Can you get your deposit back if you brokea lease due to unsanitary and unsafe living conditions?
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Can you get your deposit back if you brokea lease due to unsanitary and unsafe living conditions?
There were leaking ceilings, mold in the bathroom, sunken floors, and rats in the ceilings.
Asked on January 28, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Illinois
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Oh my goodness! Your situation is a breach of the warranty of habitability. What you should have done wasgo to court to ask the court to void the lease if the problems were not fixed in a timely manner. Now, generally speaking a security deposit is for damage to an apartment but some states do allow the landlord to apply it to rent owed. You need help here so that you arenot sued for the remaining months of the lease. Try legal aid or a tenant's rights group. Good luck.
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