WAY O/T - Need some legal help

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Posted By: Anonymous

Leon,
If you have a problem with this, my apologies in advance (just please leave it up for a day or two so I can get some email responses). I would've emailed you about this personally, but it's a time sensitive issue. Hopefully you'll understand.

All,

I know there's a lot of you who are a) lawyers and b) live and/or work in DC. Hopefully some of you can give me some quick legal advice, or at least some avenues to pursue.

Here's the deal: My wife and I are renting a small house in DC. Our lease continues for another year and half or so. A few months ago, we found out she was pregnant. We need to move because the house is way too small to raise a child in (the 2nd "bedroom" is more of an office which is about 6'X 15'). However, it looks like the landlord is going to play games (he is a lawyer) and may try to stick us with paying off the rest of the lease (or at least pay rent until someone else moves in). Is there anyway out of the lease because of the new baby? If we had to pay off the other year and half of the lease, we're talking several thousand dollars that we don't have to burn. We can't really afford paying off a few extra months either (while also paying for a new place). There was no "escape clause" in the lease where we could back out under those circumstances (or any for that matter). Yes, I should've made sure there was one, but we weren't expecting to get pregnant.

Any help would be appreciated.

thegipper12345@hotmail.com

Thanks in advance...

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Posted By: barrysloate

Why don't you try to work out some arrangement with him, say offer two months rent if he lets you leave. He should be able to rent it to someone else in that time. If he's an unreasonable man, you may not be able to get out of it.

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Posted By: anonymous

Barry,

That's why I'm kind of in a bind. Rent for a house in DC is around $2k, which is what we pay now. To move outside of the city and into a slightly smaller house will cost about the same. I make only $4k a month and have a baby on the way. I just don't have the funds.

We already told him the situation. We're looking to move in the next 2-3 months.

Thanks for your opinion...

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Posted By: Jim Dale

To me the worst case scenerio would be to sublet it and offer it on the market at a $100/200 a month below your rate - eating the different of course. That would probably end up being less then legal fees. Then of course you might have a subletting agreement with your existing landlord; but usually if you let them approve of "your" tenant they go along.

The other side of the equation is the landlord may have pledged your lease to cover debt - perhaps on the property or some other property. The idea of "letting you out" may put him in a real bind.

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Posted By: anthony

i'm no lawyer but...i do have 2 kids

if this is your first child, it may not be that bad to stay until your lease is up...first, you said you found out a few months ago which may leave you 4-6 months left before the baby arrives, which would leave roughly 1 year left to deal worry about...from experience of 2 boys, babies for the most part are usually in a craddle/crib and a lot of times in the parents room. both my sons were in our room for about 6-7 months before we moved them into their own room...which may leave about 5-6 months left on the lease...5 months is not that long and with a baby, it goes quick!...you're really not raising a baby in an "out of the ordinary" situation, you're not in a garage or back house, you're just in a small house, babies are tough no matter what the situation is... you wont be taking your eyes off the baby anyways

my suggestion is to try to work something out with the landlord and if not, stick it out, the lease will fly by

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Posted By: barrysloate

If your landlord is unreasonable then Anthony makes a good point. Even though the house may be a bit small, if it is within your budget maybe it's best to stick it out and see if you can live in somewhat tight quarters. The baby will still be a toddler by the time your lease expires so you might be able to make it work.

My wife and I currently have our house rented on eastern Long Island. However, if the tenant asked to break her lease, and was willing to pay us an extra month or two to do so, we would not give her a hard time. Sounds like your landlord is less flexible.

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Posted By: leon

I got an email from the poster about this thread with some background and contact info. This is a very extraordinary O/T thread where a board member, but not frequent poster needs help....Under the circumstance I am aware of, it's all good.......and good luck to Mr X. ......

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Posted By: Paul

Anthony is correct IMHO. New borns don't really need their own room. All three of our kids slept in a bassinet in our room, for the most part of the first year. If it's your first kid, you'll probably be too paranoid to do anything else. Congrats on the little Bambino !!!

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Posted By: howard

My work relates to apartments in NYC and I have a couple of observations:

1) your house sounds plenty big enough to raise a child until your lease runs out. I know of several tenants w/a child or even children living in apartments between 250 and 700 square feet (although I don't recommend a 250 sq ft apt.)

2) It is my understanding that, at least in NYC, if a tenant wants to break a lease the landlord must make a good faith effort to rent the property and the former renters would only be on the hook for the time the apartment is vacant.

3) From what you write it does not sound like the landlord is being unreasonable. Perhaps I'm missing something but it seems like you want to break your lease w/o any financial ramifications. I would like to hear his side of the story.

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Posted By: Anonymous

You all are right about the baby not needing TOO much space. I do understand that.

Too add a little more detail to an already confusing situation:

The house is a rowhouse (connected to a bunch of other houses). There is absolutely NO storage space other than our normal sized bedroom closet and a small broom closet. So the only place we can store ALL of the baby's things are in the little 6'X 15' room. Also, we live along one of the busiest streets in the city. It is constantly loud (even by normal city standards) - car alarms, sirens, large trucks rumbling by, etc.

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. It's really appreciated.

Also, thanks Leon for keeping this alive, if only for awhile.

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Posted By: Joe D.

... "constantly loud" is a good thing to get the baby used to. I have three kids... and we were always quiet as could be when putting the first one to sleep. Worst thing you can do! Because of what we taught her (silence at bed time), she always would be a light sleeper. Now, my son... the second child... we let him sleep anywhere and with any noise around him --- much easier! He can konk out anywhere.

As far as room... little babies don't need much. We always had our kids sleep in a cradle in our bedroom when they were babies.

I say stop worrying... enjoy the pregnancy... and enjoy the baby. Look for a bigger place when the timing is better. Don't sweat it.

Stick it out in the apartment. I bet one day you look back at the time in the apartment with the baby - and you think of it as the good old days. Thats my opinion.

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Posted By: Denny

I totally agree with Anthony... I think 2 Adults and a newborn in...Let's say 700 Sqft apartment? I had 5...5 rears old and under & I could of used my dresser for their bunk beds We lived in a 1000 Sqft place then. Little people are.... little!

No kiddin', Us Sub Sailors find every piece of space to make the situation work! Ask Zack?

I'm not bein' a wise guy at all...I think that because of the situation you guys are in, this will help you to be fruggle today and lessons will be learned for the future! Besides, Think of the memories you'll create while saving Cash for Cards(or Diapers, Suckers or even that 5 drawer dresser you'll need in 5 years ) 6 X 15 could be a palace, if one is willing to be Creative....

I'm sure at first your wife might think your nuts, but the whole idea about saving for the future usually plays out in the whole wisdom kind of thinkin'. I would like to add that havin' a lot of room sometimes makes you think "Is the Baby alright", to many times when they're 2 or 3 rooms away!

Food for thought...

Life's Grand,
Denny Walsh

PS I would love to see how you are all doing in the future and how things turn out! If you're able to find the time,

"Please let us all know how you made out!"

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Posted By: Silver King

Trust me, I have 3 kids right now ages 2,3 and 5. The absolute best thing you can do in your life is live next to loud noises. The fact that it has constantly loud (even by normal city standards) - car alarms, sirens, large trucks rumbling by, etc is the best thing you can hope for. Your baby will get used to those sounds and will sleep through every one of them. Then, when the kid turns one he will be a pro and sleep 12 hours a day with doorbells ringing, vacuuming, sirens and even your wife's screaming O's. Don't become one of those parents who makes their house like a library, your kid will start waking up whenever you make a noise. After your lease is up you can unpack everything in your quiet neighorhood and go on to making a number 2, kid that is.



robert shaw

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Posted By: Cobby33

I tend to agree with the concensus to "stick it out," as it were.

Legally (in CA at least), plaintiffs like this have a duty to mitigate, meaning, they have to use their best efforts to re-let the place. Their damages (if any) are then reduced by the degree of their failure to mitigate.

It might be worth hiring an attorney to write a quick offer letter (i.e. a certain amount) to get out of the lease, reminding the landlord of their duty to mitigate. Not sure what the market is out there, but I would imagine it wouldn't stay vacant for very long?

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Posted By: XXXXX

First thing, I am not a lawyer. I work as a pipefitter on long term construction jobs. Most guys have the typical travel trailers or they live out of hotels. I, on the other hand, have found a loop-hole in the leasing system. The landlord can not enforse the terms of the contract if your job "forces" you to relocate. All you need is a letter printed on company letter-head stating you will be relocated 50-100 miles or whatever distance you need to void the contract. It has worked several times for me in the past. I may be wrong about the legallity of this "loop-hole", but a lawyer here on 54 may be able to validate this.

Good Luck.

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Posted By: scgaynor

I don't know about your legal problems but just a piece of advice based on experience, don't move to Prince George's County Maryland. I grew up there and you don't want to raise kids in that area in this day and age. It is one of the main reasons that I moved away 6 years ago.

Scott

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Posted By: Anonymous

Very interesting comments from all of you. I really appreciate your guys' help on this. Thanks again!

Oh, and Scott, there's now way I'd move to PG county. That place has a higher killing rate then Bagdad! We've only had one killing and about 3-4 shootings on my block in the 1.5 years I've lived here. That's prime propety in PG!

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

3-4 shootings in a year and a half on your block???

I'd be looking to move even if I didn't have a kid on the way.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Dan,
That's just one of the prices you pay for livin' in da 'hood. I didn't even mention the robberies, sexual assaults, etc.

Just another reason I don't want to raise a child here (probably the main reason other than the space issue).

I do like your guys' idea of naturally teaching the child to sleep through anything, though.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

You should definitely follow the noise rule....my kid slept through everything....vacuum cleaner, phone ringing...everything.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

You need to work something out with the landlord... maybe even find a replacement tenant.

Not what you asked, but it is important to not let the child sleep in the bed with you. If you start that, it becomes VERY difficult to break. And it is very easy to start... even tempting.

Good luck with it all.

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Posted By: Anonymous

In addition to Frank's comment, not only is it a hard habit to break, it's extremely dangerous.

Sounds like you are stuck unless you can work something out with the LL. Offer to pay for his advertising if he will try and find a new tenant? Also assure him you will have the place absolutely spotless so that he doesn't have to lift a finger when you move out and the new guy moves in. (spotless as in just that...carpets shampooed, windows washed, yard and everything cleaned up)

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Posted By: Jason Duncan

$2K for 700 SF of living space? Wow. I build in the wrong part of the country. How about a 3 bedroom 2400 SF house on a couple of acres by a golf course for $2k per month and you own it! I have a couple of those available. PRAISE the LORD for the good ole midwest! You guys keep your drive bys and sirens and I will take my little peace and quiet with unbelievable view of the stars very night. Good luck getting out of your lease!


Jason

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Posted By: howard

Believe it or not, here in NYC we are getting 2K for a 250 sq ft studio.

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Posted By: Bruce MacPherson

Gotsparks, your situation is eerily similar to mine--7 years ago last month in fact. My wife and lived in a small apartment in DC when she got pregnant and we had to move to northern VA, primarily for the schools. Plus my wife was afraid that the cat-sized rats on our block might eat our son. Fortunately, it was cheap rent and we were able to find a friend to take over our lease. Good luck with your situation.

ps. the week before we moved my car got stolen. Ah, the joys of living in the city. But I do miss it.

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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

If staying in the house until your lease ends is not an option, your best course of action is to try to assign the lease (i.e., find somebody else to live in the house and take over your rent obligations). Assuming the rent you are paying reflects fair market value, then in theory you should be able to find someone. Assuming you do, the next question is whether your lease permits assignments. If it does, and the person you bring in to take the assignment is someone the landlord cannot reasonably turn down (i.e., the person is financially responsible, is not wanted in twelve states for murder, etc.), then you have just gotten out of your lease by having it assumed by your assignee (though keep in mind that if your assignee defaults in paying the landlord the landlord can and will expect you to cure the default). Keep in mind though that often times leases that allow sublets/assignments contain provisions allowing the landlord a fee or some reimbursment for his expenses to review the qualifications of the assignee.

If your lease does not allow assignments or allows the landlord to reject your assignee for any reason (even if it is unreasonable), then I would still think you have recourse because even if you walked away, the landlord would still I think have a statutory obligation to mitigate his damages. Accordingly, you would be on the hook for (i) the differential between the rent in your lease and the fair market rental, which differential might be zero or even a negative number if your lease rent is at or below fair market value, times the number of months left in your lease term plus (ii) your old rent for such period of time it reasonably should take the landlord to rerent the premises.

So you do have some options. My take is that your landlord is simply trying to avoid being out-of-pocket on the situation, and that if you find some responsible person with the financial means to assume your lease obligations, chances are you can work something out.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Bruce,

My car was also stolen from right in front of my house about a year ago. Luckily I got it back a few days and $3k later.

Jason,

You're right. I've lived in A LOT of places throughout the country and I love the wide open spaces of the midwest. I'll NEVER live within city limits again. People weren't meant to live like sardines (at least I wasn't).


Thanks again to everyone for their help.