I moved into an apartment on Oct.1st, 2007 and signed a 3 month lease. The lease was fairly typical, (30 day move notice, $350.00 pet deposit, $700.00 security deposit, etc.). The landlord also took the time to handwrite additional comments stating that we could not rent the apartment to someone else at a higher price, etc..

Now the problem. After moving in the landlord informed us that she was in the process of "fixing up" the properties and is in the process of trying to sell them. She also told us that we would have to move to one of the other rentals in December while our unit was being worked on. In my opinion, this is unacceptable. I had my utilities turned on here, I work from home and need access to the internet and telephone and I basically feel that I signed a contract for this apartment not another unit. After telling the landlord this she stated that we could still live in this unit but could "stay in one of the other apartments for 4-5 hours per day while the workers updated the bathroom and kitchen!"

There is another issue that I am having a really hard time with. The landlord showed up unannounced with a worker and came into the apartment measuring the floors, walls, etc.. Upon leaving she said, "Btw, you DO know that this is a non-smoking apartment don't you?" I told her that I did not know this, it was never mentioned and it was also not in the lease. She said that she must have forgotten to mention it and left by saying"Now that you know, you are not to smoke in the apartment."

My roommate and I are both smokers and this was the first thing that we looked at when apartment searching. So, we called the landlord and told her that we were not told about the sudden smoking policy and did not sign a lease that mentioned this. We also asked why she took the time to handwrite all of the additional rules on the lease and somehow forgot to add the smoking issue? The landlord then began to rant about how smoking affects her health ...we told her that she doesn't live here and it was finally revealed that she didn't want the apartment to smell like smoke when potential buyers show up to look at the apartment! We asked her if she would end the lease early and return our deposits if we found another apartment by December 1st, (our lease ends January 1st). She said that we would have to give a 30 day notice....today is the 8th so this option is not possible.

Do I have any rights in this matter?

So you pay one more month. You can move out then and still pay the rent. And you can move more gradually.

The landlord must also give a written policy on smoking, if I am correct, they can not just verbally add them as they go along. If you can smoke outside for just one month, do so, it shows you are polite and it will get you a great referral when you are looking for a place to rent, if not, the landlord could make it hard for you when looking for a good referral. Sorry you found yourself in such a bad predicament. I would ask for a break in the rent for the inconvenience of having to be kicked out of your home every day! I would contact an attorney to see if the landlord can use some of your deposit for "deep cleaning" to rid the place of the odor, and also to see if you can be reimbursed for the inconvenience. The attorney may also be able to get you out of the lease for the landlord withholding the information about the renovations being done while you are there. I could really see a judge letting you out of the lease because of this! Why should you have to leave your home at all! Why should the landlord be allowed, and strangers also, to enter your home every day! This sounds just simply crazy! Please consult a landlord/tenant attorney. You may even be able to get your rent back that you have paid. Let me know what happens please!