Hmm, it appears that there are more options than I though. Craigslist shows 9 1 BR apartments in MC for under $1,000.
I guess the wild card is still “suitable area”.
Good luck
Yeah - I’m in Baltimore and have had to sign lead awareness forms for most places I’ve lived.
That list only seems to list places around DC and not further up in Montgomery County. While I wouldn’t know exactly, but two years ago I had an apartment in Germantown for $800, I’m pretty sure it hasn’t gone up over 200 in the last two years as they keep building more and more aprtments around here.
The link I gave is for ALL of MC. If you look closely, you will see one listing in Germantown.
Finding a 1 BR apartment in Gaithersburg/Germantown for under $1,000 is very hard. Hell, crappy 1 BR garden apartments in the “bad” parts of town, go for around $1,000!
I’m just glad we bought our townhouse in '99. Our M/P/I is less than $900!
Well I guess that one is technically in Germantown, but not really. There are more then just those in the area though. I went
here and found my old apartment for $890 in an ok part of town.
As for the OP I would say get a lawyer, or at least find out what’s going on. $100 extra a month doesn’t sound like something they can get away with. They might just be trying to get you to pay because they think they can.
Thanks, everyone, for your help. I’ve been trying to call the Montgomery County landlord/tenant office for a while now. I keep getting a message that says “No one can take your call right now. Leave your name and number if you want a complaint form or a handbook, or go to the website.” I just left a message that stated I was looking for “general information that I couldn’t find on [their] website.”
I looked at some of those Craig’s List houses, and I would be interested in moving there. I just need to figure out what to do here first.
Thanks again for the help. I’m going to try to keep up on this number. Maybe seek out a lawyer.
I haven’t read the entire thread, so forgive me if someone’s addressed this before.
In order for you to use the defense “…but they did x, y, and z”, you must tell the landlord what action you are taking and for what reason. The best thing to do is do it IN WRITING.
I had a similar problem once with a landlord and wanted to leave early. Once I wrote a letter detailing all of my legal grievances, they were falling all over themselves to accomodate me, even giving my security deposit back. My letter detailed all the times I asked them to fix something they’d promise to fix and didn’t; I wrote about harassment (banging on the door for me to open up without notice which is against the law) after I withheld rent because of the things they didn’t fix after asking repeatedly. I also wrote about the times the handyman entered the apartment without notifying or warning me.
After each item in the letter, I cited the city legal code addressing that particular issue, showing them they were in violation of the law. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT because it indicates to them that you know what your rights are. There are specific penalties or remedies for the above types of infractions.
I should add my landlords were two partners, and one of them was a lawyer who didn’t know all the stuff the other landlord was doing (she was the day to day manager). He was the one who was falling all over himself in the end to accommodate me. I wasn’t penalized for leaving early. He even thanked me for leaving the place in good condition. I honestly thought he was worried about a law suit!
So a legalese letter goes a long way. Tenants in the U.S. have a lot of rights, but most people don’t realize it.
Actually, Rusalka, I haven’t done any complaining yet because I don’t know what my rights are. That’s what I’ve been trying to find out, and this thread has been massively helpful.
The deal is that, up until now, it’s been me just saying “I can’t wait until my lease is up, I can’t wait until my lease is up…” The deal breaker is that they want to raise the rent. I am 99% sure they can’t, since I have it in a written lease. However since they have unlimited access to my apartment whether I like it or not, whether it’s legal or not, I am a bit nervous about staying after I refuse to pay more rent. That’s where the problem comes in. A friend pointed out that it would take a very special person to mess with another person’s stuff, just because they didn’t agree to waive their rights, and I don’t think my landlords are that type of person. However, I don’t have a good way to know at the moment. I’d rather not find out.
I hope I’m making sense here.
If a landlord were to break into a tenant’s apartment seeking revenge, the potential problems he’d face would be enormous (and would include the possibility of criminal prosecution). So unless your landlord is either insane or unbelievably naive, you have little to worry about here.
If you really want out of your lease, start by checking whether your landlord can legally rent your space as a dwelling. Was this a recent conversion of storage to living space? You didn’t even have a separate entry for, what, almost 3 months? Does the unit now have the requisite number and type of egress points? Is it a single family home, with an in-law apartment? Special permits are required for those.
Do not pay extra this month. Or next. You have a binding contract with that lease. (Assuming the apartment is legal.)
Does the landlord have to go through your apartment to gain access to the laundry room? Require 2 days notice before they go traipsing through your home. Hours to be set at your convenience. They may have keys to your apartment, but they do not have unlimited access. That pesky lease, again.
Do speak with an attorney.
I’ve got the same question listed under “Breaking a residential lease in texas” you might benefit from reading what my lawyer wrote…
D.
Thanks everyone.
Daylon, I’ll check it out.
Landlord Tenant law is a fairly specific thing. I would imagine that the difference in laws from Texas to MD would be fairly different. I would wait to talk with the Office of Landlord Tenant Affairs on Monday. If they can’t give you any help, it might be worth talking to an attorney who specializes in this kind of thing.
BlueKangaroo, I think you can do better than the place you’re now in. A 2-bedroom in my apartment complex is $893 per month. Granted, Greenbelt is a little further, but not that much. It’s right on the beltway, so it’s less than a half hour drive to American University. E-mail me and you can come over sometime and look at what a 2-bedroom in my complex is like. Are you going to be at Opalcat’s farewell party tomorrow?
Thanks Wendell, I’ll talk to Kangaroo_in_Black and we’ll see what’s up. I won’t be at the part tomorrow as I have guests for the week. Have fun.