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First, I want to introduce myself. I'm Andrew, and I'm new here. I'm from Orlando, FL. I've lived in various places of residence here for the past 11 years, from apartments, to single family homes, to townhouses, and now back to an apartment. I was hoping to get some help on an issue that recently came up with my apartment management.
Yesterday I came home to a notice on my front door. The notice read:
"During a recent inspection we became aware of the following that requires your attention: White cabinet, Sheet covering bike. Please remove the item(s) immediately. A legal 7 day notice will be issued if items are not removed by Monday 6/23/14. Patios are not to be used as storage; they are an extension of our home outdoors. Your cooperation in maintaining and beautifying your patio is greatly appreciated."
I want to be as reasonable about this issue as possible, which is why I'm reaching out to this community first before I respond to this notice. I'll be as transparent as possible.
I currently have 2 bicycles covered by a white sheet and a large 4' wide x 2' deep x 6' tall white storage cabinet, in good condition, on my patio. My personal opinion is that the space does not look unsightly at all, especially in comparison to some of the other tenants' patios/balconies.
I read the lease agreement, and the only reference to this issue is the following:
"BALCONY or PATIO. Balconies and patios shall be kept neat and clean at all times. No rugs, towels, laundry, clothing, appliances or other items shall be stored, hung or draped on railings or other portions of balconies or patios."
I would like to get your opinion on whether they have the right to request for me to remove any or all of the items from their notice.
Additionally, if you believe that they have the right to legally force me to remove the cabinet, do I have any way to legally force them to also enforce that policy with the other tenants? I feel that I am being harassed and treated unfairly and that they are solely picking on me.
Well first of all you have no way of knowing if the other tenants in question may have also received such letters regarding their patios. The next thing is that what you read from the lease seems pretty clear to me. the words " OR OTHER ITEMS" seems to cover your cabinet and your bikes.
I think you need to comply with the letter and of course you can point out that you expect to see that the other tenants are made to comply also.
Well first of all you have no way of knowing if the other tenants in question may have also received such letters regarding their patios. The next thing is that what you read from the lease seems pretty clear to me. the words " OR OTHER ITEMS" seems to cover your cabinet and your bikes.
I think you need to comply with the letter and of course you can point out that you expect to see that the other tenants are made to comply also.
Thank you for the very logical reply. I am afraid that legally they may have every right to enforce their request, however I do feel that I am being treated unfairly as a tenant, which also brings up legal concerns.
I have to agree with you that there is no way for me to be 100% absolutely certain that the other tenants have not received such a notice. However, I did a walk through of the apartment complex, taking note and pictures of every patio/balcony that was loosely, and largely abusing that section of the lease. There were 39 other patios/balconies in my list. Some of them had items ranging from car tires, to motor scooters, while others had laundry and linen draping over railings. And even still, some had storage cabinets and covered bicycles. These units have had these items on their balconies/patios for far longer than I have, and in my opinion, if I were to rate the disorder or unsightliness of all 40 (including my patio), mine would be of much less concern (from management's perspective). None of those apartments had notices on their doors. I can reasonably assume that there would have been at least one out of the other 39 units that would have had the same notice, if the apartment management were treating all tenants fairly.
To give more background, I have been living in this apartment for a few months now, and have had acquaintances live here for longer than that. To my knowledge, no one has ever hassled any of the tenants regarding this issue.
It does not really matter what other tenants do. You have no idea what their leases state. The fact remains that you are in violation of YOUR lease, so management has the right to demand that you comply with YOUR lease.
I do feel that I am being treated unfairly as a tenant, which also brings up legal concerns. Please poor me it is unfair stop trying to justify it and grow up, all that matters is your lease, just do what it says or move out it's not that hard. Being there only 3 months it might be new in the lease because they are trying to clean the place up and the old leases did not have the patio clause. Still goes back to that you agreed to the terms.
It does not really matter what other tenants do. You have no idea what their leases state. The fact remains that you are in violation of YOUR lease, so management has the right to demand that you comply with YOUR lease.
reenzz. The lease is the same for every tenant with a patio/balcony. I've asked to see other lease agreements. Why does it not matter that other tenants are treated more leniently under the same lease terms? Please elaborate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tworent
I do feel that I am being treated unfairly as a tenant, which also brings up legal concerns. Please poor me it is unfair stop trying to justify it and grow up, all that matters is your lease, just do what it says or move out it's not that hard. Being there only 3 months it might be new in the lease because they are trying to clean the place up and the old leases did not have the patio clause. Still goes back to that you agreed to the terms.
tworent. While I do appreciate your effort to help, I would also appreciate that you show some respect to another person that you just met. If you want someone to take your advice, you should not belittle them with a comment like "grow up." If you read my comments, I am fully aware what the terms of the lease are. And as I've concluded that tenant's lease regarding this issue is the same. It is my right as a tenant to be treated equally. This is not a matter of me trying to justify it. This is a matter of legal concern if one tenant is held to different standards than another under the same agreement. In my opinion, my patio is perfectly acceptable, and well within reason according to the general practices of the community. If management is going to enforce the lease on me, then I believe I have every legal right to also make sure that they enforce it on others. If they are not going to enforce the same with everyone, then that is being treated unfairly as a tenant. Don't you agree?
If you have any legal experience in the matter, please do share.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohky0815
I would hate to have an eviction on my record because i wouldnt clean a patio.
Ohky0815. I agree, and I'm trying to approach this in a way that they wouldn't want to evict me, because I don't believe that they have an extreme reason to do so. I think they are trying to harass me because of an issue that arose between us due to their mistake. I transferred from one apartment in this complex to another at the beginning of June. Moved from a 2/2 to a 3/2 for the extra room. A little more than a month prior to the transition time, I put a $300 deposit to reserve a ground floor apartment right across the lot from the one I was in at that time. They never cashed the check, and failed to file the paperwork. So inevitably that apartment was rented out to someone else. I was furious because they caused me to have to rent a moving truck, and force my move back a month, and increased my rent in the process. So I negotiated with them to give me an upgraded unit at the same rate and return my $300 deposit in lieu of their mistake, and the hassle it caused me. I think they have put a black mark on me for this reason, and they are looking for any reason to harass me now. I would like to handle this without lawyers, but if they're going to treat me unfairly (for whatever reason) I want to make sure that everyone else is treated exactly the same according to the lease agreement. Am I being unreasonable to believe that every tenant should be held to the same standards outlined in the lease agreement?
"During a recent inspection we became aware of the following that requires your attention: White cabinet, Sheet covering bike. Please remove the item(s) immediately. A legal 7 day notice will be issued if items are not removed by Monday 6/23/14. Patios are not to be used as storage; they are an extension of our home outdoors. Your cooperation in maintaining and beautifying your patio is greatly appreciated."
"BALCONY or PATIO. Balconies and patios shall be kept neat and clean at all times. No rugs, towels, laundry, clothing, appliances or other items shall be stored, hung or draped on railings or other portions of balconies or patios."
I'm completely at a loss to comprehend what you don't understand about these rules. Obviously you can have a chair and tables out there to enjoy your patio and probably potted plants too. Again, what don't you understand?
I'm completely at a loss to comprehend what you don't understand about these rules. Obviously you can have a chair and tables out there to enjoy your patio and probably potted plants too. Again, what don't you understand?
STT Resident. Let me try to help you understand the issue at hand. This is not an issue of my misunderstanding, which is why I fully disclosed the terms of the lease to everyone. I am aware that having a cabinet on my patio technically is violating the lease agreement (which seems to be written in a way that enables them to enforce it at their sole discretion). What I have an issue with is the way in which they are enforcing this agreement on specifically me, and to my knowledge, no on else. Especially, none of the other 39 tenants who are clearly in violation of the agreement, and to a much greater degree than I am. I believe that is illegal to treat tenants under the same lease agreement differently, for who knows what reason they chose.
As a management company, it is their duty to enforce the rules outlined in the lease agreement. Typically with any apartment complex, there are rules that are often times overlooked, as this one has on numerous occasions.
I'm not looking for a way to validate the way in which I use the patio. If they want to enforce the rules, then that's fine with me. I'm not even looking for pity from you or anyone else that I'm being treated differently. I'm looking for answers regarding the legality of treating residents differently under the same lease terms, and whether they are legally allowed to enforce the rule on 1 specific tenant, out of 40 who also agreed to the same terms. To sum it up, I'm saying if they're going to harass me with legal threats, then they need to harass everyone else for the same violation.
If you can please focus on that aspect of this issue, it would be hugely helpful to me.
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