Today, my pregnant girlfriend and I moved into our first home together, signing a 1-year lease. Less than 12 hours later, we've discovered that the place is infested with cockroaches and we have a mouse. The landlord won't let us out of the contract. FML
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Thanksgiving
Questions about your love life, a burnt turkey and the cousin who knows everything: Thanksgiving, a contact sport.
Today, my boyfriend finally moved in with me, after being long distance for months. Our apartment just became infested with mice. FML
Today, after moving in with a couple of vegan zoologists a few weeks ago, I discover that they don't believe that we have the right to kill cockroaches, and will not allow me to do so. The house is infested, and it's spread to my bedroom. FML
Today, I spent the first night in my new home as a first-time homeowner. I was relaxing and enjoying the feeling of having my own space when I reached over to get my glasses and came back with a cockroach. FML
Today, after being nearly homeless and couch-hopping for the last few months, I finally signed a 1-year lease. When I got home, I was surprised to see a picture of my new complex on the front page of the newspaper. It turns out that they are fighting a serious bedbug infestation. FML
Today, after months of my girlfriend crying about cockroaches, I finally called and paid for an exterminator. Now she's furious at me for "making decisions for her" and she keeps pointing out that, since she owns the house, what I did was technically illegal. FML
Today, my girlfriend won't stay over at my apartment anymore. Why? Because she saw a few roaches. Pest control comes every week and I spray every other day, so there's only so much I can about it. The worst part is now it's extremely difficult to spend time together because she lives with her mom and sister, who argue nonstop. FML
Today, my girlfriend and I moved back in after over a month of couch hopping and $2,000 of heat and chemical treatments for a chronic bedbug issue. I just found bedbugs on my legs. We've used all our favors and have nowhere to go. FML
Today, I’ve lived in my apartment for more than five years and never had more than the occasional housefly. Three months after I got new downstairs neighbors I’ve been hit with a massive roach infestation, and they decided to bring their lovely ant friends with them. FML
Today, I had to move down to the third floor because after complaining about rats on my rooftop the landlord put down traps. The rats died. Flies came. The flies laid eggs. The eggs birthed maggots. The maggots rained down from my broken ceiling into my bed and all over my floor. I'm not okay. FML
Today, I've lived in my apartment for over 5 years with no bugs, as I'm phobic of them. I broke up with my ex, who smirked at me and declared war. I now have thousands of roaches that I can't get rid of. Coincidence? FML
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Top comments
madi113 18
You didn't inspect the home before leasing it???
AnOriginalName 19
It's his legal responsibility as a landlord to provide you with a livable situation. Mice and cockroaches ain't a livable situation. Have him bring in an exterminator.
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Comments (164)
vikky538 29
I am pretty sure there is 48 notice window to let the landlord know of any issues with home and he is obliged to resolve it
2qt2bsngl 10
It is illegal for a landlord to rent a unit with bugs in it. Go to the health standards or call and he will have to exterminate
generallyokay 2
It is not illegal. Check your lease agreement and any emails between you and the leasing agent. If you have been misled, you are free to ask for comeuppance. Otherwise, you're wasting time and money. MPrevious tenants might have been dirty, or your landlord may have not done their scheduled extermination. But don't be too upset. You just moved in. These things can be fixed.
lovelockdown23 23
it actually is against the law. regardless of what their contract says. Hes renting not buying. as a landlord you have to do everything as of outside maintenance, plumbing, and things such as bugs. if he would have bought the home that would have been different.
whiskeygirl23 4
whether or not it's illegal can depend on the state. some places it's just normal sadly.
mariekitty 21
I'd talk to a lawyer because roach and mouse droppings are harmful to pregnant women...
Moonditch_fml 19
I'm not a lawyer, but my impression is that if the rented dwelling considered "unrentable", as in below a certain level of sanitation, or unfit for human habitation, then you are free to break contact with no penalty. If it's not quite that bad, as others have suggested you can request that he deal with the pests and he doesn't do so within a reasonable amount of time, you're again free to leave without penalty. Just make sure you document any correspondence or requests for future use in case of a lawsuit. Be firm but polite & research your rights. Best of luck
nutella4life 14
if you're not a lawyer... you should be. you're good at that
Jowisee 29
Also as your girlfriend is pregnant you need to make sure the place is safe for her and your baby.
MandieL 27
If it can be proven that the landlord knowingly rented the property with a pest problem, then the lease can be broken with no penalty. If the landlord is asked to fix the issue, they have a reasonable amount of time to do so, and if they do not, the tenant can potentially take care of it themselves and hold back rent or sue for compensation, or they can hold back rent until the issue is resolved, they can not break the lease with no penalty. Ultimately it would depend on what their contract said, if it is poorly written there may be loop holes and wiggle room, if it is written up properly, then both the landlord and the tenant should be protected. I spent weeks writing up the lease agreement for our tenants to ensure that they would feel safe and comfortable with it and that my husband and I wouldn't get screwed over too bad should we end up with a horrible tenant (you can only do so much background checking)
chinaski7628 32
As other people have said, legality depends on state/country. In California, you cannot break a signed lease for any reason. If you do, you can legally be held responsible for rent until the landlord re-rents it (though the landlord must be able to prove they are actively trying to rent it out). And the landlord may not be legally obligated to pay for an exterminator, but a good landlord will (especially for a new tenant). My dad does property management and believe me, the laws regarding renter/landlords are not simple (or uniform across the country). The good news is, for the most part, the law favors the renter and there are many agencies (at least in California) that do inexpensive or pro bono work to advocate for tenants.
maronofhearts 19
If your property is inhabitable due to pests or other issues a lease can be voided after going through the proper steps especially if you can prove it was infested before you moved in and kept a secret. You may have to get the courts involved if the landlord is stubborn and refuses to fix it or let you walk away but it can be done. Most people prefer to withhold rent instead of having to move all over again Many people in California use the city health inspectors to allow them to withhold rent A tenant did it for two years at a property the company I work manages purposely breaking things on the life and safety list and then calling the inspector so that they didn't have to pay rent
JRtheSnowman 5
if you're going to do this make sure you do not do it over the phone all emails and text messages so you have written proof of the interaction
nutella4life 14
FYL, you should've gotten the house checked before you moved in. #1 rule
Geckosrock99 33
Sounds like your landlord is a slumlord. You can't own a property without knowing it's infested. Make him call and pay for an exterminator at the very least.
silverkaast 9
by law he has to pay for pest control. get on that. call the law.
ArrowHuntress 8
My family owns a real estate company, and there are ways that you can terminate the lease. You should seek professional advice. Although, if in the contract it says you accept the house as is (which it probably does), it will be difficult. You may be able to have the landlord pay for an exterminator since the problem was there before you moved in, so you couldn't have caused it.
Jowisee 29
They wouldn't have moved in if they knew. With his girlfriend being pregnant I'm sure that would be one thing they were looking for to make sure the property is suitable for them. I think this needs a followup to explain!
adiposewho 3
You could start an escrow account. That is when you put money in to show you are making payments but you don't have to release the funds until he has the place externinated and fixed. But if the place was infested, I don't understand how you missed them?
theothermeg 3
If the apartment is infested enough to be untenentable then you walk away regardless of contract. There are terms in there to protect renters.