Can management fine for "house keeping violations" while performing maintenace. (apartments, lease)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
One morning, I woke up to my toilet tank flooding my bathroom so I filed a maintenance request. The toilet bowl gets this gross black residue that comes from the old pipes, its not fecal matter or anything because it builds up in the tank too. I normally clean it once a week, but I had law finals for the last two weeks so I had not had time and had run out of the disposable scrubbing heads for my toilet wand. After filing the request, I got ready and left to go to the store to buy replacement heads so I could clean the toilet but maintenance showed up before I got back.
They fixed the issue but also told me I had to pay a housekeeping violation fine for the toilet, pile of clothes in my closet and the dirty dishes in my sink. Can they do that? I can understand for the toilet, but there were not that many dishes in the sink, it only looked like a lot because I had a large pot in there and the only way they would have seen the kitchen is if they purposefully gone to look in the kitchen and there was no need if they were only replacing a valve in the toilet tank in the bathroom. And as for the clothes, I don't understand what health and safety threat a pile of clothes a pile of clothes near my closet presents. I could understand if I had food or trash all over the floor.
Also, a month or so after I moved in, they conducted an "inspection" of all the apartments to check for housekeeping violations. We were informed by a note on the door saying they would be in our apartments sometime during business hours of some day within a 5 day period. Does anyone have any idea if this is allowed?
If its not stated in the lease ... I highly doubt they can expect compensation for such bizarre claims
I'll have to check my lease again. I literally made sure to live off-campus to avoid situations like this. When I lived in a college campus apartment, they specifically made sure it wasn't a "lease" so that the RAs could enter whenever they wanted, could write you up for literally anything such as your desk being "too cluttered", say they would re-inspect in a certain day and then show up a day early and fine you $50 for literally anything less than museum-level organization and cleanliness.
That reminds me, I better pick up my clothes before they come back "probably on the 21st" to re-inspect my apartment.
The easiest thing to do would be to ask them in writing to quote the law that allows them to charge you a fee, and to show you where they are allowed to charge you a fee without giving you notice to enter, and for an exact listing of what constitutes a housekeeping violation and how that explanation fits within the law of your state, without giving you notice to enter or a warning of any kind.
The easiest thing to do would be to ask them in writing to quote the law that allows them to charge you a fee, and to show you where they are allowed to charge you a fee without giving you notice to enter, and for an exact listing of what constitutes a housekeeping violation and how that explanation fits within the law of your state, without giving you notice to enter or a warning of any kind.
Then see what happens.
All of this except the notice to enter issue. The OP requested maintenance which in a lot of states waives the notice requirement, just going to post the AZ example below because that is the easiest one for me to copy paste without having to do any kind of google searching. OP lives in LA according to their profile and they don't have laws that governing notice requirements of any kind at the state level.
Quote:
B. If the tenant notifies the landlord of a service request or a request for maintenance as prescribed in section 33-1341, paragraph 8, the notice from the tenant constitutes permission from the tenant for the landlord to enter the dwelling unit pursuant to subsection D of this section for the sole purpose of acting on the service or maintenance request and the tenant waives receipt of any separate or additional access notice that may be required pursuant to subsection D of this section.
They can if it is low income housing or some sort of specialty housing, like a dorm or a drug rehabilitation house.
What does it say in your lease?
Probably the easiest thing to do here is to step up your housecleaning. It sounds like 5 more minutes a week would finish it off. I am hearing that you clean until it is almost done and then don't give that little last push to finish up.
Wow... That doesn't sound dirty to me. I have 3 teens in the house and you should see their rooms and the bathroom. I'd have to clean 24/7 to get it to look like OP's. A landlord telling a tenant they can't have clothes on the floor is interrupting the quiet enjoyment. Can they also tell you where to place your furniture or how to fold your towels?
All of this except the notice to enter issue. The OP requested maintenance which in a lot of states waives the notice requirement, just going to post the AZ example below because that is the easiest one for me to copy paste without having to do any kind of google searching. OP lives in LA according to their profile and they don't have laws that governing notice requirements of any kind at the state level.
I believe you are mistaken about that. The requirements to give notice in CA are described in considerable detail here:
I said in LA as in the OPs state, nothing to do with CA.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
