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Q: Breaking Lease ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   3 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Breaking Lease
Category: Reference, Education and News > Consumer Information
Asked by: sealab-ga
List Price: $20.00
Posted: 05 Dec 2005 15:44 PST
Expires: 04 Jan 2006 15:44 PST
Question ID: 601889
****I would like this question to be answered 
        by a researcher or other very knowledgable person****

Hello,
    I currently am living in a bad situation. I live in a house with 3
other people, and we signed a 10 month lease. It is a four bedroom
house, with two of the bedrooms in what is essentially the bassment.
My room is in the bassment, and it does not have any windows. It is
very small, and has a sealed-off pipe coming out of the floor, so I
assume it was supposed to be a bathroom or something. I am under the
assumption that it is illegal for a bedroom to be rented out when it
does not contain any windows. I was willing to deal with the fact that
there was no window when I moved in; but one of my roomates has become
very hatefull towards me, which makes living here very uncomfortable.
So, my questions are: Is what my rental company doing illegal,(renting
me a bedroom with now window). And if so, may I use this to break the
lease?
In addition, for the last two months, my roomates and I have been
letting a friend stay at our place (for free) while he was looking for
a new place to live. This is a violation of the lease. The company
also said that we cannot sublet our place out to people.
What are my options here? If I have to pay the rest of the lease, can
I have our friend take over the lease?
Even though one roomate is very hatefull to me, I do not desire for
any of them to get introuble, I would like to leave this house
peacefully.
Please let me know all of my options, my legal options, any any ideas
or questions you have.
Additionally, I have come across the Housing Quality Standards form,
and it appears that the fact that I do not have a window in my room
violates both the section on Illumination& Electricity 10.3 10-8  As
well as the section on Interior Air Quality 10.3 10-8
I found that information at
http://www.hudclips.org/sub_nonhud/html/pdfforms/7420g10.pdf
I would appreciate the answers from you as well as links to cite your information.
Thank you very much.

ps. While I don't have a lot of money, this information is very
important to me, so I have priced the question at $55. If this
situation is much simpler than I realize and I am greatly overpaying,
please have the consideration of telling me before you answer it.
 Once again, thank you.

Request for Question Clarification by weisstho-ga on 05 Dec 2005 17:29 PST
Dear Sealab,

May I suggest that this is a $20 question?

weisstho-ga

Clarification of Question by sealab-ga on 05 Dec 2005 19:16 PST
Thanks Weisstho! It's my first time using this service, and I just
wasn't sure how much a question like this would be worth. Have a nice
day.
       -Sealab

Request for Question Clarification by weisstho-ga on 06 Dec 2005 06:17 PST
Great!  Now, could you please tell us the city and state in which the
housing unit is located?

Did the landlord assign you to the basement room, or did you
voluntarily choose it?

Is this the first term in your lease, which is to ask: have you
renewed the lease?

I assume that the lease prohibits both "assignments" and "subleases." 
Is this correct?

I also assume that each tenant is "jointly and severally" liable under
the lease. Is this correct?

Cheers!

weisstho-ga

Clarification of Question by sealab-ga on 06 Dec 2005 11:45 PST
Hello,
     
This is in or around Bellingham, WA.
     
The landlord did not assign me the room, however, I moved in about a
week after my roomates, and thus, I was left with the only room
untaken: the basement.

We have not renewed the lease, and this is the first term.

The lease does prohibit sublets, and I believe that it prohibits
assignments as well.

Yes, we are jointly and severally liable as well.

                Thank you for you questions!
                  
         -sealab
Answer  
Subject: Re: Breaking Lease
Answered By: weisstho-ga on 06 Dec 2005 16:03 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello again, Sealab ? Thanks for visiting us!

First off, the normal disclaimer applies ? this is not legal advice
and you should always contact an attorney in your area when you have a
serious question concerning the law. This is particularly true in
landlord/tenant law, which is one of the most difficult areas of law
that exists.

I practice law in Michigan and actually practice quite a bit of
landlord/tenant law, BUT every state is VASTLY different and
Washington is no exception.

I have viewed the Revised Code of Washington and the Bellingham City
Code as well as the ordinances for Whatcom County. Here are their
sites:

RCW:  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx
Bellingham:  http://www.cob.org/web/bmcode.nsf
Whatcom:  http://www.mrsc.org/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=whatpage.htm$vid=municodes:Whatcom

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I agree with you that a basement bedroom, without windows, is
troublesome and would appear to be unsafe. Section 59.18.060 of the
Revised Code of Washington, which deals with the duties of landlords,
makes a couple of points:

The landlord will at all times during the tenancy keep the premises
fit for human habitation, and shall in particular:

     (1) Maintain the premises to substantially comply with any
applicable code, statute, ordinance, or regulation governing their
maintenance or operation, which the legislative body enacting the
applicable code, statute, ordinance or regulation could enforce as to
the premises rented if such condition substantially endangers or
impairs the health or safety of the tenant;

     (3) Keep any shared or common areas reasonably clean, sanitary,
and safe from defects increasing the hazards of fire or accident;

     (11)(a) Provide a written notice to all tenants disclosing fire
safety and protection information. The landlord or his or her
authorized agent must provide a written notice to the tenant that the
dwelling unit is equipped with a smoke detection device. The notice
shall inform the tenant of the tenant's responsibility to maintain the
smoke detection device in proper operating condition and of penalties
for failure to comply. The notice must be signed by the landlord or
the landlord's authorized agent and tenant with copies provided to
both parties. Further, except with respect to a single-family
residence, the written notice must also disclose the following:

     (i) Whether the smoke detection device is hard-wired or battery operated;

     (ii) Whether the building has a fire sprinkler system;

     (iii) Whether the building has a fire alarm system;

     (iv) Whether the building has a smoking policy, and what that policy is;

     (v) Whether the building has an emergency notification plan for
the occupants and, if so, provide a copy to the occupants;

     (vi) Whether the building has an emergency relocation plan for
the occupants and, if so, provide a copy to the occupants; and

     (vii) Whether the building has an emergency evacuation plan for
the occupants and, if so, provide a copy to the occupants.

     (b) The information required under this subsection may be
provided to a tenant in a multifamily residential building either as a
written notice or as a checklist that discloses whether the building
has fire safety and protection devices and systems. The checklist
shall include a diagram showing the emergency evacuation routes for
the occupants.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18 for the entire text
of the Landlord duties.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Although I cannot find a direct reference in either the city or county
ordinances concerning fire inspections, I would suggest that you call
the local fire department and ask them:

1.	Do apartment homes require a fire inspection?
2.	Is it proper for a rental unit to be in a basement?
3.	Is there anything they can do to help you?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If any of the above create a violation, then you must give the
landlord a letter demanding that the violation be fixed. The landlord,
then, has 10 days to fix the problem. If he/she doesn?t fix it within
10 days, you may ?terminate the rental agreement? without any further
obligation under the lease, and without any obligation to pay rent
after the date that you move out. Plus, you would be entitled to a
return of rental deposits and prepaid rent.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There is a special provision if a landlord ?substantially endangers? a
tenant, including (i) structural members that are of insufficient size
or strength to carry imposed loads with safety, (ii) exposure of the
occupants to the weather, (iii) plumbing and sanitation defects that
directly expose the occupants to the risk of illness or injury, (iv)
lack of water, including hot water, (v) heating or ventilation systems
that are not functional or are hazardous, (vi) defective, hazardous,
or missing electrical wiring or electrical service, (vii) defective or
inadequate exits that increase the risk of injury to occupants, and
(viii) conditions that increase the risk of fire, the tenant shall
give notice in writing to the landlord, specifying the conditions,
acts, omissions, or violations. Such notice shall be sent to the
landlord or to the person or place where rent is normally paid.
The landlord, again has 10 days to repair. You can have your local
government officials (probably the fire department or building
department) inspect the home. You could then pay your rent into escrow
and perhaps have some of the rent paid back to you at a later date.
This is a complex procedure that would almost certainly require a
legal aid attorney to assist you.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ?hudclips? site you mention only applies to ?Section 8? HUD
housing, which I don?t believe you live in. You can tell by looking at
your lease ? if you are in Section 8 housing there will be a notation
saying that in your lease agreement.  Certainly, HUD housing is very
highly controlled and as a general rule is pretty good, at least in
the smaller cities like Bellingham.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So, the answer to your questions:

Q:  Is what my rental company doing illegal,(renting me a bedroom with no window)?
A:  Probably not, unless one of the laws discussed above concerning
fire exits/fire detectors and exits has been broken. You can easily
confirm this by calling your local fire department.

Q:  And if so, may I use this to break the lease?
A:  Probably, yes.

Q:  In addition, for the last two months, my roommates and I have been
letting a friend stay at our place (for free) while he was looking for
a new place to live. This is a violation of the lease. The company
also said that we cannot sublet our place out to people. What are my
options here?  If I have to pay the rest of the lease, can I have our
friend take over the lease?
A:  You can only have your friend take over the lease with your
landlord?s permission. If you allowed your friend to take over your
payments WITHOUT your landlord?s permission, you would remain
responsible for the unpaid rent and other charges ? obviously not
good. Check with the landlord ? they will probably say OK. Definitely,
don?t take a chance on this one.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There is a legal aid clinic - The ?Law Advocates? run a legal clinic
in Whatcom County, called Coordinated Legal Education Advice and
Referral and they can be reached at 888-201-1014. Their website is:

http://www.lawadvocates.org/index.cfm?pagename=homepage

If the fire department says that there is a violation, I would
definitely talk to Legal Aid for assistance in how to proceed. You
might get some of your rent back!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If there is ANYTHING that is not perfectly clear, please hit the
CLARIFICATION button and ask away ? no limit.

Best regards, and Good Luck,

Weisstho-ga

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Search Strategy:

Washington Statutes
Bellingham City Code
Bellingham Legal Aid
sealab-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $2.00

Comments  
Subject: Re: Breaking Lease
From: myoarin-ga on 06 Dec 2005 22:10 PST
 
Although the landlord did not assign you to the windowless basement
room, if the lease contract or other written communication mentions
that room as a bedroom, this could be an argument if such a room is
not legally allowed to be considered a bedroom or counted as a room in
a dwelling  - which you seem to have discovered.
But it appears that you best personal solution would be to introduce
the guest as a replacement tenant for yourself, which I expect would
also require the agreement of the three other remaining parties.
Subject: Re: Breaking Lease
From: weisstho-ga on 07 Dec 2005 09:26 PST
 
Our friend, myoarin, is correct as always. Notwithstanding all the
legal stuff, getting out of there on friendly terms (with both the
landlord and your friends) should be "Job 1."

Thanks, myoarin.  Tom

weisstho-ga
Subject: Re: Breaking Lease
From: sealab-ga on 07 Dec 2005 15:15 PST
 
Thank you very much weisstho, this has been very helpful. Also, thank
you myoarin for the help!

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