HELP! Should I break my lease??
I have to make a decision by tomorrow.
I signed an 18-month lease and moved from Southern Maryland to Alexandria after accepting a new job in Arlington. The shorter commute was a major reason for the move, and I’ve only been living in the apartment for about a week.
The apartment wasn’t cleaned before I moved in, despite being told it would be, so my sister and I ended up cleaning it ourselves before fully unpacking. While cleaning, we started finding rodent droppings throughout the apartment. As we cleaned more thoroughly, we discovered hundreds of rodent droppings behind the stove, which made me question how long the issue had been there.
The landlord promptly scheduled pest control, which I appreciated. They found a hole behind the stove and plugged it but weren’t able to go behind the dishwasher unit (not legally authorized to move appliances) to check for openings. Based on their findings, they ruled no active infestation but felt this was a result of lack of treatment with the previous tenant.
However, the day after the treatment, we found droppings and a trash bag hanging from the kitchen door was chewed through overnight. Obviously, a current mouse issue.
Then the HVAC stopped working properly…during a heat wave. A technician determined there is a crack in the system that requires replacement parts. As of now, no one can tell me when the part will arrive or when the repair will be completed due to the holiday. I’ll have to wait to see when someone can get parts and then come out.
There have also been a few smaller maintenance issues (missing oven rack, inoperative building buzzer, tape in the fridge to hold together broken parts, etc.), but those are minor compared to the HVAC and rodent concerns.
Here’s what makes this decision so difficult: the apartment is $1,750/month with every utility included except Wi-Fi. If you’re familiar with the Alexandria/Northern Virginia rental market, you know that’s an incredible deal and significantly below what many comparable apartments cost.
I spoke with the landlord about my concerns, and to his credit, he has offered me two options:
- Terminate the lease and receive a full refund of everything I’ve paid.
- Stay in the apartment and receive a credit equal to half a month’s rent.
He’s allowing me to stay through Wednesday (4 days from now) if I decide to leave, but he wants my decision by tomorrow.
I’m genuinely torn. Financially, this apartment is an amazing value for the area, and moving again right after starting a new job sounds exhausting. On the other hand, I’d be committing to an 18-month lease without knowing when the HVAC will be repaired or whether the rodent issue has truly been resolved.
For those who rent in Northern Virginia — or have encountered a similar situation — what would you do? Is the price enough to justify giving the landlord more time, especially with the half-month rent credit? Or would the HVAC uncertainty and rodent issues be dealbreakers, even at this price?
TL;DR: I moved into an apartment in Alexandria just over a week ago. It wasn’t cleaned before move-in, and while cleaning we found hundreds of rodent droppings behind the stove.
Pest control treated the unit, but afterward we still found droppings and a trash bag was chewed through overnight. Then the HVAC was found to have a cracked component with no estimated repair date. The landlord has offered either a full refund to terminate the lease or a half-month rent credit if I stay.
The apartment is an incredible deal at $1,750/month with utilities included (except Wi-Fi), so I’m struggling to decide whether the savings outweigh the uncertainty. What would you do?