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Lutiana

Lutiana

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Mar 26, 2009
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Location
Dublin, CA USA
So I am getting ready to move into this house and the property manager sent over the lease agreement for me to look at. Now I have rented quite a few places and seen a fair number of rental agreements, but this one has some odd things in it.

They require that I professionally clean the carpets when I move out and then prove I have done so by giving them the receipts, they also require that I maintain all the toilette tanks (the floater, seals, flushing mechanisms etc) and lastly they have an addendum that would allow the property manager to keep a key in one of those realtor lock boxes on the outside of the house.

I can get on board with the first two, but the third? Not a chance in hell am I gonna live in a place that could be easily broken into - I have a 2 year old who would be in one of the front bedrooms and with the layout of the house I probably would not hear someone coming in the front door and I have a fair amount of computer equipment that I would rather not have stolen. Also those lock boxes aren't exactly the height of security, they tend to be very obvious, and the fact that the key inside is missing could go unnoticed for quite sometime.

So any of you out there seen other weird provisions in leases?
 
I agree with you on all three counts but my reasoning is a bit different on the third. Normally, they're going to want to be able to show the place when you are ready to leave, let's say the last month or so of the lease. But I would *never* agree to allow unmonitored access of that type for the entire duration of the lease. I mean, really, where's your damn privacy? FWIW, wherever I rented, I *always* changed the locks anyway, regardless if it was banned in the lease. I always figured that if something serious happened and they tried to get in with their master key and couldn't that I'd rather worry about the consequences at that time then never be secure at all!
 
I wouldn't trust that kind of landlord with a ten foot pole. If he's like that off the bat, he'll be complaining about all kinds of things later. You have a 2 year old? They're a great thing to complain about for people who hate kids. Two year olds are messy and that's what we hire them for. :)

The whole thing just stinks. Why does he need a receipt to tell if the carpets are clean? You're dealing with a loonie here.
 
+1 on all points above...

In FL, we have to allow landlords access upon request, but they in turn have to provide us with 24 hours' notice. Essentially, they own the house and can get in for any or no reason at all - but in order to protect the renters' rights, the landlords have to give notice.

Of course, if you don't change the locks after moving in, there's no keeping them out, and by the time you file an official complaint and get it processed, you're probably already out of there, but hey - it looks good on paper :)

I wouldn't take this place... #1 is something that a deposit would normally be used for. #2, to me, implies that he's got known-bad plumbing. I mean, who puts it in the lease that it's up to the RENTER to keep up with that stuff? And #3 is the deal-breaker... anyone who isn't immediate family that wants to have unrestricted access to my home, whether it's rented or owned, is just way too much of a control freak (or worse) for my taste...
 
I had some friends from Canada come for a visit last October.
They rented a house that another Canuck owned.
The guy had a realtors lockbox on the outside with two sets of keys in it, in case someone forgot to bring theirs with them (as my guys did leaving them on the countertop in Vancouver).
After a phone call to the owner, they got the code and took a set out of the lockbox.
They got back after golfing one day, and found that someone had used a bolt cutter to take the lockbox off the doorknob.
They feared they'd come back one day, and find the whole house cleaned out. (At least they had their clubs with them at all times).
The owner had all the locks re-keyed.

A lockbox is an invitation - people cruise neighborhoods looking for houses with lockboxes which usually mean "unoccupied" and may have furniture (ie: yours) in them.
Tell the landlord to keep a key, but no way on the lockbox.
 
I talked to her today about the lock box, laid out my concerns and she has agreed to remove that from the lease. Her thinking it is was just a convenience thing and she would only put it up once we gave notice. But I pointed out that the the lease stated that they could put it there anytime they wanted and not just the last month, plus here in California they are required to give you 24 hour notice in writing before entering any, so I told her that this meant that the lock box was not needed since we would have 24 hours to make sure that she could get in if needed. I also told her that if it comes down to it we can amend the lease to add the lock box provision (which I don't actually intend to sign at any point).

The carpet thing is really neither here nor there since I would probably pay someone to clean them anyways, plus in CA if I am there for more than a year I am not responsible for normal wear and tear on the carpet and I don't think the cleaning provision would hold up at that point anyway.

We are meeting tomorrow to do the walk through and note defects etc and I will talk to her about the toilette clause and maybe get her to remove it as well, if not then o well. How much could it possible cost to have to repair the inside of the toilette tank.
 
lutiana said:
We are meeting tomorrow to do the walk through and note defects etc and I will talk to her about the toilette clause and maybe get her to remove it as well, if not then o well. How much could it possible cost to have to repair the inside of the toilette tank.
Click to expand...

It costs peanuts if you do it yourself, but a lot more if you have a plumber do it.
They're really easy to repair, but at least make sure they all flush properly (and refill quickly) before you sign any lease.
 
And check the water pressure in the shower unless you like that "mist type shower" LOL

Another point is to check all included appliances for proper operation, all the burners and oven, the temperature of the fridge and freezer, and any other appliances as you don't want to be on the hook for repairs if that's your responsibility too (check that and get it in writing if it's not).

I haven't rented in over 35 years, but, I know people who got royally screwed by not be thorough.
 
I'm a landlord, its a family business and i've literally grown up in it. Basically my parents would keep their houses as they "upgraded" through the years in stead of selling them. We have 7 now. Anyway:

#1. We require the house to be in identical condition when you move out. Within reason. The carpets are perfectly clean when you move in. They should be that way when you move out.

#2. I generally do the light plumbing / electrical when required. However if YOU broke it YOU fix it is my mantra. If you don't screw with it or abuse it, its not going to break by itself. For example, I had a tenant whose daughter flushed her tampons down the toilet. This is a NO-NO. Long story short it ended up being a $1500 repair bill to clear the drain. One that was passed to the tenant. It was funny to watch her try to get out of it, but once I explained WHAT was flushed, her argument evaporated like ice in hell.

#3. The lockbox I do disagree with. I keep a key to every house. I do so for emergencies only. If you go on vacation, I will do a house check every few days just in case. And I have it in our leases that I only go in with your prior permission or under direct emergency. (fire, flood, etc) I do use lockboxes, but only on empty houses for the occasions a contractor need to fix something and I cant open the door. but never once the place is rented. Its like putting a "rob me" sign on your house.
 
Land lords generally hate me during the walk through. I point out every little thing thing and make then write it down no matter how trivial. I even took pictures one time with the guy standing behind me getting annoyed and I had my most recent land lord ask me if I was a lawyer or considering becoming one :D
 
lutiana said:
Land lords generally hate me during the walk through. I point out every little thing thing and make then write it down no matter how trivial. I even took pictures one time with the guy standing behind me getting annoyed and I had my most recent land lord ask me if I was a lawyer or considering becoming one :D
Click to expand...

95% of renters don't bother do schedule a walk through with me. I explain it is up to them to point everything out, and it protects them at the end with the deposit... oh well.
 
Working for a landlord years ago, I witnessed his wife pulling off a curtain rod on the egress inspection, then telling him in the other room that they would need to keep the security deposit because of it...
 
One of my previous land lords tried to take me to town on the place we rented.

I hired someone to come in and clean the place thoroughly (a professional) and after cleaning the carpets myself (with my Mom's carpet shampooer) we also hired a pro place to come in and clean the carpets, we also spent about 4 hours patching the paint all over the place, the place was pristine. But the guy tried to tell me that the place was grimy and dirty, there was a odd smell (it was the wet carpet smell from the pro guy's cleaning), the carpets were trashed and the paint was destroyed. He wanted to keep out entire $1500 deposit.

I wrote him a letter, included the CA code on the carpets and paint (in CA, past 12 mo the tennants are not responsible for reasonable wear and tear on carpets and the land lord is required to re-paint) and all the receipts from the cleaning and basically told him to f-off and pay us or we were gonna be talking to a judge about it. I had the deposit in my hand about 5 days after I sent the letter to him.

So yeah, I know how to play the game :D
 
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