Should I break this lease?

[WinsomeCreek]

We can't live with our criminal neighbor next door (level 3 SO) and feel a move is necessary.

We recently signed a lease on a house elsewhere in a hot market. The agent showing the house only showed it for 30 minutes and we were one of 5 applicants who submitted during the showing. We got the place, learned that the landlords live across the street and met the landlords. They were apologetic for the condition of the house, told us it would be painted and carpet cleaned. Their son and his German shepherd were the prior occupants along with the son's part time/custody older teens. The place was pretty dirty at the showing.

 

I arrived at the house on the move in date with my 4 kids. Only the living room was painted. The bedroom walls were still scuffed and had chips. The carpet was not clean. They told me it was steam cleaned, but we found fragments of plastic/glass like from a colored light bulb or ornament, dog hair, general stuff in the carpet. The vinyl in the kitchen looked clean, but when one of the kids dropped something and I wiped it up with a paper towel a dirt layer came up too. Ew. We stayed overnight, discovering some of these things by morning. The shower drain had a bunch of hair stuck in it. The curtain rod was drooping on one side. Three sets of blinds didn't work for various reasons. Screens have holes. Part of the refrigerator is still waiting to be replaced.

Additionally, the landlord hung around puttering in the yard and asked if he could come back to do more yardwork later. The lease calls for them to mow, but I definitely sensed some boundary overstepping right off the bat. The lawn was dead anyway. My oldest son tried to water, but found that the hose was cracked. We stayed one night and left.

 

I already signed. We're willing to take a loss to get out of this place before being stuck with slum lords if that's the best plan. I'm wondering what people think is reasonable to say to the agent/landlords. Dh says he'll offer two months rent for them to find another tenant. Remember that this is a hot market and they will probably find someone else immediately. How should we word it? We still have our home and will need to start looking again. Are we fools to think we'll find better in a crazy market? We do have a couple of months to spare even though living with the creep next door is stressful.

 

Or should we just get some professional cleaners in and make it work? If we do that we should document all of the mess, right? The weirdest part is that the lease calls for me to vacuum daily. I'm genuinely at a loss as to what to do.

 

What would you do and how?

[TechWife]

It's probably worth it to contact a lawyer to find out how to break the lease. 

 

The real estate agent should be notified so that they don't show the house to someone else. They need a good reputation in order to stay in business. 

 

But, I'm confused. You say you have an SO next door and that you signed a lease on this new place and stayed one night. Where did you go when you left? So you didn't really move in, just spent the night? You moved all of your stuff in and then moved it out the next day? 

 

It sounds like a really strange situation to me. 

[hjffkj]

I would just spend my own money to have it professionally cleaned instead of losing a bunch of money on breaking the lease. In regards to the rooms not being painted I'd try to negotiate with the landlord to take some money off of the first month of rent so you can paint the walls yourself with that money. Get it in writing though if they agree to that.

[Valley Girl]

I agree that talking to an attorney may be wise. I wouldn't want to stay bound by this lease. I wouldn't pay for carpet cleaning. You've just been given a clear picture of how this landlord is likely to handle things should something else go wrong. I say "run" if you can.

[zoobie]

You signed after you saw the condition? Did you get his promises to repair in writing? I'd speak with an attorney instead of paying the landlord anything more to break the lease.

[WinsomeCreek]

Techwife, we own our home. We drove out to take possession of the new leased house. We are in the middle of camps, performances etc so we brought sleeping bags and planned on staying only a couple of days anyway. We planned on moving stuff this coming week. We aren't fully moving in until fall. Having our own home gives us the luxury of this timeline. The landlords and agent knew this. We even told them to take their time and that they could paint in July when we officially started the lease. They made it clear when we picked up keys that they consider the house ready.

We probably don't need a lawyer involved. We can keep the lease and there is a provision to break it that involves paying until a new tenant is found. The market is super hot and that will not be an issue. This has been a stressful year. It will be a few months before other stresses are lessened. I'm worried about adding to our problems by getting into a messy living situation with this new place. The money we lose from two months is nothing compared to what we might lose from being trapped in a bad situation.

[WinsomeCreek]

The lease was signed remotely. We saw the condition when we picked up keys. I was foolish and didn't walk through because I had all four kids with me and we had come from 1.5 hrs of music lesson. They were all eager to move around. One is a baby. I screwed up. I know that. I'm trying to fix it without making bigger mess of things. Nothing about the painting or cleaning was put in writing. We are also landlords. We have had excellent tenants and wonderful verbal agreements. Granted, we're good people and make the same assumption about others. I think there are so many red flags here.

[OneStepAtATime]

I would be leery of living across the street from the landlord, especially if you are already getting some bad vibes regarding boundary issues, the level of clean that was promised is not even close to what was delivered, and the promised painting never happened. 

 

However, I would also want to make sure that I wasn't getting into some sort of legal/financial quagmire.  If you don't want to consult a lawyer, I would at least very carefully, line by line, reread my contract.  Were any of the things you had asked for included in the contract?

[WinsomeCreek]

The flip side of this is that we were lucky to even get the house. Places here really are rented within minutes to hours becoming available. It's a good place to live. For the same price we will be heading to a tiny apartment most likely if we give this place up. Basically the landlords can get away with this. Nothing we say or do will harm the agent's reputation. This place is a good deal for this area. The neighborhood is great for kids. The location is safe and convenient.

 

The landlords have lived in their house for decades. The rental was purchased for income about a decade ago. The rental listing photos were from when they bought it, before it fell into disrepair. I commented on that to the agent when we first saw the house. She said nothing.

[indigomama]

Can you not sell your current home and buy another? It seems easier than renting. 

[BusyMom5]

I guess it boils down to if you really want to live there or not.  I don't live in a place with such a hot rental market, so it's easy for me to say that I would ask for my money back, minus one month's rent,and break the lease.  I think that's fair to both of you.  I really think I would tell the owners that they mis-represented the place, and that the disrepair and lack of cleanliness is not up to your standards.  Who knows, they may be embarrassed and actually clean it up! 

[Reefgazer]

Between the SO and the condition of the place, I would try and get out of the lease.  I wouldn't offer any money up front right away; not unless you can't get out of it another way.  What does your lease say about breaking your contract?  You might also offer to find them a tenant so that they do not lose a month's rent on anything.  Try and find amicable ways to get out of it first, before resorting to telling the landlord the place was a disaster and didn't meet standards and huffing off.

 

ETA:  Just read your further posts.  I think you should go with your gut about whether to stay or not.  The sex offender thing would give me pause; I could always clean the house to my satisfaction and paint it, although the fact that the landlord didn't do those things could be an indication of how he will be as a landlord.  Is a level 3 sex offender the worst kind, or is a level 1 SO the worst kind?  I can't remember which is which.  IOW, did the SO get on the list because he was 18 and diddling his 16 y.o. girlfriend, or because he molested a child?  If he molested a child, I wouldn't stay for any amount of money.  But if he just got it on with a slightly younger teenaged girlfriend, he isn't a threat to your kids.

We can't live with our criminal neighbor next door (level 3 SO) and feel a move is necessary.
We recently signed a lease on a house elsewhere in a hot market. The agent showing the house only showed it for 30 minutes and we were one of 5 applicants who submitted during the showing. We got the place, learned that the landlords live across the street and met the landlords. They were apologetic for the condition of the house, told us it would be painted and carpet cleaned. Their son and his German shepherd were the prior occupants along with the son's part time/custody older teens. The place was pretty dirty at the showing.

I arrived at the house on the move in date with my 4 kids. Only the living room was painted. The bedroom walls were still scuffed and had chips. The carpet was not clean. They told me it was steam cleaned, but we found fragments of plastic/glass like from a colored light bulb or ornament, dog hair, general stuff in the carpet. The vinyl in the kitchen looked clean, but when one of the kids dropped something and I wiped it up with a paper towel a dirt layer came up too. Ew. We stayed overnight, discovering some of these things by morning. The shower drain had a bunch of hair stuck in it. The curtain rod was drooping on one side. Three sets of blinds didn't work for various reasons. Screens have holes. Part of the refrigerator is still waiting to be replaced.
Additionally, the landlord hung around puttering in the yard and asked if he could come back to do more yardwork later. The lease calls for them to mow, but I definitely sensed some boundary overstepping right off the bat. The lawn was dead anyway. My oldest son tried to water, but found that the hose was cracked. We stayed one night and left.

I already signed. We're willing to take a loss to get out of this place before being stuck with slum lords if that's the best plan. I'm wondering what people think is reasonable to say to the agent/landlords. Dh says he'll offer two months rent for them to find another tenant. Remember that this is a hot market and they will probably find someone else immediately. How should we word it? We still have our home and will need to start looking again. Are we fools to think we'll find better in a crazy market? We do have a couple of months to spare even though living with the creep next door is stressful.

Or should we just get some professional cleaners in and make it work? If we do that we should document all of the mess, right? The weirdest part is that the lease calls for me to vacuum daily. I'm genuinely at a loss as to what to do.

What would you do and how?

 

[elfgivas]

i would break the lease, because it sounds as if this landlord isn't so great on honoring commitments, even legal ones, and it would make me nuts over the months. (and i intensely dislike legal events).  if it wouldn't make you nuts, then cleaning and a gardening company might be a good solution.  

 

converesely, you could see a lawyer and have her/him write a letter to the landlord, explaining that the landlord has until date "x"  (say maybe one week) to bring the place up to scratch or you will (a) hire companies to do it and take it out of your rent, or (b) consider him to have broken the lease because he didn't honor the terms of it (cleaning, painting, etc) and so won't pay anything.  you could also ask the landlord to pay for a hotel for you and the family until it is habitable.  (its always good to have a negotiating point, but also a financial consequence for him not having done it.)

 

then, you either have a nice place to live or you can look at plan B without having lost money.  

 

fwiw,

ann 

[elegantlion]

I would try to get out of the lease. If you're not happy before you move in, you probably won't be happy afterward. A lease that requires daily vacuuming sounds like a over-stepping landlord. I wouldn't want to live across the street with them doing the yard work. Will they complain about toys in the yard. I would feel like I'm living in a microscope. 

[WinsomeCreek]

To clarify: the SO moved in with his family next to the house we *own.* The SO is a bad, bad dude. We are moving to be away from him. The new rental house is in an awesome and safe neighborhood. As long as we're moving, why not move where we really want to live?

 

Selling and buying is not, IMO, easy.

[Reefgazer]

OK, that clarifies things.  So SO isn't an issue at your new place.  OK, try and work on the situation first, without packing up and leaving automatically.  The easiest thing is probably to see if the landlord will allot you money or a break on rent to clean the place to your satisfaction yourself.  Given the positives of the area as you describe them, it's probably worth the hassle to stay.  I wouldn't be sending nasty lawyer notes to a landlord who lives across the street and with whom you will need a working relationship for your remaining time there; not unless things got unbearable. 

To clarify: the SO moved in with his family next to the house we *own.* The SO is a bad, bad dude. We are moving to be away from him. The new rental house is in an awesome and safe neighborhood. As long as we're moving, why not move where we really want to live?

Selling and buying is not, IMO, easy.

 

[Pink and Green Mom]

As to part of the question in your OP, I would definitely document, in writing and with photographs (and perhaps even a written statement signed by your realtor) stating the condition of the property when you moved in.  Last thing in the world you need is this guy claiming the property was in pristine condition when you signed/picked up the keys.

 

 

[Happy]

Landlords (and sellers) in a HOT market feel they can get away with anything because there is a line of people waiting to get in. Often they are right...

 

I'd address the issues with the landlord directly. Have him come over and let you show him the glass and hair and other stuff. Print off the photos from the listing and compare them with the actual condition of the house. Ask if this is what he meant by cleaned and painted? If so, break the lease.

 

I know landlords get to do background checks on future tenants--I wish there was a database where people could offer 'reviews' of bad landlords. There are some tacky ones out there.

[OneStepAtATime]

So are you going to sell your current home?  Or rent it out?  Are you are just renting this other home for the time being?  Or do you see this as a long term move?

 

If you were planning on living in this rental house for an extended period of time, and are very, very happy with the location and the house itself, then I think I would approach the landlord again with some requests in writing.  Normally I have always had walkthroughs after taking possession of a rental property where I fill in a list of things I see that need repair.  That way I am not charged for things that were not working to begin with.  Are you going to be doing something like that?

[Tap]

Talk to the owners and see why it wasn't painted. Ask the landlord to pay for a carpet shampoo company to come to the floors. Hire a cleaning service and then finish cleaning it yourself.   If the landlord will pay for paint/shampoo,and cleaning in the next few days, you will be better off than trying to find another house.

 

It is inconvenient and rude of him to say they would do it, and then for them to not do it.....but you have got what you got, and you will likely lose more by paying out a couple months rent than just fixing what you have.

[gardenmom5]

The flip side of this is that we were lucky to even get the house. Places here really are rented within minutes to hours becoming available. It's a good place to live. For the same price we will be heading to a tiny apartment most likely if we give this place up. Basically the landlords can get away with this. Nothing we say or do will harm the agent's reputation. This place is a good deal for this area. The neighborhood is great for kids. The location is safe and convenient.

 

The landlords have lived in their house for decades. The rental was purchased for income about a decade ago. The rental listing photos were from when they bought it, before it fell into disrepair. I commented on that to the agent when we first saw the house. She said nothing.

 

that actually can come back to bite the agent because she is knowingly misrepresenting the property.

I have seen house listings using previous pix - but they STATE the pix are  not current.

[Samm]

We can't live with our criminal neighbor next door (level 3 SO) and feel a move is necessary.

 

That might've been enough for me.  Though I don't know the various levels of sex offenders

We probably don't need a lawyer involved. We can keep the lease and there is a provision to break it that involves paying until a new tenant is found. The market is super hot and that will not be an issue. ... The money we lose from two months is nothing compared to what we might lose from being trapped in a bad situation.

 

Sometimes you have to lose money to gain some sanity.

[lmrich]

Can you just ask the landlord when he is going to paint and clean? If he says never, get out of the lease. He may have hired people who never showed up to do the job. 

[Word Nerd]

I think your expectations for rentals (e.g., paint scuffs, dirty kitchen floor) might be a bit high, though of course that depends on where you're renting and whether it's a luxury apartment, etc. I'd probably do a walk-through with the landlord and point out what you've noticed and remind him about his agreement to address these issues when you signed the lease. If he won't budge, I'd consider breaking the lease.

[TranquilMind]

I would just spend my own money to have it professionally cleaned instead of losing a bunch of money on breaking the lease. In regards to the rooms not being painted I'd try to negotiate with the landlord to take some money off of the first month of rent so you can paint the walls yourself with that money. Get it in writing though if they agree to that.

I would do this, given what you have stated.

 

In the future, never ever rent a house that doesn't look perfect at the time you look.  What you see is what you get, generally.  (Exception if you see ongoing work, like a painter on the premises and paint cans, or some kitchen work being done ). 

I'm sorry that happened to you.  I have never shown a home that didn't look good enough for me to move into today. 

[flyingiguana]

I have to say -- I've never really seen steam cleaning of a carpet to do all that much.  I wouldn't be so quick to think they were lying about that.

 

That would mean the carpet just isn't cleanable, which isn't so nice.  But if they made the effort, then there may not be much you can do.  (Some landlords will NEVER rip out carpet that is past its prime, so you may be out of luck)

 

If the rental market is as hot as you say, I might be inclined to try to work with the landlord.  Nicely let him know what you consider to be a problem and ask him to get things fixed as soon as possible.

 

If he's not living in the house, he may not realize things like lots of hair in the drain and window blinds not working.  And he may have thought he had a longer time line for getting the painting done, seeing as you're starting before the official start date.  Also, scuff marks and such may not be reasons for breaking a lease.  I'd definitely let him know (nicely at first, before you call in a lawyer) what you see as problems.  If you call in a lawyer first thing, the landlord is likely to get defensive and never fix anything.  But a polite talk or a note listing the problems (with some lines like, just to let you know that these are issues....) might be the way to start.

 

He might be a great landlord, just a bit slow.

 

I'd think it was great that he was planning to do the mowing.  I wouldn't see that so much as an imposition as him wanting to take care of the property and perhaps feeling that that was a lot of work for someone who was paying him rent.

 

Or not.

 

You're going to have to trust your own instincts.

[flyingiguana]

I'll point out that when we were buying a house that was a rental and had a tenant in it, she hired a lawyer and he was sending us orders about how we were going to deal with her as a tenant.

 

This was completely unnecessary as we didn't have a problem with her staying in the house under the terms of her current lease.  They probably also didn't have a legal leg to stand on, seeing as her lease with the sellers was going to be terminated at the sale of the house.  (I think her grandmother had bought her lawyer services as a birthday present and this guy was trying to look useful)

 

But, I have to say, getting those letters from her lawyer only made us want to evict her as soon as we took possession.

 

There is a place for lawyers, but they really shouldn't be the first option.  Unless you're already completely convinced that you want to break the lease.

[WinsomeCreek]

-The condition was as of our lease start date.

-We are not inclined to look to a lawyer as a first action. We tend to believe in the goodness of people until proven otherwise.

 

I called the agent early this morning and had a lengthy conversation about these issues. She indicated that the house is in reasonable condition, although she agreed that hair in the shower drain was gross. She said she knew that they did the steam cleaning and that the people who did it are obligated to return and redo if the job isn't satisfactory. She agreed to have me document in writing and pictures the move in condition of the house. She also assured me that the landlords are great people. Apparently the wife is the one who usually handles things, is meticulous and the businessperson. The husband is retired, bored and a sweet old guy who doesn't hear well, per agent's description. The agent told me the wife would be horrified at the condition, but had an accident recently and is bedridden with a bad back. The husband is trying to be helpful and needs clear communication on boundaries and expectations. I told the agent we would need to have the place professionally cleaned, to which she asked if we could handle that ourselves. She also asked us to keep these issues documented between us. She said the landlords would be saddened and devastated at our complaints. Ok, a little weird, but I felt she was speaking from the heart. I mentioned the carpet to the landlord- the husband- when he was in the yard and he said he would vacuum the whole place.

 

I gave her an easy out. I told her (agent) that we would eat a couple months of costs, not occupy the house and knew she could easily find new tenants. I made it clear we would make it profitable and easy for them to get out of this year's lease. The agent assured me that she felt this was a good fit and that the landlords were truly good people. So, it's wierd and protective of her to ask us to eat the cleaning costs (except the steam cleaning) but turn down two months free rent for them.

 

Given the agent's response and the market conditions we will move forward with extensive documentation. Then we'll have the place cleaned before moving in. It's more hassle than we wanted, but I am getting the impression that our expectations are higher than many. I hope this is the right move.

[Butter]

Do you like where the house is?  Are you going to be able to live in the place once it is clean?  Be aware steam cleaning isn't all that useful and you might have stains forever, but that's kind of the way it goes when you rent a house.  It seems a bit hasty to want to get away before the issues can be fixed to your liking.

[Alicia64]

The flip side of this is that we were lucky to even get the house. Places here really are rented within minutes to hours becoming available. It's a good place to live. For the same price we will be heading to a tiny apartment most likely if we give this place up. Basically the landlords can get away with this. Nothing we say or do will harm the agent's reputation. This place is a good deal for this area. The neighborhood is great for kids. The location is safe and convenient.

 

The landlords have lived in their house for decades. The rental was purchased for income about a decade ago. The rental listing photos were from when they bought it, before it fell into disrepair. I commented on that to the agent when we first saw the house. She said nothing.

 

My understanding is that ultimately you're only on the hook for their loss. So if the house sits empty for a month, you'd pay for that month. In contract law, you have to minimize their losses. If you -- or they -- get a renter in there, you're done.

 

Call your local renters assoc. This is not a question for TWTM.

 

Plus you can go far w/ the slum lord issue. You can break a lease possibly. Find out your state's rent laws. This is not the place to get answers.

 

Good luck to you!

 

Alley

[Alicia64]

And, yes, document the heck out of everything -- with loads of pictures. If anything, just letting the partys known that you have pictures will get folks to back down. Because they know the place wasn't right.

 

A lawyer may be overkill.

 

But when it comes to renting, don't assume the goodness of people. They can get very difficult. Besides they've already proven something, right?

 

Alley

[abacus2]

Is one of the other 4 people who bid still interested? Could you offer to pass the place on to them? Landlord agrees to void your lease, and they have an immediate replacement renter.

 

I doubt the realtor is being completely honest.

 

 

[elfgivas]

it seems to me as if you have come up with a good solution.  (if i read it right, you will document like crazy, pay for a professional clean and then move in.  i missed what was happening about the painting.....)

 

an awesome safe neighborhood is worth its weight in gold.  i am so sorry about the new neighbor at your old house, but am totally relieved that you are moving sooner rather than later.

 

hugs,

ann

[Starr]

I hope it all works out well for you. I really think your realtor's approach is odd. If the owners would feel "saddened and devasted " that it wasn't in good shape why not tell them and have it cleaned and painted??? Is she being honest with you?

[WinsomeCreek]

I'm updating because I like to know what happened when I read other people's threads.☺ï¸

 

I'm definitely not seeking legal advice, here or elsewhere, because it isn't necessary. We have clear conditions for breaking the lease. We are on the hook for rent until another renter is approved and for costs associated with finding a new tenant. If I advertised on Craigslist there would be a line of people within an hour. We offered well beyond that to break the lease in part to gauge the situation. Getting a new tenant in here would have cost us less than the cleaners. I am genuinely confused about the weirdness level of this situation. This year has messed with my head and radar. WTMF has a nice cross section of folks with a variety of perspectives.

 

The neighborhood is amazing. There are kids of all ages, a homeschooling teen across the street, over-educated parents, international flair, close to parks, all on a cul-du-sac at the end of a no outlet neighborhood (ie: no thru way so no crazy drivers other than those that might live here). It's quiet aside from the kids and birds. The next door neighbor, who I met yesterday, had a dad who taught piano out of their house. We do a lot of music playing. Having an enthusiastic neighbor is a huge plus.

 

We hired a professional cleaning team. They did a thorough job and the place is now sanitary. I dropped the painting issue because a once over with a washcloth removed a lot of the stuff stuck on the walls. I have documented the chips. It was more time, money and effort than we wanted to put into this move. We also decided to let the dust settle, but before the end of the month we'll sit down with the landlords and talk about it. There's something very off about the way the agent functioned. I'm not sure everything she did was legal. She only handles the leasing. The landlords personally manage. So wish us luck. It's been a tough year. We've been tossed around a bit and had more than our share of stressors. It would sure be nice to have smooth sailing. At least we put a lot of thought and planning into how to make that happen so it would be nice to have it work out.

[OneStepAtATime]

I'm updating because I like to know what happened when I read other people's threads.☺ï¸

 

I'm definitely not seeking legal advice, here or elsewhere, because it isn't necessary. We have clear conditions for breaking the lease. We are on the hook for rent until another renter is approved and for costs associated with finding a new tenant. If I advertised on Craigslist there would be a line of people within an hour. We offered well beyond that to break the lease in part to gauge the situation. Getting a new tenant in here would have cost us less than the cleaners. I am genuinely confused about the weirdness level of this situation. This year has messed with my head and radar. WTMF has a nice cross section of folks with a variety of perspectives.

 

The neighborhood is amazing. There are kids of all ages, a homeschooling teen across the street, over-educated parents, international flair, close to parks, all on a cul-du-sac at the end of a no outlet neighborhood (ie: no thru way so no crazy drivers other than those that might live here). It's quiet aside from the kids and birds. The next door neighbor, who I met yesterday, had a dad who taught piano out of their house. We do a lot of music playing. Having an enthusiastic neighbor is a huge plus.

 

We hired a professional cleaning team. They did a thorough job and the place is now sanitary. I dropped the painting issue because a once over with a washcloth removed a lot of the stuff stuck on the walls. I have documented the chips. It was more time, money and effort than we wanted to put into this move. We also decided to let the dust settle, but before the end of the month we'll sit down with the landlords and talk about it. There's something very off about the way the agent functioned. I'm not sure everything she did was legal. She only handles the leasing. The landlords personally manage. So wish us luck. It's been a tough year. We've been tossed around a bit and had more than our share of stressors. It would sure be nice to have smooth sailing. At least we put a lot of thought and planning into how to make that happen so it would be nice to have it work out.

Good luck, OP.

 

FWIW, I usually always had to do some extensive cleaning with rental houses when we moved in.  It was just sort of a given that we would need to do additional, more extensive cleaning, and that some things might not work right.  We would usually do a walk-through with the landlord or at least with a checklist about a week or so after moving in and document anything that was damaged or not functioning as intended.  Some things might get fixed on the landlord's dime/time. Other things we might take on ourselves.  Other things we might just live with.  We would not be liable for those things, though, when we moved out, since they were documented in writing as already being non-functional.

[Word Nerd]

Good luck, OP.

 

FWIW, I usually always had to do some extensive cleaning with rental houses when we moved in.  It was just sort of a given that we would need to do additional, more extensive cleaning, and that some things might not work right.  We would usually do a walk-through with the landlord or at least with a checklist about a week or so after moving in and document anything that was damaged or not functioning as intended.  Some things might get fixed on the landlord's dime/time. Other things we might take on ourselves.  Other things we might just live with.  We would not be liable for those things, though, when we moved out, since they were documented in writing as already being non-functional.

 

This has always been my experience. I expect to need to do a thorough cleaning before moving in. We've owned and rented houses, and the reasonable expectations for the condition of the house at the time we moved in are not the same for both situations.