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We moved into a large house with a wood stove. It was advertised as having one and when I came to see the house I made sure it worked.
It was actually not in good working condition. I hadn't know that and we paid for the door to be fixed. We've been here a year and it's time for it to be cleaned and inspected. The LL says the wood stove is a "vanity" so not an appliance. In the lease, they take care of repairs and upkeep of appliances as long as the problem wasn't caused by us.
For some reason I think there may be problems w/ the stove and the chimney insert. They put it in themselves apparently.
Who is responsible for cleaning and repairs if there are any?
Also, we're now on a month to month lease. Does that mean they can give us 30 days notice whenever they want and we have to get out in that time? I had heard that if we keep paying, they can't evict us. Or it would take a long time to evict us.
If they can just evict us, I don't feel we have much clout here. Is this true?
We've been really good tenants but this is the first time they've been LLs and I don't think they realize that this is what good tenants look like. I've had professionals paint the rooms. I've spent our own money to take a mostly dirt and weed filled backyard to make a grassy yard. There's dehumidifier in the basement that needs to be emptied dailyThere are a lot of things that are unsafe that even though I've requested they be fixed, nothing has been done. There are missing parts of the banister so if a young child was here he could fall through from the 2nd floor. A section is missing and something 1/2 put in it's place in the door from the kitchen to the cellar so cold air comes up. Why i'm saying all this is because I'd think this would mean something when considering a grey area (if in fact it is) Also, I'd think they'd want to protect their property. A small price to pay (taking care of the chimney and wood stove) when the safety of their house is a consideration.
So 2 things:
1. Who is responsible and
2. Can they give us 30 days notice and evict us w henever they want.
It sounds like your responsible. If the LL has already said it is a vanity and not an appliance, your going to have to take the responsibility to fix it if you want it safe and operable.
The month2month issue generally means a 30 day notice to vacate. Even if you pay on time and all else is good, you can be given a 30 day notice to vacate if the owner wants you to leave.
Look no further than your rental agreement and applicable law...
Laws vary greatly making it hard to be specific.
I own/manage a number of rentals with fireplaces and we never do anything because the local air management district has strict burn rules which eliminates just about any use... especially on cold winter days or around the holidays...
If the Landlord is opposed to spending the money and if you feel strongly enough... it would seem you could have the inspection or maybe landlords refusal is a deal breaker...
That's the nice thing about being month to month... no long term commitment.
For my own piece of mind I would want to know how many days the stove has been fired over the last year and the quality of the wood... dry, hard, soft, seasoned... etc...
We had a wood stove insert that only burned well seasoned oak... the sweep would comment that he felt he was not earning his money because everything was in perfect shape.
On the other hand... I have friends that would burn anything and everything and lots of what they burned was still wet... they had a lot of problems...
Usually if something isn't mentioned in the lease (or specifically covered under state law) the common use would prevail. Interpreteing common use is difficut for something like a fireplace since it will come down to who can prove what and how judges have accepted it.
AS for moth to month, pretty much they and you have the right to terminate the arrangement with notice as outlines in state law. Most are with 30 days notices, some only 2 weeks and others 45 days, so read your state law and it will specifially state the notice requirment. It;s not tru in most places that you can not be evicted if you want to stay as they goes against everything a motnh to month stands for. Remember, your landlord has the same rights as you. If you want to leave with only 30 days notice and not be held accountable for future months of rent, a month to month gives you that right and ability, but, your landlord also has that same right to terminate the lease without worry that you can stay forever. What I thik people may be confusing is that if the landlrod accept future payments they can;t use the 30 days. So if you pay October and November rent at the end of septemeber, by accepting it, they are agreeing to you staying until the end of novemeber. If they refuse it for november, your out at the end of september if they gave proper notice.
who said the wood stove needs inspection and service? Just keep using it and dont get any service or inspection done. If the city or county is requiring an annual inspection, you should ignore this. It's for the landlord and if it is required then they deal with it since it's in their name. If you ignore it then the authorities will contact them for either a fine or however they handle.
I think it is BS that the landlord is suddenly calling the wood stove a vanity. There is no such thing. But since you are on month to month, you can win the battle but lose the war (debate with them for them to cover the wood stove but then you get a 30 day notice to move. This is legal and nothing you can do about it.)
Landlord (or you) can give 30 day notice to terminate the lease and no reason is needed. This is NOT an eviction. It's just a notice.
If landlord gives you 30 day notice, read your lease and make sure it is the official notice. If it's not in your lease, read your state landlord tenant law (google it). Just so you know when the 30 day notice is legal(if certified mail is required and they dont do this and they told you verballly, then it's not the offical 30 day notice until they comply with it being certified mail, etc). This depends on your lease and your state law.
It's usually required to be before the last day of the month for it to be good for 30 days out. In most states if notice is given on the 14th, you usually dont need to be out by the 15th of the following month. It USUALLY coincides with the 1st which is when most rents are due. But each state differs.
Once they give you proper notice, if you dont move out by the legal 30 day period, then they can file eviction proceedings to get you out even if you pay rent. The evictions is with a court and is horrible on your record. They first give you a "notice to quit". It usually means you have 3 days to get out or eviction will be filed. then they file with the courts and it's not pretty.
Is the wood stove your only source of heat? If it is then the LL would be responsible for maintaining it. It's not an "appliance" by any stretch unless it's your only cooking method. As far as your other complaints are concerned, have you (as required by most state landlord tenant laws - and your state laws are likely linked in the first "sticky" on this forum) advised your LL in writing of the problems? As far as the cleaning of the yard is concerned, is yard maintenance included in your lease? If not, did you check with the LL to make sure that you were allowed to improve it? Did the LL give you permission to paint the interior of the house? You say that the missing part of the banister "could" be a hazard if a young child were in the home. Is there a young child in the home?
Usually if something isn't mentioned in the lease (or specifically covered under state law) the common use would prevail. Interpreteing common use is difficut for something like a fireplace since it will come down to who can prove what and how judges have accepted it.
What I thik people may be confusing is that if the landlrod accept future payments they can;t use the 30 days. So if you pay October and November rent at the end of septemeber, by accepting it, they are agreeing to you staying until the end of novemeber. If they refuse it for november, your out at the end of september if they gave proper notice.
PacificFlights, this is very helpful. And also something I never thought about. I'm now going to try to pay for a couple of months at a time. That will give me more peace of mind.
who said the wood stove needs inspection and service? Just keep using it and dont get any service or inspection done. If the city or county is requiring an annual inspection, you should ignore this. It's for the landlord and if it is required then they deal with it since it's in their name. If you ignore it then the authorities will contact them for either a fine or however they handle.
I think it is BS that the landlord is suddenly calling the wood stove a vanity. There is no such thing. But since you are on month to month, you can win the battle but lose the war (debate with them for them to cover the wood stove but then you get a 30 day notice to move. This is legal and nothing you can do about it.)
Once they give you proper notice, if you dont move out by the legal 30 day period, then they can file eviction proceedings to get you out even if you pay rent. The evictions is with a court and is horrible on your record. They first give you a "notice to quit". It usually means you have 3 days to get out or eviction will be filed. then they file with the courts and it's not pretty.
Yes, sware2cod, you're absolutely right I'd be winning the battle and losing the war. Because of that I decided to pay for the cleaning and hope that it's in good condition and doesn't need repairs.
I looked at the rental description where they talk about the wood stove. Something about cut your heating bills and only use the wood stove so no, it never was intended as a vanity. So yes I agree it's BS.
We want to stay here until we find a place to buy which will be next summer so moving would be a big drag. Not worth the hassle so I'm ponying up.
Is the wood stove your only source of heat? If it is then the LL would be responsible for maintaining it. It's not an "appliance" by any stretch unless it's your only cooking method. As far as your other complaints are concerned, have you (as required by most state landlord tenant laws - and your state laws are likely linked in the first "sticky" on this forum) advised your LL in writing of the problems? As far as the cleaning of the yard is concerned, is yard maintenance included in your lease? If not, did you check with the LL to make sure that you were allowed to improve it? Did the LL give you permission to paint the interior of the house? You say that the missing part of the banister "could" be a hazard if a young child were in the home. Is there a young child in the home?
Yes, thanks I did ask about doing these things. I have written about the problems. And no the lawn isn't our responsibility and I asked permission to improve it.
We don't have young children. I haven't invited people who do even though I'd like to.
Thanks.
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