Lockbox on a renter-occupied property (agents, Realtors, agreement, listing)
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My husband and I rent our townhouse in Illinois and we have given a 60 day notice to our landlord that we will be moving. We received a call from his realtor today stating that she will drop by later this week to inspect the home as well as leave a form authorizing the use of a lockbox. This is bothersome to us. While I have no problem with our landlord's agent showing the house, I take issue with other realtors dropping by unannounced. The listing realtor assured us that we would have a two hour notice before showing the home, yet did not mention whether other agents were also required to call before showing. I guess this all leads to a few questions.
1) Does the landlord have the right to place a lockbox on the home for the next 6 weeks until we vacate the property?
2) What is a reasonable notification time before showing the property?
3) Are all agents required to call before coming by or do they have to clear it with us (or the listing agent) before hand?
4) Does anyone have links to Illinois law stating right to enter?
5) We have two puppies that are caged. While they have never bitten anyone or shown aggression, they have also never been alone in the house with strangers coming through. What protection do we have if some child decides to stick their hand in the cage and is bitten?
Thank you to any and all that have advice. This all came as a surprise to us this evening and now we are left scrambling for information.
My husband and I rent our townhouse in Illinois and we have given a 60 day notice to our landlord that we will be moving. We received a call from his realtor today stating that she will drop by later this week to inspect the home as well as leave a form authorizing the use of a lockbox. This is bothersome to us. While I have no problem with our landlord's agent showing the house, I take issue with other realtors dropping by unannounced. The listing realtor assured us that we would have a two hour notice before showing the home, yet did not mention whether other agents were also required to call before showing. I guess this all leads to a few questions.
1) Does the landlord have the right to place a lockbox on the home for the next 6 weeks until we vacate the property?
2) What is a reasonable notification time before showing the property?
3) Are all agents required to call before coming by or do they have to clear it with us (or the listing agent) before hand?
4) Does anyone have links to Illinois law stating right to enter?
5) We have two puppies that are caged. While they have never bitten anyone or shown aggression, they have also never been alone in the house with strangers coming through. What protection do we have if some child decides to stick their hand in the cage and is bitten?
Thank you to any and all that have advice. This all came as a surprise to us this evening and now we are left scrambling for information.
What does your lease say?
Many rentals require a 24 hour notice where I am. I don't know that it is law, but it is reasonable for tenants, I think.
Here it is in the listing or lease agreement about how to notify the occupants, if they be renters or owners. We have special instructions sometimes about puppies, alarm codes, etc. The owner I think has the right to market the property while you are still there, just talk to them about special instructions, notifications, etc.
On our lease agreements (TX) we've got an area that states what will happen when the house is up for sale or lease again. Most state that a lockbox will be put on 30 days prior, but that if the tenant doesn't want it, they'll have to financially compensate the owner.
In Oregon state law is 24 hour notice. We put lockboxes on rentals all the time out here. NO agent should be dropping by your home unannounced. I would not let anyone in that doesn't have an appointment.
We have showing instructions on the MLS, so when the listing agent stops by talk with her about how much notice you want, whether you want people to call you directly or call the listing agent, etc.
Honestly, if everyone is reasonable it works out just fine.
It would have a lot to do with the listing and lease agreement as already stated. I have listed one property that had renters in it, and they were both on long term leases. I was able to put a lockbox on the property, how ever I chose to speak with the people renting before I did so to make sure it was alright with them. I also told them we would put a 24 notice to show the property on the MLS, so Realtors would have to give them a day notice prior to showing. The renters in my situation had no problem with it.
The renters did ask if I would be present at each showing, so I was.
I'm a LL and woul never put a lockbox on one of my rentals and if i was a renter I would have an issue with that.
The issue is that many realtors "forget" to turn of the lights, lock the doors, etc....other people are living there and have their values there.
I wouldn't ask this of any of my renters and would agree if they would refuse it. Of course you want to rent your Town home or house again, but you can also do that when the renter is home or agree on a good time...who is liable if something gets missing?
Thank you very much for the advice. We checked the lease and unfortunately there is not a lot of information in it. We did get the listing agent to agree to a 24 hour notice even though it was with a heavy sigh. We feel that each of you nailed our situation...this is our home for the next 6 weeks and while the owners have made the decision to relist the property, we did not, yet we will be the ones dealing with it.
We very much appreciate your help and suggestions. Have a wonderful day!
What you have to allow should be in the lease, however most of them don't specifically mention the lockbox issue. If I was a tenant I would never allow a lockbox while I was living there and I would hire an attorney and go to court to prevent it. IMO, a lockbox on a rental with a tenant living there is way over the line and unless both the landlord and listing agent sign an agreement that they will be liable for any damaged or stolen property and agree to pay you a fee for your inconvenience, I would do everything possible to prevent it.
What you have to allow should be in the lease, however most of them don't specifically mention the lockbox issue. If I was a tenant I would never allow a lockbox while I was living there and I would hire an attorney and go to court to prevent it. IMO, a lockbox on a rental with a tenant living there is way over the line and unless both the landlord and listing agent sign an agreement that they will be liable for any damaged or stolen property and agree to pay you a fee for your inconvenience, I would do everything possible to prevent it.
Would that include paying a month's rent while the landlord showed the property AFTER you moved out, since you have effectively prevented them from renting the property for the month after you move out? Or would you pay a higher monthly rent so that the landlord would not have the loss of an empty month because you didn't want to be disturbed by showings before you move out? (That loss of income from the apartment would have to be compensated for in some way, after all, as do all expenses and losses, if you want there to continue to be rentals available for you to live in.)
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