HELP with landlords!

[TonTo]

Ok, yesterday we had our 'anual inspection' (first time cuz it's a new management) and, they came in and here's what happened.

I had a couple bottle caps stuck on my ceiling(push them on there and they stay) no harm, doesn't do anything. they ripped them down and left them on my floor. so, i called up to complain, that it was rude. she said, that damages the ceiling, don't do that, and you need to clean your apartment. my floro is a lil dirty cuz my vacume cleaner is broke, the things spin, but it doesn't suck the stuff up. i said, hey, that's what damage deposits are for. she said, no that's not what they're for.
is there any action i can take?

 

[iamwiz82]

<< Ok, yesterday we had our 'anual inspection' (first time cuz it's a new management) and, they came in and here's what happened.

I had a couple bottle caps stuck on my ceiling(push them on there and they stay) no harm, doesn't do anything. they ripped them down and left them on my floor. so, i called up to complain, that it was rude. she said, that damages the ceiling, don't do that, and you need to clean your apartment. my floro is a lil dirty cuz my vacume cleaner is broke, the things spin, but it doesn't suck the stuff up. i said, hey, that's what damage deposits are for. she said, no that's not what they're for.
is there any action i can take? >>



action you can take for what? you have a dirty apartment, and got pissed about it?

 

[bozo1]

Most leases have a clause in there saying you must keep an apartment reasonably clean. (don't want any critters!) They are totally in their rights to tell you to clean it.

 

[Azraele]

I doubt it. You really shouldn't have bottlecaps stuck to the ceiling anyway. As for them complaining about it being dirty, well..you admit that they're right, so clean up already.

 

[MichaelD]

Buy a broom, Piggy-boy.

 

[Emulex]

Dude clean up your place and stop complaining. I dunno bout most you AT'ers but i don't live like a slob and wouldn't be proud of it, if i did..


have some respect for other peoples property, and enough respect for yourself to keep a clean abode.

 

[lo5750ul]

TonTo, security (not DAMAGE) deposits are taken by landlords to cover the costs of any repairs or cleaning that needs to be done when a tenant leaves, not to repair deliberate vandalism. In your contract it will most likely state that you are expected to keep the apartment clean and to not willfully cause any damage.

Grow up and stop being an ass and having no respect for other peoples property. When you rent an apartment you are living in someone else's property.

I would guess that you are 19/20 and going to college where your parents paid the security deposit for the place you are staying in and so you do not care whether your parents get the money back.

 

[TonTo]

ok people, the place isn't dirty, it's normaly completely clean, but, i can't afford a new vacume cleaner right now. i've done the best i could with what i've got.

ok, i should have been ALOT more clearer.

this isn't the first time i've had problems with the management of my building.

on the 11th day after i moved in, the landlord tried to evict me cuz, "you should have had those moving boxes out of here a week ago!" that's a direct quote btw.
the eviction notice HE gave me, was hand written.

i told him to take me to court.(the fact that the landlord doens't prepare the notice nor that it shouldn't be handwritten didn't bother him i guess, but it would bother the courts)

about 2 months later i came home. and my key wouldnt work in my door, so i called him up and ask what was goin on. he started to yell at me about how i was abusing the lock on my door(WTF) i said i'd be going to work, and i'd be back at 9pm and that the door better work(this was at noon) i get home, yep, it works, that night(9:45ish) he comes by againand says if i ever abuse my door(again, WTF) he'd kick me out i asked him what the hell he was talking about he replyed , again ,this is a direct quote "you better stop acting like a fvcking animal or i'm gonna throw your @ss right on out of here."
about 6 months pass and nothing goes wrong, yay.
then, i break my key off trying to use it to get the master cylinder off in my car(i needed some leverage it's all i had)
so i called them up and asked if they could drop one off at the caretakers apartment. holy christ you'd think i'd killed someone!
wow..
about 3 months pass and a friend of mine was interested in going to the college i goto. so, he came down and i let him crash at my place for 3 days....
another handwritten eviction notice.... for subletting, i told him, it was just a friend, who came to stay with me for a couple days while he looks at the college another quote "you goddamn kids think you can do whatever you want!"

so, this isn't hte first time... i don't even want to answer my phone or my door anymore for fear of what's goin to happen next.

 

[TonTo]

lo5750ul
close, 21, but no, 'rents haven't paid for anything, not for college, food, rent clothes, nor deposit.

and it's not vandalism.... you CAN'T see where the bottle caps where...
people pound nails INTO the walls all the time....

 

[nippyjun]

I've never heard of such a thing as an annual inspection in an apartment. If it's a university apartment then maybe, but if this is a private apartment then this just doesn't sound legal. The reason you pay a security deposit is so that when you move out if you ruined anything they keep some or all of the deposit.

 

[StageLeft]

First of all, why do you have bottle caps on the ceiling?

Thats a side issue, however. Unless you're grossly underexagerting the dirtiness of your apartment I have to conclude that your landlord sucks donkey nuts!

 

[lo5750ul]

TonTo, let me retract some of my comments. Let me also ask you, does the landlord treat any/all the other tenants in the same way?

 

[rgwalt]

It sounds like your landlord is a real freak. This is why I really don't like renting from individuals or small companies. My suggestion? When your lease is up, move out. Once you have your deposit back, file a complaint with the BBB. Move into a large community run by a large business. They are much more reasonable about things. It sounds like your landlord is just a tight-ass and doesn't want to admit that his place is falling apart. He cannot tell you who can and can't stay with you, as long as you aren't charging them rent. That is total bull.

Anyway, I would recommend reading your lease very, very carefully. You don't really have any legal recourse here. Yes they were rude, but bottle caps in the ceiling won't fly for a judge. Don't flip about cleaning up your place... Unless they tell you they are going to start checking the cleanliness (which is a big, steamy load of crap), then you can wait until you can get a vacuum.

My advice, if you don't get along with your land-lords, move.

Ryan

 

[StageLeft]

It sounds like your landlord is a real freak. This is why I really don't like renting from individuals or small companies.

Yeah I hear a lot of horror stores on AT! THe last place I rented before current was from an individual and not only did the price kick ass, but my landlord did as well! We were very lucky. It was excellent, but when you rent with a large building or company you're less likely to get treated like a dick just because your landlord ran out of beer for the night.

 

[scalf]

<< I've never heard of such a thing as an annual inspection in an apartment. If it's a university apartment then maybe, but if this is a private apartment then this just doesn't sound legal. The reason you pay a security deposit is so that when you move out if you ruined anything they keep some or all of the deposit. >>



In most states it is legal for a landlord to inspect the property for damage as long as proper notice is given.

 

[TonTo]

lo5750ul

nope, i'm not the only one.
I got a friend of mine to move into the building, and, "he's running a whore house" direct quote again, i heard that from another tennant that that's what the landlord said, cuz randi has alot of friends who came over and most of them happened to be chicks. and he told randi that "every time TonTo(name changed) comes around my blood preasure goes sky high" hehe, i wanna give the old bastard a heart attack. we were also bltched cuz we smoke and "you guys are the only ones that smoke here goddamnit!" and someone was leaving the butts out on the ground by the doors, i got down there and picked a bunch up and said, newport, not ours, parlament, not ours, gpc not ours and threw em down at his feet. (that was a lil out of line but so is he)

 

[rgwalt]

Skoorb-

Glad you had a good experience renting from an individual. I'm almost scared to do so. I want to move into a small house, condo, or town home. I'm going to start looking in March, and try to find places that meet all my requirements but are well managed. Once I find the place, I'm staying put until I'm done with grad school.

The one nice thing about renting from individuals is that you can get really good deals on the rent. Bigger complexes (like the nation-wide organization that owns my complex) really reem you on the rent. A smaller company or individual would charge me probably $50 or $100 less per month. However, if anything ever breaks, I know I won't have to wait longer than a day to have it fixed. It is a trade-off.

Tonto- Here is another suggestion. Tell him you are offended by his swearing, and have your friend tell him that he is offended by him saying that he runs a whore-house. Tell him that you don't have to put up with such treatment and language, and that he is being extremely unprofessional. You are within your rights to say this, and within your rights to be treated with respect. You pay your rent and bills on-time just like his other tennants. He really has no right to swear or slander you. Besides, it'll really help up his blood pressure. If you are lucky- anurism (j/k).

Ryan

 

[lo5750ul]

Sounds like a case (traditional) of "some punk ass kid" and "a grumpy old man" not seeing eye-to-eye.

Check you are very familiar with your lease so you know what not to do and you know what the landlord can't do.

An old landlord I know, has no respect for his tenants. If he is working at the apartment complex and needs to use a bathroom; he'll just walk into someone's apartment. If he is working in someone's apartment and needs the bathroom he'll just go and use it without asking permission, or if he needs to dry a water spill when changing the plumbing he'll just grab a kitchen tea-towel. If he sees someone he doesn't recognise (sometimes a tenant or relative of a tenant) he will stop them and demand to know who they are and what they are doing there. He will then just walk away once he has an explanation without a word, not even an "okay" or a "thank you".

Ah, too many stories to tell and I'm not writing well today.

 

[Jzero]

What a punk...you also get it because you're college-aged. I currently rent from a small family-owned place. They're very nice. She once called me to request that my guests not park in the unenforced handicap places (despite all the other tennants parking there) and I was annoyed b/c I pay just as much rent as the other tennants, so why should she be able to selectively enforce those spots simply becuase I'm young and the tennants who usually park there are over 40? Still, the other parking is just across the street, and otherwise my landlord has been very nice and very helpful, so I can't complain.

Either way, I know my lease explicitly states that you can't mount stuff on the ceiling. It doesn't make any real cleanliness stipulations, nor does it make accommodations for "inspections" aside from saying if the landlord or a service person approved by her has to get in, they can enter the apartment with prior permission, preferably written, unless there is an emergency, in which case I have to be notified as soon as possible about them entering.

Also, my lease states that anyone whose name does not appear on the lease but stays for more than 7 consecutive days constitutes a sublet--whether she pays rent or not--and I can be evicted.

If your landlord wants to be a dick to you, get out the lease. Follow it, TO THE LETTER. Remember that a lease is a binding agreement between you AND the landlord. In otherwords, if you are strictly adhering to the terms in the lease, then you are quite justified in holding your landlord accountable for everything as well. My lease (in PA) gives me some pretty good powers in terms of screwing my landlord if she violates the lease, just like she can evict me and seek damages if I do the same, like being immediately released from the lease without penalty, being entitled to rent refunds, security deposit, and a grace period in which I can squat rent-free (I think it's only 30 days) to find a new home...

File a complaint with the BBB and you might also be able to give them a bad rap with the school for screwing students. I believe my college keeps data on landlords who take advantage of poor college kids. Do whatever you can (without being libelous) to mar the reputation of the landlord.