Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and landlord

Required notice for vacating apartment?

mellifluous — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:30:51 -0800

Our apartment was damaged on Friday, and the whole floor needs to come out, possibly some of the drywall too. The property manager needs us to vacate, and remove all of our stuff, for an extended period of time (1-2 months). (Note that we have been dealing with the property manager, and to a lesser extent, the superintendent, and not our landlord.) How much notice is he legally required to give us? We live in Toronto. YANAL. Today, at about 6, our landlord emailed us, saying the property manager wanted us out of our unit by Wednesday. Which gives us less than 2 days to co-ordinate moving, storage, and new accommodation.

Our insurance company informed us that repairs wouldn't take place for at least another three weeks. Until just a few hours ago, the super + PM had given us absolutely no information on when we could expect them to begin. The two of them came by to inspect the damage twice just today, and said nothing about it.

As far as I can tell, this is completely unreasonable. But I can't seem to find any specific tenancy law it violates, perhaps because repairs rarely require tenants to leave for such a long period of time. I have seen by-laws, for example, that require 24 hours of written notice for repairs - and that's reasonable for something like "I need to repair your water-pipe," but not for something like "I need you, and all of your stuff, out for 2 months."

What can we do?

Subleasing tenant cosmetically damaged my table. How much, if any, of her deposit should I keep?

evadery — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:54:35 -0800

Subleasing tenant cosmetically damaged my table. How much, if any, of her deposit should I keep? I am in my late 20's and I had a tenant stay at my place for 4 months in the summer as I subleased another place with my fiancee (in town for the summer). She paid her rent on time, was courteous, kept the place in good condition, and all in all a good fit. Unfortunately, she left hair products on my antique wooden dining room table (passed from generation to generation) and left a large black waxy stain on it around the size of two fingers held together, but in an irregular pattern.

It was very noticeable, and compounding the problem, as I tried to remove it, I stripped some of the red from the previous refinishing of the table several years ago. So, before it it was pretty obvious and bad, and now it is very obvious and bad.

I have received a handful of quotes pricing out the cost of fixing the table, and the general guesstimate is around $300-$350 (not including transport of the table top, which may or may not fit in my car, and would cost $130 round trip at my favourite place). All parties say that touching up the area would be visible and not ideal, and the entire top of the table should be redone, but none of the legs, etc. The entire top would need to be redone regardless of whether I had removed some of the colouring, as the removal of the wax would necessitate the full work.

Other relevant facts:
-The tenant gave me a deposit of $825.
-The room is shared with a roommate, but I don't think there is any debate about who caused the damage.
-There are very slight discolourations on the table from resting glasses, etc, but before the wax I would have not considered getting it refinished under any circumstances.
-I will get it refurnished due to this problem, either now, or when I move out of my apt into a house (estimated time-10 months from now). I would not have gotten it refurnished otherwise.

So, hivemind, what should I do, and what is fair under the circumstances? If I did the work now, what percentage of the final cost should the tenant be charged? Thanks.

Can my landlord really kick me out?

krunk — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:19:28 -0800

My landlords want to kick me out and move into my apartment. They gave me the 60 days notice, but I have some questions about the validity of their notice. I was checking out the Residential Tenancies Act, and it seems that there is a clause that says they can't move in unless they have previously lived there (72 b), which they haven't.

Also, they said they would rather take over the apartment of the guys who live upstairs, but can't because they have a lease until March 2010. Since we are on month-to-month, they said they could take over our place instead.

Are either of these things true? Could they in fact take the other apartment instead?

Can I get the deposit back on a house I didn't move in to?

hnnrs — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:40:11 -0800

Can I get the deposit back on a house I didn't move in to? At the end of last month I made a rushed decision to move in to a shared, rented house here in the UK. It wasn't a nice place, but time wasn't on my side and I desperately needed a roof over my head. The landlord showed me round, and I paid him £50 cash to hold the property.

Moving day came, I visited the landlord with a further £200 in cash towards the deposit - unfortunately my cheque book was packed away with my belongings, and £200 was the most I could get out of the cash machine.

Driving up to my new place, I had a really bad feeling, it was on a council estate on the outskirts of a small town and it just felt so incredibly depressing that I'd be spending the next six months there. I'd had a call from the landlady of another property that day, and she said she had a room available in a period house in the middle of town. I went and took a look around her place and it was exactly what I was looking for - a nice place with good views and a 10-minute stroll to work. And it was cheaper than the horrible council estate house.

I moved in right away, and paid her a deposit. I called the landlord and told him I wouldn't be moving in. I appreciated that I'd let him down, and said I'd try and find someone else to move in to my room. I also - possibly stupidly - agreed to let him keep some of my money on a pro-rata, for each day he couldn't find someone to move in.

I re-advertised the room, but as I listed his number as a contact I have no idea if he's found someone to move in. I've left messages but he hasn't got back to me.

Of course, he could have found someone to move in the day I decided not to, and not told me. He seemed like an honest enough bloke, but I'm worried I won't be able to get my cash back. I didn't sign any contracts or anything, and everything was agreed verbally - where should I go from here?

can a landlord demand more security deposit after you've moved in

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:53:20 -0800

nychousingfilter: I signed a lease, moved into my new apartment on the 1st and now my landlord is demanding an extra security deposit. Can they do this? First: I know you are not a lawyer and that even if you are, you're not my lawyer. Also this is posted anonymously because some of friends read Ask MeFi and I'd like my business to be private.

I'm taking time off to work on a startup, my family overseas is investing by covering the rent while I do and the company of a family friend signed a form guaranteeing my rent. I signed my lease, received keys, and gave the landlord's company first + last + security in the form of teller's checks which they've cashed last month, and I moved in on the first. All of a sudden the landlord has decided they want more forms from the company guaranteeing me which they don't want to provide, and have told my family that they'd like a few additional months security deposit. Can they do this? Can they cancel my lease and force me to move out or move to evict me if I don't cough up? I signed the lease but haven't received a copy of it signed by my landlord, so it's possible he's not signed it, but they cashed my checks and let me move in on the first. What are their options, and what are mine?

(And yes, I'm looking for a housing lawyer, but I'd still like to be able to know things and thus do my own research before I see one, hence this question. Thanks for help in advance.)

Questions to ask before renting a house?

Joannalaine — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:40:59 -0800

Whenever I go look at a house for rent, I draw a blank on what questions to ask the landlord. I've started a list from this site. What's missing? What do you wish you'd asked or looked at more closely before signing a lease? (Specifically for a house, if you can...) Particulars: Three girls and a dog looking to rent a house with yard somewhere in the 562 or 714 area of So Cal. I expect to be there at the very least a year. We have no appliances of our own, but furniture galore.

Give me a fire by Christmas, please!

bunnycup — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:24:09 -0800

What, if any, are the effects of express warranties by landlord and landlord's agents under New Jersey landlord tenant law? Okay, yes, I am a lawyer, but I'm out of my zone of comfort and in a brand new state. Please take pity on me!

Prior to renting my home, the landlord's property agent (not my agent) represented that the fireplace and chimney were safe for use as a result of passing inspection. Further, during lease negotiations, as a part of an attempt to persuade my husband and I to accept liability for all repairs of any kind, two employees of the landlord represented that full inspections had been done within the last 12 months, the house had passed, and thus we could forsee no actual risk under such a clause. We nevertheless declined to agree to accept that liability.

Prior to using the fireplace, my husband would like us to obtain confirmation of its safety for use. My written query to the landlord was responded to as follows:

"You are correct that the standard NJ home inspection was done. However, that was only a visual inspection for any structural damage to the exterior, as this was the only inspection we were required to do. "

I feel that I received an express warranty that that the fireplace was safe from the realtor (a designated agent of the landlord), who used the use of a fireplace as a selling point, along with a more general (but also express) warranty from the property managers that a detailed inspection had taken place. I rely on no implied warranties of any kind, and do not assume that because the stove is in the house, it is safe to use.

I am not familiar with NJ law; I do not (and will not in future) practice in NJ. My prior education is with NYS and NYC property law, which as you may know is often quite different from other states. Without asking that anyone do in depth research here, any quick thoughts on an argument that I've got an express warranty as to the fireplace, or whether there is any wiggle room whatsoever for a contractual promissory estoppel type argument? I realize this is a fairly technical question, and am asking solely for the purpose of determining whether further research on my part would be worthwhile. If someone knows I am wasting my time, hearing that would be useful. I will not be relying on your answers as the basis of further correspondence, etc.

Thanks in advance for saving Christmas!

Anyone got a two bed/one bath in san diego for rent?!?!

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:02:35 -0800

Renting - It's been a while and I'm afraid we're gonna look bad on paper. Mid/late twenty year olds (one a musician) without a huge amount of $$ or history - are we screwed? I'm out of college and have been working at a great, professional job for about a year. My roommate is out of college and also has a great, professional job. Together, we have been living in a house owned by my family. I've been paying no rent and he's been paying a paltry sum. Have I mentioned my family rules? They do. But, its time to leave.

Should I lie about renting from family for no money? Should I tell my family to act like I'm not kin (we have different last names)? I've been here about 7 years. I dont even remember who I rented from last. Do I really need to dig up that info?

Lastly, the third roommate is my boyfriend, who is a working musician and artist. He takes jobs that he can quit when he goes on tour. He's coming back from tour this week, so technically when we are looking for a house, he will be unemployed. Will a grand in savings be enough to convince the potential landlord? He'll have no problem finding a job soon enough, but we simply cant wait.

We'd be great tenants. We're considerate, kind, and would be consistent with the bills/rent. How can I get this across on a rental application?? There must be a best way for us to go about this.

Thanks everyone!

An unhappy move

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:02:14 -0800

I'm being kicked out of my apartment, but I've done nothing wrong! Can I do anything? I live in a fairly nice, large downtown apartment which is run by a building manager who answers to the building owner. I've met and deal with the manager on a monthly basis, but have never met or spoken with the owner. There are 6 upstairs units in the building and one downstairs business area for lease. I've lived in the unit for 1 year now. When I originally signed the lease, it was for 6 months with the understanding that it would go month to month after that (a big mistake, I realize now). I had been planning on leaving the city around this September, though that never panned out, so I was planning on staying in the apartment for at least another 6 months to a year. That's just not going to happen, now.

On August 1st, the building manager and I had scheduled a maintenance man to come repair my dishwasher. I told him to come in if I wasn't there--as usual--and he came and fixed the appliance, also dropping off a notice that my lease is being terminated and that I must leave in 30 days.

I immediately tried to call the building manager, as this was a total shock to me. I live 2 blocks from where I work, I no longer own a car, and I pay my rent one month in advance. I've had no problems with the unit, had everything repaired promptly and have kept it immaculate, regularly cleaning the carpets and obsessively washing/dusting/wiping down everything else. All of the tenants have become great friends of mine, and life is, as they say, good. The manager would not answer her phone. I called 6 times in the span of 2 hours before getting a response, and she feigned ignorance. She knew I was being kicked out, but couldn't tell me why.

She would not give me a reason for the eviction, stating that I have been a great tenant and that she would gladly give me a recommendation, but that the owner has decided he wants the unit for "other purposes" and that she doesn't know what's going on or why he wants it. I demanded to speak with him but he is conveniently on vacation and I have been unable to reach him by cellphone. The building manager--despite our regular contact--made no indication that this would be happening anytime soon, and has never once mentioned that my apartment might be needed for something else. In fact, in the morning I had spoken with her about the dishwasher, and she conveniently forgot to mention that I was being evicted, but managed to have a nice conversation with me about everything else going on in my life.

This is what I strongly suspect happened: the downstairs business tenant was a record store, and they relocated. The new tenant is a sandwich chain opening their first store in my city. They have been working on construction for about 4 months now, and are planning to open in another month or two. I think that the owner has decided to give my apartment to someone affiliated with this store so that they can live and watch over it--and have some nice digs.

Neither my building manager or owner has told me why I'm being kicked out and it is infuriating me. This is the worst possible time for it to happen: I have been trying to dedicate this month, August, to studying for the GRE which I have scheduled for mid-September. Now I will have to concentrate on not only moving, but finding a new place, within walking distance of work. I also happen to live in a college town, and all of the units in the city are pretty much rented up now, as August is when school starts and consequently the worst month to start an apartment hunt. Also, I have no car. After a few days of calling, I've realized that all downtown apartments are full, and I'm simply not going to get one.

Is there anything I can do here? I feel that I have been evicted for personal reasons. I'm the only tenant under 25 and though I am established, with a good job and a college degree, but I hardly fit the stereotypical mold, so to speak. On top of all that I have said, two units came available in the apartment complex just last month (an incredible rarity, as these apartments are highly valued and in a great location), and one was rented to a couple, the other to a single female. Why wasn't that used for whatever purpose mine will be used for? Why wasn't I offered a chance to switch apartments?

I realize that on a month-to-month lease, I can be kicked out for any reason at all, but this just makes no sense to me, and the timing couldn't be worse. I want to have some kind of recourse but I feel completely on my own and unprotected. Is this simply a case of "life isn't fair, move on?" or is there something I can do, legally, or not? Even if I cannot keep the apartment for another year, what can I do to make this landlords life hell? Can I stay in the unit for another month past the eviction? Can I hold the keys? Is there anything? Am I just whining? Sorry for the long post, but I'm in a bad spot right now.

I'm in Nebraska, if that matters at all for the legal aspect.

But I WANT to sign the lease!

purplefiber — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:53:29 -0800

Can my new landlord leave me off the lease? I'm moving into a new apartment soon. The two people who currently live there (roommate A and B) have been in the apartment for two years. The first year they cosigned a year long lease, and since then they have been month to month.

Now roommate B is moving away and I am moving in. They checked this with the rental agency, to see if we'd have to do an application/credit check for me. The rental agency said no, that they would make roommate A the sole tenant, and I would be a subletter from her. So they don't need to check any background on me, but basically I would have no rights to the place. If roommate A decides to move, I would have to move as well, or be subject to any kind of rent increase they wish to impose.

I want to be on the lease, both for the stability of rent control in the event that roommate A decides to leave, and also for reasons of building good credit. Do I have the right to insist on getting my name on the lease? Roommate A agrees that it would be best for us both to be on it. If I am to bring this up with the rental agency, should I do it before moving in, or a few months down the road, once they see that I'm a good tenant, pay rent on time, etc? We are in California.

Any advice much appreciated.

Help for a rental refugee?

zarq — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:46:00 -0800

Can anyone provide advice, suggest tenant rights resources, courses of action or even refer a good pro-bono lawyer for a friend of mine who's getting screwed by her landlord during the conversion of her apartment complex from rentals to condos in Studio City, CA? Everything's being documented on Flickr.

At Christmas, all tenants were given notice that they had 180 days to vacate. CA state law requires (among other things) that the landlord help current tenants find new housing, pay for up to $500 in moving costs and compensate them with $1000 cash. Hers has refused to do any of that.

In February, construction began months early and created many ongoing hazardous living conditions, such as a six-foot deep moat around the building and exposed nests of metal and electrical wires. But even though the management company is blatantly violating their end of the agreement (and breaking the law) and the tenants are dealing with unsafe living conditions, not one of the numerous lawyers they've called will take the case on -- either individually or as a class action suit. They all say that the case would be winnable, but there's no money in it because no one has been seriously injured or killed yet.

Anything y’all can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

We just moved into a rental house, and found the place filthy! What do we do?

itchi23 — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:36:30 -0800

We just moved into a rental house, and found the place filthy! What do we do? This past weekend, my wife and I moved cross-country to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a pretty arduous trip - I drove a crazy, rickety moving van and the heat was unbearable, among other things. After a two-day trip, we arrived to find our rental house in an almost uninhabitable state.
It was filthy. Everything needed to be scrubbed within an inch of its life with bleach and everyother anti-bacterial, anti-microbial cleaner we could find. My wife's hesitant to use the kitchen! Holes in the walls, stains on carpeting, etc.
We saw the house about a month and a half ago, and while we saw it definitely needed a good washout, we were assured by the "property manager" that it would be given a good cleaning before we arrived. In fact, if given a good hardcore scrubbing and basic maintenence, the house would be really great. There were some other issues we needed to have taken care of before we arrived (knobs and handles missing from various appliances, some maintenence, etc.) and we noted them on the lease when we signed. Most of those things were taken care of, but our biggest issue is how dirty the house is.
Our landlord lives out of town, but explained that most of the day-to-day and maintenence issues would be taken care of by the "property manager." I only use that term in quotes because I'm not sure exactly her official role or title. Apparently, the landlord and the "property manager" used to have some kind of relationship, and after it ended they remained friends. He now lives out of town and left his ex-girlfriend to take care of this property for him. She was the one who told us that she'd "clean it up really well" and the place would look great once we arrived.
Once we did arrive and saw the places wasn't clean, we called our landlord and briefly explained the situation. He said he paid the "property manager" a lot of money to clean it up, and was interested in knowing how she did. It could seem like the "property manager" just didn't realize that we were moving in on that date - but I'm not sure.
Now here's where we don't know how to proceed.
We'd like to maintain a pretty amicable relationship w/ our landlord. He wasn't around to supervise the prep for the new tenants. All we would like is for the place to be cleaned real well and a fresh coat of paint. We'd be willing to do the work ourselves, and receive a discount in rent if he can't get someone to clean and paint. How would we address this in a way that will ensure we get some results, yet still maintain an amicible relationship? That's key for us, because our landlord hinted that he may be interested in selling the house in a year or two, and if that's the case, we might be interested in buying (if it passes inspection) and don't want to burn our bridges in this crazy housing market.

Extra income or Extra Headache

gus — Mon, 01 May 2006 17:51:57 -0800

What do I need to be aware of when renting out rooms in my house to friends? My girlfriend moved out of my house a couple of weeks ago and now 2 of my friends are interested in moving in to my 2 extra bedrooms. I've seen this question that asks a similar question and would like more advice, suggestions of things to think about or anecdotes about taking on lodgers.

While I don't need the extra money to get by, it would be nice and would allow me to do some home-improvement projects a little sooner. I know both guys very well, and have lived with one in the past, so I am not too worried about the inter-personal type of problems. I'm sure they'll come up, but I've had roommates before.

I'm more concerned with being a landlord. Specifically, what rights do I have to kick them out or what rights do they have to stay? Should I have a written agreement? Do I have to claim the rent they pay me as income, or is it shared living expenses? What risks do I run by not going the lawyer route, or what extra obligations do I incur if I do?

Any other suggestions of questions to think through or problems that may come up are greatly appreciated.

Landlord selling my building: Am I screwed?

logovisual — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 17:26:53 -0800

NYC: Our landlord is selling our building. We have a lease. What's going to happen to us? I just learned on Saturday that our landlord is selling the brownstone we rent the top floor of in Brooklyn. Somebody is already coming by to see the place tomorrow. We have a standard, legal lease; what are a new owner's responsibilities re: this lease, our rent, etc.? Does he/she have to honor them, or are we up shit creek? This is a surprisingly difficult topic to Google... My understanding was that they do have to honor the lease, but informally speaking, if that displeases them, they can make my life very difficult. Am I wrong in this, and they don't have to honor it at all?

Getting a lease with an unpleasant background

cmonkey — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 13:42:16 -0800

MetaFilter landlords: Please help me aquire a lease... Three friends of mine & I are looking for a new place to live. They all have low paying jobs, but great credit. I have a high paying job, but atrocious credit and no recent rental history (I've lived in houses for the last 5 years without being on a lease). My friends keep getting rejected because they're poor, so I need to apply with them. A few questions to those of you who rent property out:

1) Is there anything that I can do to convince a landlord that, regardless of my poor credit and missing rental history, I am actually a good tenant with a stable job who has never once paid rent late or destroyed a house? Any bribes that would work?
2) What services do you use for background checks? I'm curious what's in mine.
3) If a place says "no application fees" does that mean that they don't do background checks?

(This is a followup to this question, thanks for your help!)

renting rooms in your own house

scarabic — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 22:35:08 -0800

When you own a house and live in it but rent some of the rooms out to other people, is the landlord/tenant situation different than it is for renting out an entire property? Obviously, in the latter case you can't be evicted from your apartment for not doing the dishes. But what about if you live in the same house as the person who owns it? How about rent control? I'm in the Bay Area, CA.

Would it ever make economic sense to buy a house and rent it out, while being a tenant in another place yourself?

gottabefunky — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:07:36 -0800

Does it ever make sense, if you live in a place where you can't afford to buy a house, to buy a place and rent it out, while still continuing to rent yourself, to save up money to buy your own place down the line?