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I searched the forums but may not have the right word combinations...
Basically, I rent in Silverlake (Los Angeles) and we have an upstairs apartment. Below the apartments are four gated carports. Each of the gates has an individual lock.
A couple of years ago the landlord cut the older locks and put new ones on without giving any resident a key - we have no access to the space for either parking or storage. I've asked him three times in the last two weeks if we could get the keys to get in there since I had stuff on our balcony that I wanted to store. He said 1) the locks were "old and someone left them there" which is BS because they're brand new Master locks and 2) that we only get the "little cupboard like space on the wall to put things in." That means that he can continue to pile all of his own junk and extra random things in ALL of our carports and we don't have access to it.
Now, being that we rent the apartment and that there is technically a carport for each of the apartments here, we have a right to that space correct? When I was growing up and other relatives lived here they had access to it - in fact when I first moved in on my own I had access because I put my old car in there until I sold it.
What recourse do we have here? Can we withhold part of our rent since we're not getting full access to the space we're paying for? We're thinking of withholding $100 but don't really want to get into a bunch of games and BS. My family has already taken them to court when they refused to replace the old broken windows in the apartment and I don't want it to get to that point. Can anyone offer any advice or course of action we can take?
Is that carport/storage space listed in the lease as part of the things you'll have use for? In our lease it states what amenities we can use, what we pay for etc. Does it say something like that in your lease? What about the other tenants?
Is that carport/storage space listed in the lease as part of the things you'll have use for? In our lease it states what amenities we can use, what we pay for etc. Does it say something like that in your lease? What about the other tenants?
Take Bolt Cutters if you're certain the carport is included in your rent and you can prove what the manager said... he might even be grateful for the assist
If the area isn't listed in your written lease as an amenity... then it isn't.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 02-19-2009 at 10:37 AM..
Reason: typo
Read the lease. What ever amenaties are included is listed. If the carport is NOT listed, or words that say you get a parking space, then forget it. You can't withhold rent, you can be evicted for it. The lease is the key to unlock the carports.
If the garage is not in the lease, it is not rented to you. The landlord may rent it to someone else for extra money, and I don't see why he isn't already doing that. You must pay rent, either to the landlord or to an attorney with escrow if there's a problem that needs arbitration. Most tenants are trying to find that magic loophole that allows them to not pay rent. You must pay all the rent to someone, maybe a judge will give some back for a good reason. If you need storage, offer to pay extra for the space. And, get it in writing, either by amendment of original contract or a new one.
That is all very helpful and we're looking for the lease right now. I thought about that last night as well but my roommate isn't sure where the lease is at the moment - it's in his room, but, until I see it I can't provide much more detail here.
We do have a parking space, that's for sure - every tenant has at least one. So, we have that going for us. But, once I get some info from the lease, I'll report back here ASAP and see what y'all say. Thanks for the help everyone!
Just because there's a carport under your apartment does NOT mean that it's yours to use, or that you are paying for it. The answer is in your lease.
Hello, there are three of them under us and the fourth is under the balcony - we just happen to the be in the apartment over the carports.
Since the family has been here they've had access to the carports until about two years ago. I want to see if we're not getting full value for our rent. We're not looking to withhold all rent, but, if we're supposed to get access and aren't, withholding a small fraction doesn't seem unreasonable for not getting everything we're paying for.
Once I have more information from the lease I'll get back to you all.
A short note, slightly off-subject: If one of your neighbors idles his car under your apartment, carbon monoxide may be a consideration, especially if the car is backed up to the building. People have experienced this serious problem. Get a CO2 detector. The National Fire Protection Assoc. requires one to be installed, I think.
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