ByCan I Break My Lease Because Of Construction Noise
The distracting noise created by construction can make life unbearable. It will make you wonder, ""
We understand where you are coming from. When you rent a home to live in, you hope for a haven where you can live and sometimes even work. Noise created by construction can disrupt sleep, wake babies, make working impossible, and even everyday chores unbearable. Construction noise can cause someone to want to break their lease.
When you want to break a lease, you are faced with whether your reason is legal and how much it will cost. If you're going to break your lease, you need to know the correct way to avoid penalties.
Repercussions of Breaking a Lease Without Cause
When faced with a rental problem, it is tempting to abandon a lease or simply leave, which can have serious repercussions. It is essential to read the fine print concerning breaking leases when you sign them.
- Fees: In leases, a section states what you will owe if you break a lease early without legal cause. This can vary from a set amount, a certain amount of the remaining rent, or full payment of the remaining lease.
- Credit Damage: A landlord can report unpaid rent to the credit bureaus, damaging your credit score.
- Court: A landlord can sue you for the remaining rent.
Can You Break a Lease for Construction Noise?
Construction noise is disruptive, but it is not always cause to break a lease.
Terms of the Lease
The first thing to consider when questioning your right to break a lease is the terms of the lease.
- Is there a clause concerning noise, particularly construction noise?
- Does the lease state acceptable hours for construction? If so, are those hours being followed?
- What are the penalties for breaking the lease?
Constructive Eviction
The best case for breaking a lease due to construction noise is a constructive eviction. This type of eviction gives the tenant all rights of a standard eviction, including the right to seek legal compensation. To claim constructive eviction, a tenant must prove the following:
- A landlord's failure to resolve a problem interferes with a tenant's ability to use and enjoy the property.
- The landlord fails to resolve the situation after the tenant gives notice.
- The tenant vacates the property in a reasonable amount of time after the landlord fails to solve the issue.
Breaking Leases by State
Every state has specific laws and regulations regarding breaking leases. For specifics regarding a law due to construction noise, reference your state's tenant rights and laws.
How to Break a Lease Due to Construction Noise on Your Own
If you are wondering, "," there are some steps you can take.
- Send a formal letter to your landlord, notifying them of the habitability issues due to construction noise.
- If there is an HOA or property manager, inform them of the construction noise situation.
- File a noise complaint with the police.
- Document the hours and magnitude of the noise disturbance.
- If the problem is not handled under the time your state law allows, you can execute a constructive eviction.
How DoNotPay Can Help You Break Your Lease
Understanding how to legally break a lease is confusing and frustrating. It can also be scary because you might not be sure you are handling it correctly. Luckily, DoNotPay is here to help.
Here's how you can get started in 3 easy steps:
- Search Break My Lease on DoNotPay.
- Prepare a signed copy of your lease that you can use as a reference and enter the state the lease was signed in.
- Let us guide you through the 4 potential options.
- If you're a uniformed servicemember breaking a lease to fulfill your service obligations, we'll send your landlord an SCRA Protection Letter.
- If you're breaking your lease for a reason protected by your state's tenant laws, we'll write your landlord a letter detailing your protections for breaking the lease under the relevant law.
- If your reasons for breaking your lease aren't protected by federal or state law, but you'd like to try to convince your landlord to let you break the lease through mutual agreement, we'll draft a hardship letter making your case to your landlord.
- If there are no remaining options for breaking the lease with protection, but your state requires landlords to mitigate damages to tenants who break their leases, we'll notify your landlord of that obligation and minimize the remaining rent you have to pay.
Why Use DoNotPay to Help You Break Your Lease?
There are ways to learn your rights and break a lease independently, but DoNotPay ensures that it is done correctly!