can he send my land rover on safari?
March 5, 2009 4:31 PM Subscribe
California Renters' filter: can my land lord tell me what i can and cannot park in my carport?
i'm a car guy, and have divested myself of most of my projects, but there's still one remaining. there are two houses on this large lot, and we live in the back house. the front house is a rental also, and my neighbors are great. the driveway goes down the side of the property, and there is a three bay carport between the house in front, and our house. the people up front have the two spaces closest to their house, and we have the one space closest to mine.
I have a rolling chassis for a vintage landrover in my carport. bare frame, axles and tires. this is covered up with a very nice tan fabric cover. it's clean looking and there isn't stuff lying all over that would make it seem discarded, derelict or abandoned. It's so nicely covered up, a dsl tech asked if it was a vintage british convertible under wraps. i have been trying to sell this chassis for some time, but with the economy etc, it has been hard finding a buyer esp considering the market it small to begin with.
my landlord left me a voicemail today firmly telling me i needed to removed the "eyesore" from the carport. we've lived here for a year and half. i don't have my lease in front of me as I'm at work, and searches on renter's rights don't seem to address my question. we were not asked to provide vehicle info when we signed our lease. so can my landlord, barring any stipulations present in my lease, make me remove my property from the carport? obviously you are not my lawyer!
i'm a car guy, and have divested myself of most of my projects, but there's still one remaining. there are two houses on this large lot, and we live in the back house. the front house is a rental also, and my neighbors are great. the driveway goes down the side of the property, and there is a three bay carport between the house in front, and our house. the people up front have the two spaces closest to their house, and we have the one space closest to mine.
I have a rolling chassis for a vintage landrover in my carport. bare frame, axles and tires. this is covered up with a very nice tan fabric cover. it's clean looking and there isn't stuff lying all over that would make it seem discarded, derelict or abandoned. It's so nicely covered up, a dsl tech asked if it was a vintage british convertible under wraps. i have been trying to sell this chassis for some time, but with the economy etc, it has been hard finding a buyer esp considering the market it small to begin with.
my landlord left me a voicemail today firmly telling me i needed to removed the "eyesore" from the carport. we've lived here for a year and half. i don't have my lease in front of me as I'm at work, and searches on renter's rights don't seem to address my question. we were not asked to provide vehicle info when we signed our lease. so can my landlord, barring any stipulations present in my lease, make me remove my property from the carport? obviously you are not my lawyer!
Yeah it's pretty common for a lease to prohibit non-functioning or unregistered vehicles. And there's probably some generic prohibition of eyesores that he could try to use too.
Then there's the question of, even if he's wrong, is it worth blowing up your relationship with the landlord over it.
posted by winston at 4:50 PM on March 5, 2009
Then there's the question of, even if he's wrong, is it worth blowing up your relationship with the landlord over it.
posted by winston at 4:50 PM on March 5, 2009
The primary question involves your lease. Since you (and we) don't have that, we obviously can't answer it. The other thing you need to research, assuming that your lease doesn't contain the answer to your question, are your local ordinances regarding "visual blight." If you're in violation (and you may or may not be, all depends on your municipal code), then you need to do what the
landlord says -- as the property owner, he's the one who's ultimately responsible.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:44 PM on March 5, 2009
landlord says -- as the property owner, he's the one who's ultimately responsible.
posted by mudpuppie at 5:44 PM on March 5, 2009
Tell him that you need to see proof that he has the right to ask this of you before you move your vehicle. Be nice, but firm. The burden is his, not yours.
posted by caddis at 5:56 PM on March 5, 2009
posted by caddis at 5:56 PM on March 5, 2009
Response by poster: to follow up, as i've now re-read my lease. our two year lease expires at the end of July of this year. this is the only section that i believe holds any sway:
"The lessee shall keep and maintain the premises in a clean and sanitary condition at all times, and upon the termination of the tenancy shall surrender the premises the the lessor in as good condition as when received ordinary wear and damage by the elements excepted."
there's no mention whatsoever of parking, or vehicles in the lease agreement at all. as far as i can tell, i'm not in violation of any city ordinance, as my house, driveway and carport are not visible from the street and i think "blight" would be a hard sell. It looks like a car under a cover.
to add further, the front house is completely surrounded by scaffolding, plastic, discarded work materials etc as the land lord is doing a cheap and seemingly never ending stucco job to a great craftsman. my front neighbors have also had several old box springs in their section of the carport for over a year. my covered chassis pales in comparison to the rest of the mess.
any further advice on how to approach this issue in conversation with my LL is appreciated!
posted by Bohemia Mountain at 6:27 PM on March 5, 2009
"The lessee shall keep and maintain the premises in a clean and sanitary condition at all times, and upon the termination of the tenancy shall surrender the premises the the lessor in as good condition as when received ordinary wear and damage by the elements excepted."
there's no mention whatsoever of parking, or vehicles in the lease agreement at all. as far as i can tell, i'm not in violation of any city ordinance, as my house, driveway and carport are not visible from the street and i think "blight" would be a hard sell. It looks like a car under a cover.
to add further, the front house is completely surrounded by scaffolding, plastic, discarded work materials etc as the land lord is doing a cheap and seemingly never ending stucco job to a great craftsman. my front neighbors have also had several old box springs in their section of the carport for over a year. my covered chassis pales in comparison to the rest of the mess.
any further advice on how to approach this issue in conversation with my LL is appreciated!
posted by Bohemia Mountain at 6:27 PM on March 5, 2009
Hmm. As for how to approach it, I'd call him back. Don't do this over voicemail -- get him in person. Ask him, "Can you describe for me what the problem is, exactly?" Leave it open-ended like that, don't lead him. Write down what he says. Reply with, "Thank you very much for your time, I'll be in touch soon about how to resolve this." Don't let it escalate. Don't engage with anymore information.
Then write him a letter, detailing the problem, as he described it, and comparing it to other things that he is letting slide -- his own mess, the other tenants'. Ask him to explain how this specific problem is in violation, while the others aren't.
This could be terrible advice, but it's what I'd do. I think the key is to talk to him directly and hear what he thinks the problem is.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:57 PM on March 5, 2009 [1 favorite]
Then write him a letter, detailing the problem, as he described it, and comparing it to other things that he is letting slide -- his own mess, the other tenants'. Ask him to explain how this specific problem is in violation, while the others aren't.
This could be terrible advice, but it's what I'd do. I think the key is to talk to him directly and hear what he thinks the problem is.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:57 PM on March 5, 2009 [1 favorite]
I think I'd probably try to get in touch with the landlord directly and say something like, "Hey, thanks for calling. I'd like to see the place kept a little neater too. I didn't realize my chassis would be considered an eyesore. I keep it covered and tidy, so it could be a convertible with a cover over it for all anyone can tell by looking at it. But if I'm in violation of a city ordinance or the terms of my lease, please let me know and I'll take care of it."
posted by Balonious Assault at 7:20 PM on March 5, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Balonious Assault at 7:20 PM on March 5, 2009 [1 favorite]
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posted by lester's sock puppet at 4:45 PM on March 5, 2009