Can I break my lease due to misrepresentation?
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Can I break my lease due to misrepresentation?
I recently moved into an apartment iand I have been having issues with parking. There is a parking lot behind my building and I was under the impression that there was ample parking available. Some days I have nowhere to park at all. My landlord never made me aware of the parking issues and it does not state in my lease that parking was a separate expense. They even went as far as meeting me after the hours that parking is an issue. There are no spaces available for me to rent, I never would have moved in if I knew this would be as much of a problem as it has been.
Asked on June 8, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
A material misrepresentation can provide grounds to rescind a lease. However, what you describe does not appear to be a misrepresentation, since it appears the landlord did not represent anything about parking: you say you "were under the impression," or assumed, there was parking; while the lease does not say that parking was a separate expense, it does not have to; and a landlord does not need to affirmatively describe the parking situation if the tenant doesn't raise it. So if you asked about parking and the landlord said it was available, or even without you asking, the landlord said that there was parking available, you would very possibly have a cause for rescission based on misrepresentation; but if you simply looked at the parking lot and assumed it belonged to this building, you would not be able to rescind the lease, because your incorrect assumption does not constitute a misrepresentation by the landlord.
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