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How incredibly irresponsible of you to OWN a property, that you are liable for, and not have a copy of the key. If a tenant of mine changes the locks and flat-out refuses to give me a copy, I'd start eviction paperwork right then and there.
It is YOUR home, and YOU are leasing it out to a third-party. Never forget that.
Grow a pair. Seriously. Stop bending over backwards for this person. They are allegedly already not paying you rent. Its LONG overdue for you to stop being Mr.Nice Guy.
Put on your landlord hat, grab your man-gloves, and take your behind to your local court and start evicting this person.
At the very least, do. not. renew. their. lease.
In many states the landlords rights to access the property are spelled out in state law, they do not need to be written into the lease. The OP needs to verify what the state law says as well as his lease.
The reasons for these rights are straight-forward: you have to be able to maintain your property and protect your investment. Regardless of a repair request, you should inspect your property bi-anually. Otherwise you risk a tenant damaging your property well beyond the amount of the deposit and even leaving your property in unrentable condition.
Uh huh. Call a locksmith, have them change the locks and wait around for the tenant to get home to give them a key. That way you have a key and they can't say they were locked out. Get someone to be a witness. It's 12 hours notice in FL. And the tenant does not have to be there, and if I knew my house had a leaking toilet or something that could cause more damage I would be up there fixing it in no time. Lock or no lock. It IS spelled out in law. And for me a leaking toilet with a wood subfloor is an emergency repair. Not just a casual repair, I would be up there same day. Don't forget to bill this non-paying tenant for the locksmith. Give them the bill with the 3 day notice to pay or quit.
Its not what people say, in most cases its the law. Of course I own a home and not an apartment. I just changed all the locks and gave the tenant a set of duplicate keys. I can't imagine an apartment building where the propertyy manager cannot get in, in case of emergency. You do not change the locks and give the ll a key, the ll changes the locks and gives you your key. Here, its law. As is the law against a tenant changing locks. Big no no.
One thing I would have to say, ignoring the fact she has not paid is that 8-4 is NOT reasonable hours for someone that does business with the general public. Buisness to buisness interactions 8-4 is reasonable but not for interactions with the public.
One thing I would have to say, ignoring the fact she has not paid is that 8-4 is NOT reasonable hours for someone that does business with the general public. Buisness to buisness interactions 8-4 is reasonable but not for interactions with the public.
Well I don't really understand your thought here, but regardless... the repairman (bussiness) will schedule with landlord (business) so what's the problem? The tenant (general public?) does not need to be there unless they choose to be.
Commenting on the intial issue of this thread, I cannot believe that a landlord agreed to not have keys to his own property. I'm aware that there are some ll out there who will appear unannounced, but they are such a small % ... if you end up dealing with one, you get out of the situation. You don't "deny" the owner of property keys. Well, I guess you do if they let you
I would be home however, if certain repairs have to be made.
I don't care what people say, i do not believe in giving out keys.
You don't need to give it to them. They already have it. Unless you are changing the locks. And then you may very well be doing something illegal or against the lease.
Its not what people say, in most cases its the law. Of course I own a home and not an apartment. I just changed all the locks and gave the tenant a set of duplicate keys. I can't imagine an apartment building where the propertyy manager cannot get in, in case of emergency. You do not change the locks and give the ll a key, the ll changes the locks and gives you your key. Here, its law. As is the law against a tenant changing locks. Big no no.
Not here in Brooklyn NY it is not a law.
LL's here never get keys from tenants.
Our building has 32 apartments and the LL does not have anyone's key nor ever requested them, and he owns 5 buildings.
Now a private house with an apartment that I can understand more....
Keep proof of you willing to make repairs done. You should be able to evict her for non-payment and show the judge you can't even do any repairs. Is this a section 8 tenant?
We had a similar issue and evicted successfully the tenant and never had the repair taken care of until the eviction was over.
Good Luck
Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Explorer
There are two minor repairs which need to be made in this tenant's apartment. She has refused to make an appointment any day but Saturday. My handyman works Monday to Friday. This is the email I sent her: "The contractor is now available 8am-4pm Monday-Friday. He may be available on a specific evening. This is a normal and reasonable schedule. Refusing to make an appointment within this timeframe will be considered denial of access. Any damage which may be caused by that leak will be your responsibility which means that you will be responsible for the cost of repairing the damage."
She claims she works everyday till 8:30 (which is strange because until now I've often seen her around during the day and evening). Also claims she can't get anyone else to give me access. And she claims it's not denial of access because she is offering Saturday, and told me to get a different contractor. Both my handyman and I are not available on that day and I think Monday-Friday is reasonable. Is this denial of access?
By the way, a non-payment case is in process against this tenant. I know from experience with her that she will come to court with a defense of failure to make repairs.
I have nine tenants and this is the only one who gives me any kind of problem. I have keys to all the other apartments and those tenants give me access at almost any time, most of them even when they're not home (with notification of course). This one refuses even to give me a key.
Any suggestions? thanks
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