Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania

We picked our current apartment because it is on the ground floor where we are allowed to have a gas grill (indicated on our lease). This was a big factor in our choice of where to live. We cook on the grill all year long mostly for health reasons. Ten months after moving in, we got a letter from the Property Manager saying we are not allowed to have a grill per Borough code dated 4 months before we signed our lease. Is this considered misrepresentation? Can this be considered grounds for breaking the lease without penalty? Thank you.


Asked on 4/29/12, 9:36 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
John Davidson Law Office of John A. Davidson

Local ordinances supersede leases. If the ordinance had be passed after you moved in you still couldn't legal operate the grill. It's not misrepresentation you could have asked the town before signing the lease.

{John}

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Answered on 4/30/12, 6:27 am
Andrew Solomon Law Office of Andrew A. Solomon

On the other hand, if the Lease itself permitted you to own and operate the grill, you might have grounds to request a rent reduction, but this would be entirely up to the landlord. I think it would be difficult, if not impossible to break the lease without penalty on this issue.

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Answered on 4/30/12, 8:00 am


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