A tenant may be able to terminate their lease early due to feeling unsafe. If the safety issue arises because of the landlord’s failure to remedy certain issues, the tenant may be able to terminate the lease. Furthermore, if the safety issues arise out of dangerous tenants or domestic violence, the tenant would be able to terminate the lease.
When Can a Tenant Break a Lease for Feeling Unsafe?
There are no laws that allow a tenant to break a lease for feeling unsafe. However, unsafe conditions can lead to another valid reason for a tenant to be able to break a lease.
Implied Warranty of Habitability
Almost every state follows a variation of the implied warranty of habitability, which guarantees a rental unit will remain livable throughout a tenant’s lease term. It prevents landlords from renting out an apartment that lacks essential services. The most common things that break the implied warranty of habitability include:
- Broken stairways
- Broken locks
- Broken windows and doors
- Uneven and cracking walls
A tenant to break a lease early for feeling unsafe, the reason a tenant is feeling unsafe must also break the implied warranty of habitability.
Other Reasons for Feeling Unsafe
While a tenant must tie certain feelings for being unsafe to the warranty of habitability, certain situations making a tenant feel unsafe can be brought on their own to break a lease for feeling unsafe.
These situations include:
- Domestic violence
- Landlord harassment
- Other tenant harassment
When Can’t a Tenant Break a Lease for Feeling Unsafe?
A tenant would not be able break a lease for feeling unsafe for the following reasons:
- The tenant believed the lease premises was haunted
- The tenant thinks someone is following them without proof
- The tenant failed to properly maintain the individual premise and caused unsafe conditions
Uninhabitability Leading to Dangerous Conditions
Sometimes, the uninhabitability of the leased premises is because of dangerous conditions. These dangerous conditions include:
- Unsafe or broken walls and roofs
- Unclean or unsafe common areas (such as stairs)
- Broken or missing appliances (such as ovens)
- Not adhering to occupancy limits
- Rodent, insect, or mold infestation
- Broken locks
If the dangerous conditions cause damage to the tenant, then the landlord may be liable for breaking the implied warranty of habitability, and thus would be in breach of the lease.
Implied Warranty of Habitability
Every state has specific health and safety codes that provide minimum standards for rental units. If those standards are not met, proper notice is given by the tenant and the repairs/fixes are still not made within the allowable time period, a tenant would be considered “constructively evicted”.
When the landlord fails to correct a disturbance, and the disturbance seriously interferes with the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the leased premises, the tenant is justified in abandoning the premises.
