No, you as the tenant do not have the right to declare the unit unlivable. ONLY a judge can. You can only get out of the lease without paying if you sue the landlord & win. If you just walk away you can get sued for breaking the lease.
Unless the local department of health or building department deems the unit off limits to everyone you have to fulfill the lease or make an offer to buy your way out.
I'd recheck my facts on the "law" if I were you.
You may do whatever you desire. There is nothing preventing you from leaving if you think these conditions you outlined are true.
You must keep in mind that you signed a lease or rental contract. Leaving the rental unit would cause the landlord or property manager to sue you in court for financial damages you caused by not living up to the conditions of the lease or rental contract.
This could cause a civil judgement against you and might be a financial drain on your budget. Even though you might be correct about the repairs, you might be legally liable in the action you take to solve the problem and situation.
There are procedures that must be followed if you think there are health problems and items in need of repair in your rental unit.
If you think there are health hazards in your rental unit and the landlord fail to address them, you should consider contacting the city Department of Health to conduct an inspection of the health hazard. I heard from the previous tenant is not sufficient to leave the rental unit. Most mold is not a health hazard at all.
If there are repairs needed in your rental unit you might consider placing these request for repairs in writing to your landlord.
You might would want to check the state law that require a thermostat be in each rental unit. I have had rental units in California, Georgia, Mississippi and other states, I have never had a thermostat in any of the rental units and there was no law requiring one.
If you are interested in laws requiring a thermostat, you should contact the local tenant/landlord advocacy group for this type information. You should Google for this group followed by the city and state in which you reside.
When contacting this group inquire do any possible way of voiding the lease or rental contract, how much time should you allow your landlord to repair items you have provided a written request to make the repairs and the remedies.
It is important for you to be informed with correct information. With the correct information, you are able to effectively understand the legal methods of getting things done.
I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck.
"FIGHT ON"
I got sick from mold in a place I lived. Google the symtoms and get sick from the mold...then you can get out.
If you are in the US, there is no law requiring a house to sty above 69 degrees.
Have you had the mold tested? Toxic black mold isn't actually black. Since you say you found out about it from the previous tenant, sounds like you don't know if it's even really there.
Have you made WRITTEN requests for repairs of known issues? That is step 1. If yes, then you can go to court to have a judge decide, you can't make the decision just to ditch a lease.
I would double check the law to make sure you are correct on the whole 69 degree thing. If you are correct and the landlord does not fix it in a reasonable time then it's considered a breach of the lease agreement which you can then legally move out. I would have written proof that you contacted him and notified him of the problem. If he doesn't comply with fixing it then you should be able to move. Give them notification that you you are moving out and why. Just make sure to have adequate proof.
personally I would look for some where else to live
The apartment doesnt have a thermostat, law requires the house to be able to stay above 69 degrees which it cannot, even with personal heaters, there is black mold behind the wall i just found out about from previous tenants that was covered up with cheap walling. there is black mold under the wood in the bathroom and has been since i moved in, the hot water does not work and the landlord has failed to uphold his promise of fixing it. can i legally take off under these conditions which are becoming unlivable?
