Cat Urine odor, tenant (me) vs. landlord problem

[Justin J.]

So I viewed a two bedroom condo apartment in Massachusetts (near Acton/Boxborough) that was to be available for September 1st. There was one cat present that I could see, and it was confined mainly to one room. The apartment smelled of strong "cat odor" which I thought was mainly from "litter box & cat urine". Upon viewing the apartment, the manager said that it would be thoroughly cleaned (including the carpets steam cleaned).

I didn't think much of it until I signed the lease. It was a good price and apartments were going quick (there were 3 more interested people). I showed up to the vacant apartment and It smells strong of cat urine. I immediately called the manager and requested that we do an initial inspection so that I could show him the smell and point out all the defects that I didn't want to be responsible for.

The previous tenant had left a bunch of her stuff there, and didn't do a good job cleaning at all which made me think that she didn't do a thorough steam cleaning. I requested that he remedy the problem. He agreed with me and obviously didn't do a close out inspection with the previous tenant (in his words "because she had good credit").

The manager rented another steam cleaner and cleaned the whole apartment. I had a wedding to go to so it worked out perfectly so that the carpets could dry for two days. When I came back, the cat urine odor was no less bearable. This made me believe that the urine penetrated the subfloor.

At this point, the manager said that "the landlord will not do no more for the carpet". Is there anything that I can do? I know I should have waited to inspect the apartment once vacant before signing the lease. Living in it is like living in a rest stop bathroom, and I can't stand living there in it's current condition. I would NEVER rent an apartment that smelled like this.

What are my options? I've already filed a complaint with the MA attorney general Martha Coakley's office and my RE attorney is reviewing my lease terms. I did not get the apartment would be clean in writing, only verbally implied. I'd appreciate any feedback!

-Justin 

P.S. @Brandon Turner how the hell do you deal with so many cats!