...basement apartment.? My husband and I are renting a single family home. When we came to see the house the first time, the landlord told us that there was no basement to the house. We were ok with that, as the house has two floors. When we came to do the walk through I saw a door that was locked with a chain from our side. I asked what that door was, figuring it was the utility closet. The landlord then proceeds to say that it was the door to the basement and that the other tenant lives down there! As you can imagine, we were in shock, outraged! I then follow up with a question regarding the utilities, and yet with another blow he indicates that we are responsible for the utilities for the entire house. We had signed the lease prior to moving in and don't know what to do? The basement apartment has the same key as our front door! I also think that it's an illegal basement apartment. Not sure what our options are at this point. We have 3 school aged children and don't want to up root them again.