Car stolen, squatter, unlicensed unit: Can daughter break lease?

Q: My daughter has rented an apartment in St. Paul for almost three years now. In the past two months, her car was stolen, then her rental car was stolen and a squatter is now living under her second-floor deck occasionally to stay out of the elements.

My daughter fears for her life living alone there now. She can't sleep at night because she hears gunshots and people outside the apartment making noise at all hours. She shouldn't be staying in this unsafe place, but her landlord will not let her out of the lease early and there are six months remaining on her lease.

There is a two-month buyout provision for breaking the lease early, but my daughter cannot afford to pay that fee and then pay to rent another place. My daughter is full of anxiety and depression due to the fear she has from living in these conditions.

I found out the landlord does not have a rental license, either. How does she vacate the property early without being responsible for the remainder of the lease?

A: In Minnesota, when tenants sign a lease, they are typically required to pay the rent on the lease they signed, whether they live there or not, with a few exceptions. Some exceptions for breaking a lease early consist of a tenant starting active military duty, a tenant's death, a tenant or their child being a victim of domestic violence or the rental is uninhabitable or unfit for occupancy through no fault of the tenant.

Your daughter could argue that her rental is uninhabitable due to her safety concerns. However, it is subjective and if she continued to live there that could prove the unit wasn't unfit. It will be difficult to argue as the judge will likely wonder how things changed so dramatically since she last signed a lease and why she continued living there for three years.

Your daughter does have an argument that the landlord cannot enforce the lease without having a rental license. Some courts have held that a landlord cannot collect rent without a license, but most landlords have prevailed when they argued that the tenant has enjoyed the use of the property and should pay for that use. Sometimes courts order the landlord to get a license.

She should inform her landlord she cannot afford the two months' rent in the buyout provision, but she could pay one month's rent or get on a payment plan to pay it off over time. If she and her landlord can come to an agreement, make sure she gets that agreement in writing.

If your daughter cannot come to an agreement with her landlord, she can file a rent escrow action in the county where she lives alleging that the property is unfit and the crime and noise is interfering with her quiet enjoyment of the property. Remember, your daughter will have a very high bar to prove that things have changed since she signed her lease, using evidence like police reports and crime statistics.

She could ask that the lease be terminated as the landlord does not have a license. It is unlikely that the court will cancel the lease because of the crimes. But, along with the landlord's failure to hold a rental license, the court may find in her favor.