Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia
lease termination
I signed my lease at 6pm on Friday afternoon. After going to the apartment that night, I realized that it was not a very safe community afterall. The exit gate was broken and had been for 3 months. (so I learned from some other tenants I spoke with) Those same tenants informed me of gang activity, break-ins, & drugs. After learning of all that I realized that this was not a safe environment for a single, 21 year old female to be in. I contacted the aparment manager at 10am the next morning (within 24 hours) and she said the only thing I could do to get out of my lease was pay close to $2000. It doesn't state this directly in the lease agreement. Is there any chance of me being able to get out of this lease w/out paying so much money. Wasn't it their responsibility to tell me about the gate being broken and the crime? I wouldn't have signed that lease had I known those things. Can they be held responsible for my misunderstanding about the neighborhood? What are my chances of getting out of this without having to pay so much money?
Kari
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: lease termination
Generally, apartments are not responsible for the quality of the surrounding neighborhood or crimes committed on the property. Unless your lease states that they will have a working gate (or some other language about safety), then you will not be able to break the lease without paying some penalty. Most leases have provisions that set out a penalty amount for early termination.
If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. My contact information is below. Thank you.
The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.
Glenn M. Lyon, Esq
MacGregor Lyon, LLC
Promenade II
1230 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 1900
Atlanta Georgia 30309
Phone 404.942.3545
Fax 404.795.0993
www.macgregorlyon.com