Anyone here ever break a lease? (please read before commenting)

[csziggy]

15. You might also try to talk to the building inspection department

FIRST: Talk to an attorney - check into the online cheap legal advice places or see if your local bar association has a refer a lawyer service. I've used the Florida Bar referral service and got an hour with an attorney for very cheap. It was enough for me to go over the details of my case and for him to give me steps to take to solve the problem.

ALSO: Call the local building inspection department. It sounds as if that place needs to be condemned! Leaky roof, leaky windows and doors, floor giving out, sounds as though there could be a leak in the pipes from the amount of your water bill. (That old gray pipe which was part of a class action lawsuit can spontaneously split and leak like crazy - it happened in our old trailer and we didn't realize it until the jet of water coming out of the split had rotted the pressboard flooring.) Mold issues, which is a health hazard - talk to the health department, too!

If either the building inspector or the health department declare the place uninhabitable, the lease could be void. Be sure and ask your attorney about it.

At the very least, getting advice from a lawyer lets you state in writing or verbally, "Upon advice of my attorney..." which scares the crap out of most people.

Good luck!