was gone before they got there.
Here is the problem. My ex wife will no longer allow my daughter to visit me on the weekends until I have moved out of here. we have a liberal visitation agreement and honestly, I don't want my daughter to come here anymore.
I have asked the building manager to consider terminating my lease early and she was very rude and basically told me to take a hike.
There is an addendum to my lease, which I signed, that states that the owner is not responsible for the safety of their tenants or their personal property. I asked them to at least put bars on my windows, and they said that they did not have to because I took the apartment "as is".
The man who was living in our basement had an access code to the front door. He has to know someone in the building to get that code, and items being left in the basement at times lead me to believe that he has been back. Either that or someone else has been down there smoking crack. They have since changed the lock and cleaned out the space.
I do not feel safe in this building and either does my kid. Am I missing something that should enable me to end my lease early?
Is safety a requirement of the general expectancy of habitability, or am I SOL? I am moving out feb 1st regardless, and will take whatever comes to me.
To start, I have had some maintenance issues that have gone un treated even after several requests. The worst being that i live in a basement apartment and the window wells are filled with debris. Leaves and food trash that have been tossed out of the windows by other tenants. I have asked several times to have these cleaned out and they have done nothing. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, until I can’t open the windows because the stench of rotting food and leaves is overwhelming.
About 2 months ago, I returned to my apartment to find a man smoking crack in the laundry room in the basement. I escorted him out of the building and didn't think much of it.
2 weeks ago, I went into my storage locker in the basement to find that someone had climbed over the top of the locker and stolen many of my belongings. Nothig worth much, I know better.
I walked around looking in the other storage areas to try to find my things and discovered that someone had set up their own little sleeping quarters and was living there. I returned the next night to find him in there, the same guy that I caught in the laundry room. Again, he was smoking crack.
He ran out of the building and true to form, the Philadelphia police never arrived. The next morning, I checked again and he was back. Sleeping. This time the police came rigt away, but he was gone before they got there.
Here is the problem. My ex wife will no longer allow my daughter to visit me on the weekends until I have moved out of here. we have a liberal visitation agreement and honestly, I don't want my daughter to come here anymore.
I have asked the building manager to consider terminating my lease early and she was very rude and basically told me to take a hike.
There is an addendum to my lease, which I signed, that states that the owner is not responsible for the safety of their tenants or their personal property. I asked them to at least put bars on my windows, and they said that they did not have to because I took the apartment "as is".
The man who was living in our basement had an access code to the front door. He has to know someone in the building to get that code, and items being left in the basement at times lead me to believe that he has been back. Either that or someone else has been down there smoking crack. They have since changed the lock and cleaned out the space.
I do not feel safe in this building and either does my kid. Am I missing something that should enable me to end my lease early?
Is safety a requirement of the general expectancy of habitability, or am I SOL? I am moving out feb 1st regardless, and will take whatever comes to me.
