TX laws for landlords to provide healthy and sanitary apartments upon move-in?
When we got the keys to our new apartment, we found evidence of pests (we didn’t know what, it was some sort of feces) in the kitchen, bathroom, and closet. We told the office that there was some sort of pest. Next day, they said it was “all taken care of,” but when we moved our belongings there, the problem was not adequately addressed, They left a maintenance notice saying that mouse holes had been covered up. Not all of the holes under that sink were covered and one was only partially covered. And even though they said they’d clean up, there was still feces under the sink, as well as in the other areas of the apartment. Then we saw cockroaches. We went to the office again, told them we had seen roaches and the patch job on the “mouse” holes was incomplete. They said they’d have the pest control service come to spray and would fix the rest of the holes. It was still left incomplete; if there are mice, they’ll still get in. While the apartment appears to be making attempts towards fixing our pest problems, it has consistently been sub-standard work. The cockroaches and poop have been there since before we had the keys in our hands. We think these are unfit living conditions.
How do we get out of our lease without consequence? We’ve heard that the landlord must provide us with a sanitary and safe space upon move-in, but we can’t find the specific law where that is stated. We also feel that we were mislead, and the state of the apartment was misrepresented. Is there some law that says landlords are obligated to make potential tenants aware of pests before people apply? If we had suspected pests at all, we would not have signed on with this apartment complex.
We cannot stay in this apartment, because the cockroaches themselves can aggravate asthma, and the suggested pest control of spraying can also trigger asthma symptoms. The pesticide doesn’t kill them right away, so they can still go around for a few days, contaminating our things and risking our health. I am six months pregnant, and so am at greater risk. We have photos of the condition of the apartment when we moved in; will that help us in our argument that it was given to us in an unsanitary condition?