To Whom It May Concern at ------- Property Management Company,
I am writing to request that we be released from our lease for unit -- on ---- Lane, without penalty. My husband and I moved there with our 6 month old son in November 2010. We are not pet owners, partly due to my husband's allergies. We are not smokers. Two units with the same floor plan came available at the same time; I viewed one of them but ended up renting the other because of its location within the community. Assured by management that it would be thoroughly cleaned before moving in, we took it. It turned out the previous renters were pet owners, and upon moving in, my husband immediately had problems breathing in the apartment unless he was within a few feet of a HEPA grade air purifier. He has never had a problem like this in places he has previously rented. There was a strong pet odor in the apartment, underneath whatever fragranced product had been sprinkled on the carpet. The first month we lived there, we had to have the carpet on the lower level torn out and replaced, and the subfloor "pet treated" for urine/allergens. Our first son is not allergic and has had no problems.
Our second child was born February 2012. He developed relatively severe eczema beginning at 2 months. We have since learned that he has multiple, potentially life-threatening food allergies, as well as a few environmental allergies, including one to cockroaches. He has had issues with his breathing as well, with asthma-like attacks spurred by allergic responses (to what, exactly, it is often hard to tell). Our children do not go to preschool or day care, so they spend much of their time in the home with one of us.
It has become very clear that this apartment is unsuitable for my younger son's health, and that we need to move out as soon as possible. There are pest problems and vermin problems. Last fall one afternoon, I was home alone with my toddler and baby, both of whom were feverish and sick. I had reported that I thought a squirrel had gotten into the apartment walls, that we were hearing noise in our kitchen ceiling (on the first floor of our 2 story town house). I was told that no one could come that day-there had been a maintenance emergency. I then heard a commotion through the grate in the kitchen wall, and distinctly heard the squirrel traveling through the air duct above the kitchen cabinets. I was then assured that there was no way for the animal to get into the apartment. Shortly after that phone call, the squirrel escaped under the mechanical closet door, into my living room. I ran out the back door with a sick child under each arm and no shoes on to the leasing/management office, where I left the kids so I could go open the front door to let the squirrel out (the office staff was reluctant to do anything without a maintenance worker).
Meanwhile, we have been killing cockroaches as they appear (the big ones are the ones we get). I described them to your staff, who offered to spray our apartment as a solution. Given my baby's sensitive respiratory and immune system, I am unwilling to have pesticide sprayed in my home, and I agreed to have the exterior sprayed about a month ago. We have also trapped one mouse in the past month, but another has appeared recently and eluded the traps. Two nights ago, I caught sight of the mouse hopping across my clean dishes on the kitchen counter. In response, I moved a stack of clean baking sheets and cutting boards from the counter where we store them, by the area where we dry hand-washed dishes, and discovered a pile of what appears to be cockroach excrement. I took a photo of it before we cleaned the counter. (We are still actively trying to trap the mouse, as we see new evidence/droppings, showing where it has been going.)
I have to point out how heavily that small kitchen gets used, and why: because of my younger son's severe allergies, he is on an extremely restricted diet, as am I because he still breast feeds. We cannot eat any pre-packaged food with more than a few ingredients, and eating out is nearly impossible. My husband spends hours cooking and cleaning in the kitchen every day by necessity, making most of our meals from scratch (no bread because of a gluten allergy, no cheese because of a dairy allergy, no beans because they are too closely related to nuts and soy, nothing with corn or eggs in it, etc, etc...).
We need to be living in a home with a workable kitchen that is not infested with mice or cockroaches, and one with no carpet. It traps allergens, and is too hard on my son's skin and lungs, with him spending so much time so close to the floor. As to what sorts of exposure during my pregnancy lent themselves to my son's health problems is probably water under the bridge, although the off-gassing of chemicals that occurs with new carpet is upsetting in retrospect. Regardless, we HAVE to curb my son's allergic reactions as his immune system continues to develop. I am not willing to accept the frequency with which we have to medicate a 16 month old baby.
Our lease is up this November. I have my doubts that an older rental like this with shared walls can really be rid of its pests, at least not while it is occupied, and by a family with very young children at that. Clearly, the carpet is something that cannot be changed. I am seeking to move out in a month. Given the limited length of time left on our lease and the dramatic change in our family's needs for health reasons, I am hoping that ------ Property Management can comply with my request.
Respectfully,
Kirstin etc.
