can i break the lease caz of the problem?

[rkbajaj]

Hi,
My husband and i rented an apt in Jan,04.(btw,we live in albany,NY)
On the first day ,we figured out , we dont need an alarm to wake us up in the morning!
Around 6.30am the renovation work starts at the nearby state office building,which we had no idea about,when we signed the lease.Neither did the property manager disclose the situatuion.( when we went to see the apt,there were no signs of any construction site....no cement, no machines running,nothing.)

We have a lease for 6 months ending in June,04.Is it possible to come out of the lease and look for another apt?( we are told by the property manager that we cant!)

We happened to meet a person who once used to stay at our apt.He said that the rent we were paying was less than what he used to pay.....attributing to the fact that the property manager did hide a very important information from us....about the construction noise.

The problem is more severe now caz its almost summer time, and we will have to keep our windows open.

Pls advice.What are my rights.
Thanks.

[Soonerking]

...and using only general contract principles, I'd say you probably cannot. The problem is caused off-site, away from your complex, and the manager has no duty to disclose anything unrelated to your actual complex. Also, rent rates have no evidentiary value related to what was and was not hidden by a landlord toward a tenant...don't put any weight into that. Any breach that may occur due to the noise situation is probably not material, giving you no right of redress to break your lease.

I'm a lawyer, but various local or state contract law may also apply. Call a general practitioner attorney and they will likely give you a free consultation and advise you further.

[rkbajaj]

Thanks for replying my query .But its sad to know that there are no laws or rules for landlords/owners to check on their honesty when they give out apts for leasing.
In a way , he deceived us.And many other in this building i believe.

I have another question.
There must be some noise ordinance for every state.The construction work( basicly the noise) starts early at 6.30am !! I mean isn't it too early to begin?Is it possible that some how i can contact the construction company to delay their work till atleast 8am?

Even if this does not work, can i just go and beg my landlord to shift us to some another apt,still staying under the lease.We have paid 6months in advance and we have been tenants.

I am not asking for too much ,am i?PLs help.

Ravi

[Soonerking]

...you can always beg!

As for noise ordinances...they're largely a function of municipal law. Check with the local city council. If there is, all that can be done is maybe have the police shut the noise down...but they generally don't enforce those things that much.