Can I vacate my rental if my landlord has breached our lease?
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Can I vacate my rental if my landlord has breached our lease?
I signed a lease where I requested an addendum to include the installation of a roof deck which was negotiated and cost $200 more than the advertised rent. When I moved in the deck wasn’t done and after requests from the landlord about what was going on, I realized that I was never going to get a roof deck merely a wall around the “roof deck” with no adequate flooring or anything. There were no permits filed for this and no effort to make it a roof deck. I notified the landlord of my intention to vacate the apartment due to her breach but now she’s saying I have no right.
Asked on January 26, 2012 under Real Estate Law, New York
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If the roof deck was a material part of the lease and you would not have moved in if the roof deck was not going to be installed, then the breach is a material breach and you have a right to move out. This is not a habitability issue so the fact of the deck may not be a prevailing argument unless you are left still paying more for the lease than you woud have been paying without the deck.
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