Breaking a Lease in Provo, Utah

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Utah

My son's 19 year old girlfriend signed a lease for a basement apartment in a single family dwelling. When I went over to help her move into this basement apartment, the place reeked of gas. I called the gas company and a technician came out, isolated the problem to the stove and turned off gas related appliances. The technician left notices of unsafe conditions which I have copies of.

Because of that, we could not move her in. After looking around the place I suggested that she live somewhere else only to discover that she signed a one year lease. She was never given a copy of it so I'm in touch with the landlord to see if I can get her copy.

The plan is to speak with the landlord and see if we can amicably break the lease. Because of the gas leakage, she is now uncomfortable with moving into the place. In my opinion, the place is a dump and she shouldn't live there but that's my two cents worth.

I really just want her to walk away form the whole thing without have the landlord potentially sue her for one year's worth of rent. My leverage, if you want to call it that, is that in Provo, since this is an accessory apartment (AKA mother-in-law apartment), the owner has to live in the main unit but doesn't - and that's illegal. The couple who act as the landlords live in the main unit. The place also requires a license in order for it to be a rental and according to city records, there hasn't been a license since 2006.

So, am I heading in the right direction? Like I said, I want to work fairly with the landlord but I'm prepared to raise a stink if needed. Am I simply spinning my wheels and wasting my time. This is the girl's first experience with renting and even though according to the law, she's of legal age to sign a contract, I think we all know that not everyone over 18 has the maturity to do that.

Sorry this is so long but thanks in advance to anyone and everyone who responds.

She knew the condition of the premises when she signed the lease and the gas leak has been fixed. If it's not a legal apartment, you can make a report to the appropriate housing authorities; under typical state law you can't be held to a lease for premises that cannot be legally rented, whether under state law or a local ordinance, but you need to be absolutely sure that the apartment is not in fact legal before walking away on that basis.

Thanks for the response Mr. Knowitall. I have an email from a zoning technician for the city of Provo who verified that the apartment units have not had a license since 2006. Here's the question that I asked him in my email, "Would the city consider this to be an illegal activity since he's operating the apartments without a rental license?"

Here's his response, "Yes, however, we give people with violations two weeks to come into compliance once notified of said violation."

So with that in mind, how can she be held liable for a lease when the apartments were not licensed when she signed the lease? I've suggested to her that she take this information and spend the money for a one hour consultation with a real estate attorney. What do you think? Thanks again.

Has the landlord fixed the gas leak at the stove? That would seem to be a reasonable solution rather than trying to get out of the lease.

Not sure if UT law is the same as CA or not, but under CA law there is a remedy for the tenant known as the "abandonment remedy" (can be found here http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/l...epairs.shtml):

The "abandonment" remedy

Instead of using the repair and deduct remedy, a tenant can abandon(move out of) a defective rental unit. This remedy is called the" abandonment"remedy. A tenant might use the abandonment remedy where the defects would cost more than one month's rent to repair,160 but this is not a requirement of the remedy. The abandonment remedy has most of the same requirements and basic steps as the repair and deduct remedy.161

In order to use the abandonment remedy, the rental unit must have substandard conditions that affect the tenant's health and safety, and that substantially breach the implied warranty of habitability.162 (See discussion of the implied warranty of habitability.) If the tenant uses this remedy properly, the tenant is not responsible for paying further rent once he or she has abandoned the rental unit.163

The basic requirements and steps for lawfully abandoning a rental unit are:

1. The defects must be serious and directly related to the tenant's health and safety.164
2. The tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair.
3. The tenant must inform the landlord, either orally or in writing, of the repairs that are needed. (See "Giving the landlord notice," below).
4. The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the needed repairs.

What is a reasonable period of time? This depends on the defects and the types of repairs that are needed. The law usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the circumstances. For example, if tree roots block the main sewer drain and none of the toilets or drains work, a reasonable period might be as little as one or two days.

5. If the landlord doesn't make the repairs within a reasonable period of time, the tenant should notify the landlord in writing of the tenant's reasons for moving and then actually move out. The tenant should return all the rental unit's keys to the landlord. The notice should be mailed or delivered as explained in "Giving the landlord notice" below. The tenant should keep a copy of the notice.

It's a good idea, but not a legal requirement, for the tenant to give the landlord written notice of the tenant's reasons for moving out. The tenant's letter may discourage the landlord from suing the tenant to collect additional rent or other damages. A written notice also documents the tenant's reasons for moving, which may be helpful in the event of a later lawsuit. If possible, the tenant should take photographs or a video of the defective conditions or have local health or building officials inspect the rental unit before moving. The tenant should keep a copy of the written notice and any inspection reports and photographs or videos.

Risks: The defects may not affect the tenant's health and safety seriously enough to justify using the remedy. The landlord may sue the tenant to collect additional rent or damages.

If the gas leak has not been fixed - which may include that it's been fixed but only as a "patch-up" measure that is likely to fail again - then if UT law allows your son's girlfriend may be able to use this remedy. I doubt the gas leak was present when she agreed to rent and signed the lease, or she would not have done so.