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Old 10-27-2017, 12:45 AM
 
Location: El paso,tx
4,513 posts, read 2,488,510 times
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Here, we have communal mailboxes. Once a tenant moves out, the boxes are locked. The new tenant must take their lease to the local post office and order keys. It can take 4 days to 3 months to get keys. Mail must be picked up at post office until key comes in. Landlords have no control over it.
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Old 10-27-2017, 11:49 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,480 posts, read 47,405,393 times
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If the locking mail boxes are part of the apartment building, landlord should have keys.

In many areas, though, the post office no longer makes home deliveries and mail is delivered to gang boxes at the corner or even further away. My gang box at my last two houses was over a mile from the house.

If your mail is going to one of those gang boxes, your landlord was never given keys to the mail box. Mail delivery is now between you and the post office and your landlord has no control over any of it. He can't give you a key because he doesn't and can't have a key. The keys given by the post office are "do not copy" keys, so there has never been any way for your landlord to get a copy of the key.

You are going to have to take up the issue with the post office. I suggest that you rent a post office box while you wait for your mail box key. You aren't getting anything from the workers at the post office until after they finish their coffee break.
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Old 10-27-2017, 12:14 PM
 
3,461 posts, read 4,650,667 times
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Just to clarify for some of you, there are some banks of mailboxes in apt buildings that are owned by the USPS however, the LL IS responsible for the individual locks and keys to each separate mailbox. The USPS in these cases only has the master key to open the whole bank of boxes at once. They have nothing to do with the individual locks/keys. In these particular situations the LL supplies tenants with the key to the mailbox when they move in. If the key is lost or not turned in when a tenant moves then the LL should be charging the vacating tenant, or the current tenant who loses a key, for the cost of a new lock and/or key.

In the OP's case if they went to the USPS and they were able to provide them with a new key, and they did not tell the OP that it is the LL's responsibility to change the lock and provide a new key, then the USPS must be handling the locks/keys for that bank of mailboxes. However, the original key should have been turned in by the last tenant and if not then the LL should have charged the parting tenant for the cost of a new key. That cost should not have been passed on to the new tenant, and never should be.

So, bottom line is that there are different situations for who is responsible for the locks/keys for USPS owned mailbox banks.
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Old 12-06-2019, 03:36 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,864 times
Reputation: 10
Default Mistaken advice: CA law covers residential hotels only

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabrrita View Post
You have entered into what is known as the CA Landlord Tenant Twilight Zone. CA law requires a landlord to provide an individual and locking mailbox (Civil Code Section 1941.1) for each rental unit. The code does not state that the keys are included, just that an individual locking mailbox must be provided for your use. In Green v. Superior Court, the ruling was the landlord's duty for habitable requires those things listed in CA Civil and Health Codes as required items, must be working as they are intended to be used. So, in the end, if you sue under CCC and citing Green, your landlord will be ordered to provide a key to that box at their expense or reimburse you for any expense you incurred to get a working box. But the kicker is, there are no penalties for the violation so many landlord don't even think they must provide a working box until they get sued and the court requires them to do so.

You can always attempt a Demand Letter citing the CA Civil Code and the Green decision. Maybe that will be enough for them to fix or reimburse you.

To add, in CA many landlords attempt to claim the code says they must only provide the receptacle, but under Green, the courts say it has to be functional and working as intended for you the tenant. If you don't have a key, it may be present but certainly not functioning as intended. So, be careful if they try puling that on you. CA also has consumer guide for tenants and the issue of mailbox keys is clearly stated in that pamphlet, so pick one up and give it to your PM if they are acting stupid.



This is incorrect. California Civil Code Section 1941.1 requires landlords to provide tenants with locking mail boxes for residential hotels only, and not any other type of apartment complex. Subdivision (a) says, "A dwelling shall be deemed untenantable for purposes of Section 1941 if it substantially lacks any of the following affirmative standard characteristics or is a residential unit described in Section 17920.3 or 17920.10 of the Health and Safety Code" [1]. Of the 9 following paragraphs of subdivision (a), paragraph (9) says, "A locking mail receptacle for each residential unit in a residential hotel [Emphasis added], as required by Section 17958.3 of the Health and Safety Code. This subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2008."


Health and Safety Code Section 17958.3 says, "(a) All residential hotels [Emphasis added], as defined by paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 50519, shall provide a locking mail receptacle for each residential unit, consistent with the applicable standards for apartment housing mail receptacles in the United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual [Emphasis added]. Installation and maintenance of each mail receptacle shall meet all of the specifications and requirements of the United States Postal Service" [2].



The United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual section 2.1.7 Apartment Mail Receptacles says in its entirety, "Apartment house mail receptacles must be approved by the USPS. The purchase, installation, maintenance, and replacement of mail receptacles, boxes, or parcel lockers are not the responsibility of the USPS except for neighborhood delivery and collection boxes and parcel lockers authorized by the USPS to be owned and maintained by the USPS. When apartment buildings are substantially renovated or remodeled to provide additional apartments, or a material change is made in the location of boxes, obsolete receptacles must be replaced by currently approved receptacles" [3]. There is nothing in this section that is broader than Caifornia's two above laws that pertain to residential hotel mail boxes, which would require landlords of any type of apartment complex nationwide to provide locking mail boxes. California Health and Safety Code Section 17958.3 above merely says that the locking mailboxes provided by residential hotels must also meet these United States Postal Service requirements for apartments in general.


Finally, one, neither of the two California laws above preclude a municipality or county from instituting its own law that does cover some type or types of apartment complexes other than residential hotels. However, we are not an attorney and do not know if there are other California laws, beside these two, that do preclude municipalities or counties from doing so. You might check with your local municipality or county government to find out if it has instituted a law that covers your particular type of apartment complex. Two, again we are not an attorney, and it is possible that there is some other California statute or statutes which say that landlords of other types of apartment complexes must provide their tenants with locking mail boxes. But the two preceding statutes do not say this.







[1] Law section


[2] Law section


[3] https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/508.htm#ep1051818
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Old 12-06-2019, 07:51 PM
 
13,042 posts, read 20,698,725 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meta Self View Post
However, we are not an attorney and do not know if there are other California laws, beside these two, that do preclude municipalities or counties from doing so.
Obviously.

The 2008 amendment was when they added hotels to the mail box requirements; It was already required under habitability for standard residential apartment units.

As an FYI so you're aware, here are some of the standard requirements of habitability under CA laws:

A dwelling also may be considered
uninhabitable (unlivable) if it substantially lacks
any of the following:
• effective waterproofing and weather protection
of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken
windows and doors.
• plumbing facilities in good working order,
including hot and cold running water,
connected to a sewage disposal system.
• Gas facilities in good working order.
• heating facilities in good working order.
• An electric system, including lighting, wiring,
and equipment, in good working order.
• Clean and sanitary buildings, grounds, and
appurtenances (for example, a garden or
a detached garage), free from debris, filth,
rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin.
• Adequate trash receptacles in good repair.
• Floors, stairways, and railings in good repair.
in addition to these requirements, each rental
unit must have all of the following:
• A working toilet, wash basin, and bathtub or
shower. the toilet and bathtub or shower must
be in a room which is ventilated and allows
privacy.
• A kitchen with a sink that cannot be made of
an absorbent material such as wood.
• natural lighting in every room through windows
or skylights. Windows in each room must be
able to open at least halfway for ventilation,
unless a fan provides mechanical ventilation.
• safe fire or emergency exits leading to a street
or hallway. stairs, hallways, and exits must be
kept litter-free. storage areas, garages, and
basements must be kept free of combustible
materials.
• operable dead bolt locks on the main entry
doors of rental units, and operable locking or
security devices on windows.
• Working smoke detectors in all units of
multi-unit buildings, such as duplexes and
apartment complexes. Apartment complexes
also must have smoke detectors in common
stairwells.
• A locking mail box for each unit. the mail box
must be consistent with the united states
postal service standards for apartment
housing mail boxes.
• Ground fault circuit interrupters for swimming
pools and antisuction protections for wading
pools in apartment complexes and other
residential settings (but not single family
residences)...................


I do understand that you read some of the lawyers websites that go into the 2008 revision, but those revisions are not the start or end of what is required. Also, don't forget case law plays an even bigger role in the question of and/or requirements related to habitability when faced with an absence of legislative action!
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Old 12-11-2019, 07:22 AM
 
Location: Jacksonville, FL (Mandarin)
2,557 posts, read 6,458,129 times
Reputation: 1835
FYI, the USPS does not charge residents for having their mailbox rekeyed, if it’s a box owned by the USPS. I’ve recently learned this from one of the senior clerks at my local post office branch. I couldn’t find this listed anywhere on the USPS website, unfortunately. This came about after a former tenant lost the key, and I had to pay $25 to get a new one for the new tenant. That’s when the clerk told me there is no cost for the resident. The process did take about 3 weeks, as they only have 1 guy who handles all the rekeying in their service area.
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