Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Rental Agreement-Terminating

In June 2006, I started renting a room from an owner of a house, who owns two cats and will not be offering them up. I signed the 12 month lease despite this, as I had neighbors growing up that owned cats without any allergic reactions, and thus had no reason to suspect I was allergic to cats. However, shortly after moving in, I have continuously and consistently noticed some mild allergic reactions to the cats that increase proportionately to distance and time spent near them. The cats have almost complete free reign of the house, except for my bedroom, and prefer attention, so it is not possible to completely avoid contact with them. I have set an appointment to get tested to see if I can get medical verification that I am allergic to cats. If it is verified that I am allergic to cats, what legal recourse do I have? Is it possible to terminate the contract before the end of the 12 months without the usual occurrence of being responsible for the rest of the lease?


Asked on 11/10/06, 11:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Rental Agreement-Terminating

You would likely have to get the agreement of the landlord to terminate the lease without incurring penalty. (Furthermore, I don't undertand why anyone would sign a year's lease for merely a room

which normally rent month to month.)

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Answered on 11/11/06, 9:59 am


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