I'm pretty sure she knows that it's way too loud. She doesn't actually believe the maintenance guy is racist, if she does then she needs her head examined. I think she's stalling because she doesn't want to kick out paying tenants. I've actually tried to arrange something with the manager, because my neighbors usually start up around 6:30pm, half-an-hour after the office closes and all-day on Sundays when the office isn't open at all. The problem is, the office is usually closed by the time I get home from work. Tuesdays are the only days I'm home before 6pm and I think they've caught onto my pattern because she's always busy now when I show up and she's off on Saturdays. I've left messages with her assistants but she's totally dodging me. I sent an email to the regional manager last night, I don't have their phone number and can't find it for the life of me. It'll probably be a week or so before I hear anything back. As for my neighbors, they're friends with the people who live next door to them. The guy who lives above them is deaf (I'm not joking he's actually deaf). The woman who lives directly across from them works evenings and doesn't get home until midnight, but she actually told me that she can sometimes hear their television in her living room during the day, but she doesn't want to get involved. I think I can work on her and she might be willing to talk to the manager, if I can ever get a hold of her, but I still don't think my manager will do anything. If the regional manager won't get involved, can I break my lease without shelling out the subsequent fine?

It is not in the landlord's best interest to remove you from the lease and replace you with the no credit/dwi guy. You might want to start looking for opportunities to be away from the apartment. Any possibility of traveling for your job? Do you have friends who could make you the third or fourth person in their apartment but only spend a couple nights a week there? Go visit mom and dad more often? Sister or brother who you could visit? Fall in love and spend more time with your SO? Offer to house sit while people are on vacation. Find someone on craigslist in a similar situation and trade - hey, that would make a cool movie concept. OR, maybe your roommate would be happy to have you leave and all you need to do is talk with him about it.

schoor: thank you for that! As an owner/landlord, such a blanket statement slamming landlord stings. (If I were to come here and make a negative blanket statement about "all tenants" I'm sured I'd be tarred and feathered ;) I've let several tenants out of their leases without a lawyer and without charging any further rent. One finally realized his dream of being hired by a police force, but he had to live in their jurisdiction (next county over). During his 4 year tenancy with me I watched him juggle college and jobs in criminal justice till he reached his goal. No way could I spoil it for him. Another was due to serious illness of a family member located out of state. Another was a young couple suddenly expecting an unplanned baby (their 3rd) and the house would simply have been too small for them. So they searched for a home to buy while they continued to rent from me. Three months before the lease was up they found a nice large one with plenty of room for the kids to romp. I let them out of the lease with no repercussions (and they invited me over the weekend they moved into their new home, they wanted to show it off ;) But a lease is a contract, and the promise to pay rent is there through the end of that contract. And yes, the landlord has the right to pursue collection of those rents during the course of that contract. If you're not residing there, he/she has the legal right to the rent you owe until he/she is able to re-rent. And re-renting doesn't happen in a snap. There's cleaning, painting, advertising, showings, prospective tenants might still have a month to go on a current lease, etc. etc. You do, however, have the right the live in peace. I didn't read your prior post, so I don't know how bad it is. I would suggest you try one more time with the landlord (no threats, no demands or yelling, that will just put her on the defensive). Read your lease language, know it and if necessary, remind her in a calm, civil manner that you have the right to quiet enjoyment and in truth you're miserable. She may be working over time to resolve it. And if she is indeed going for eviction, that process doesn't happen overnight, and as you mentioned, you really don't know what's going on behind the scenes with those upstairs and she's not privvy to discuss it. I put language in my leases that tenants will not interfere with quiet enjoyment of neighbors. At one rental I began getting complaints from a neighbor about noise and loud parties about my tenants (house, not apt.). The neighbor just hounded me incessantly (and he was usually drunk, which didn't help his case in my book). I told him I would talk to my tenants, and I did. But I also told the neighbor it's going to take more than his verbal complaining to me for me to pursue it beyond that. I told him if my tenants were truly that out of hand, call the police. Then I've got documentation to substantiate any more agressive action on my part. But you know what? Neighbors never called police. Not once. I spoke to the disptacher on several occasions, after every time the neighbor called me complaining. There was no documentation of a police visit to my tenants ever, for anything. A landlord can't simply boot someone out because of a disgruntled squeeky wheel next door, it's just not that simple. One last and very important consideration: you're already planning on future court appearances and are covering your bases now. If you do indeed land in court, there's the chance you will come out on the losing end, and if so you would be facing a judgement against you for the monies owed, and judgements show up on credit reports. You could well be harming your own future, because any type judgement on a credit report with regard to a property is a landlord's biggest red flag, makes potential landlords very, leery and most landlords will steer clear of a tenant who's landed in court over a rental. They figure it's got high potential to be possible grief for them as well. Something to think about...

I've been out of town so am a little late to this party ;) Just thought I'd toss in my .02. I'm not a lawyer but am a landlord. I'm going to disagree to some extent with some posts here. I'm looking at it from my perspective and personally I feel like your landlord goofed, and is perhaps circling back to you to cover her mistakes. A lot of things that should have been put in writing were not. However, there are strong indicators of the direction this deal was taking. Allowing you to pay prorated rent for October is a big indicator that your landlord was not only aware of the fact that you were moving, she also approved a specific and premature (prior to lease expiration) 'end' date in October that your rent payment would cease. In other words it's not like you up and moved out under cloak of darkness ;) Clearly discussion and negotiation took place because a specific number of days for October rent was decided and agreed upon by both parties. Next she went so far as to secure a deposit from a different prospective tenant. It's true you're responsible for rent till your lease is up, but it's also true she needs to seek other occupants and secure them via a binding contract. She fell short here. I don't see that it matters whether she took $500 to 'hold' it or the same amount that she charged you for a deposit, because landlords can change deposit amounts from tenant to tenant, as long as it's not in violation of the ceiling dictated by State law. The dollar amount she took from them is not really your concern or burden to bear, that was her call to make and does not involve you because she's commencing a new agreement with entirely different parties involved. The fact is she took a deposit, released you early, but failed to obtain the most critical component: a signed, binding agreement with the new tenants. Big mistake. Deals fall through all the time. A deal is never sealed until all parties have signed on. I'm imagining myself standing in front of a judge explaining why I'm trying to now come back to worrywart for rents due and frankly, I think I'd be embarrassed. It would have been so easy to have a lease ready, signed when the deposit was collected, but not commence until 10/5. Then she could have officially let you know that you only needed to pay through 10/4, because a new lease was starting 10/5. She dropped that ball. So I'm thinking you're not entirely responsible at this point and that you do have recourse. The strongest indicator is the acceptance of the pro-rated rent, the second indicator is the deposit she got from the other couple. If your landlord failed to follow through and seal the deal with a signed lease with new tenants before letting you out, that's not really your burden to bear. That's how I see it anyway.