Getting bullied by landlord

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by mostpost

Whether you are in a 200 unit complex or a three flat, the way you do it is the way it should be done. Even if the management company doesn't contact the owner there is no excuse for exercising the nuclear option for a tenant who has never deliberately stiffed them.

They must have records of when and how promptly each tenant pay the rent. A tenant who inadvertently misses a payment should be reminded not threatened.

If I was your tenant, you would have a great tenant and I think I would have a pretty good landlord. As long as we don't talk politics.

How does the management company know if they are being deliberately stiffed (ie lied to) or not?

[MONEY]

I was a landlord in NYC.
In New York when tenants don't pay the rent they become your dependents.
The only way I was able to get rid of non paying tenants was to sell my houses,
because the new owners only had to give 30 days notice and dead beats had to leave.

[highnote]

Originally Posted by MONEY

I was a landlord in NYC.
In New York when tenants don't pay the rent they become your dependents.
The only way I was able to get rid of non paying tenants was to sell my houses,
because the new owners only had to give 30 days notice and dead beats had to leave.

One tip I heard from landlords to use to get rid of unwanted tenants is to pay them to leave. Tell the tenants you will give them $125 if they move out by such and such date. It probably doesn't always work, but when it does it is money well spent.

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by highnote

One tip I heard from landlords to use to get rid of unwanted tenants is to pay them to leave. Tell the tenants you will give them $125 if they move out by such and such date. It probably doesn't always work, but when it does it is money well spent.

-i will give you another good tip, when i was going to the track or the race books in nevada, when someone you knew asked to borrow $200, just give them $20 and tell them they don't owe you anything. you never get your money back either way and you just made $180.

[charm city whizz]

I dealt with a real scumbag last year when I had a house in Maryland

My rent was 1650 paid it every month 7 days early when I could have gambled it and the guy had the balls one month to ask me if I could pay a little early cuz his heat bill was high, then tried to beat me out of my security deposit


On the other hand I when I worked in Atlantic city I had a house on the Island of brigantine, lived there for 10 months before I got hired in Maryland and out of the 10 months the last 3 rent was tripled cuz now it was a "summer rental" but here was the kicker the landlord never came by the for the rent I had to try and hunt him down......it was time to leave for Maryland I owed him 4800 for 3 months (1600 a month in summer) I finally get in touch him him a week before I leave I said evio where the **** you been Im moving to Maryland he said best of luck to you "keep the 800 security and call it even" I said have a nice day!!!!!

landlord I have now is nicest guy in the world, loves I pay cash and don't ask for a reciept!!

[highnote]

Originally Posted by charm city whizz

I dealt with a real scumbag last year when I had a house in Maryland

My rent was 1650 paid it every month 7 days early when I could have gambled it and the guy had the balls one month to ask me if I could pay a little early cuz his heat bill was high, then tried to beat me out of my security deposit


On the other hand I when I worked in Atlantic city I had a house on the Island of brigantine, lived there for 10 months before I got hired in Maryland and out of the 10 months the last 3 rent was tripled cuz now it was a "summer rental" but here was the kicker the landlord never came by the for the rent I had to try and hunt him down......it was time to leave for Maryland I owed him 4800 for 3 months (1600 a month in summer) I finally get in touch him him a week before I leave I said evio where the **** you been Im moving to Maryland he said best of luck to you "keep the 800 security and call it even" I said have a nice day!!!!!

landlord I have now is nicest guy in the world, loves I pay cash and don't ask for a reciept!!

I had a tenant that didn't pay the last month's rent, but told me he was going to use the security deposit for the last month's rent even though the contract specifically said the security deposit was NOT to be used for the last month's rent.

So he moved out and took the venetian blinds, curtains and curtain rods I installed during the renovation before he moved in.

I didn't chase him down to try to recover the money for the curtains, etc. I was happy to be rid of him, even though he stole some of my property.

He was pissed because I didn't renew his contract. He paid on time and was a decent enough tenant, but was kind of a jerk in other ways. I had someone else who I liked better that needed to rent a house. So I understand why he was pissed, but that's no reason to cheat and steal.

The new tenant has been there for 5 years and takes care of the house much better plus collects rent from other tenants for me and does maintenance on the properties. I'm lucky that I can be an absentee landlord and never have to worry about maintenance or collecting rents.

[thaskalos]

I remember the first time I ever rented an apartment, in a building owned by an acquaintance of mine. He told me that, since we knew each other, I didn't need to worry about paying him the rent on time. He had to pay his loan for the property on the sixteenth of the month, he told me...and if I paid him the rent anytime before that, it would be alright. I paid him the first month and the security deposit...and I moved in.

The first of the next month comes around, and my landlord shows up at my front door...claiming that he was "just in the neighborhood". Since he was there anyway...he asked if it was alright if he collected the month's rent. I gave it to him.

I stayed there 12 months...and every month he would show up exactly on the month's first day...always pretending that he just happened to be "in the neighborhood". I paid him the rent on the first each time.

Years later, I ran into him at a coffee shop...and we reminisced a little bit. I asked him about the collection of the rent...and about what he had told me before I moved in. What was it that caused him to always show up on the first to collect the rent...I asked him.

He told me that he went to my basement one day early on to check out the furnace...and he noticed a large stack of Racing Forms on one of the tables.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by charm city whizz

landlord I have now is nicest guy in the world, loves I pay cash and don't ask for a reciept!!

And your upside to no receipt on a cash payment is??? Oh yes, virtually certainty to lose if he sues you for back rent.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike

And your upside to no receipt on a cash payment is??? Oh yes, virtually certainty to lose if he sues you for back rent.

And a sure way to lose your security deposit. I know...because it happened to me.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

And a sure way to lose your security deposit. I know...because it happened to me.

...but he gets to deal with a really nice guy in the interim!

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike

...but he gets to deal with a really nice guy in the interim!

Well...Whizz has always been the trusting sort...

[Ocala Mike]

When my brother died (young) back in 1990, he left a tenant-occupied rent-controlled apartment to me in Rego Park, Queens, NY. The tenant was a feisty holocaust survivor widow who basically "bullied" me until I was able to sell the apartment out of the estate. It happened that my brother was basically "coddling" her with new stuff (range/refrigerator, etc.) every once in a while, and it also happened that she was "tight" with Al D'Amato, a local politico who carried a lot of weight. Was glad to escape with only the cost of a new refrigerator during the year I had the place, and she did pay her rent on time.

[JustRalph]

I was informed by my ex landlord in Dallas (moved to Houston a week ago) that I was being "docked 30 Bucks " on my deposit because the smoke detector in the living room was missing. I didn't think it was worth explaining to him that it was gone when I moved in, or pointing out the three other detectors I installed throughout the home were still there. Not to mention the two carbon monoxide detectors I installed.



At least I get something back this time. The last place I rented the landlord and his wife divorced during my lease. Both deny they own the property. They didn't seem to have that problem when I was paying rent via the online site they used.

I sent a lawyer after them..........$500 Bucks later I gave up.

[whodoyoulike]

Originally Posted by Neumeier

I live in an apartment complex where everyone is miserable. The management here really sucks, but that is beside point...

You never stated how many units are in your complex. But, if it's 200 or so as another posted they're probably filing eviction notices every month or every couple months i.e., they're familiar with the process. But, they're not going to be able to evict you for at least 4 - 6 months.

Again, as I posted earlier you really don't gain anything from being in your position (you were in the wrong). If you don't like their response after you've explained what happened then you have the option to move as soon as you are able.

Easter is coming up. Try schmoozing the complex manager (the ones I had were usually retired women) with a flower arrangement planter. Get on their good side and usually they'll keep an eye out for your place since they're there a good % of the time.

[lansdale]

Originally Posted by lansdale

Hi Neumeier,

This behavior is about par for the course for landlords and management companies - some of the most vile people on the planet, in my experience. In the case you mention, the company violated the law by threatening to clear your property out of your apartment without your permission pending receipt of your check. In NYC, this behavior constitutes harassment under NYC housing law and is subject to a $1k to $5k fine. If they have actually done this to any of the tenants in your complex, this behavior constitutes a criminal violation, in MA punishable by up to 30 days in jail.

Since you mentioned you're moving, I'm assuming you're writing to the owner as a favor to the remaining tenants - a nice idea, but based on what you've already said, very likely useless. Instead, I would suggest that you tell the remaining tenants to organize, get a real estate attorney (from legal aid if necessary) and sue the s**t out of both the owner and the management company. Even if the owner(s) isn't the bad guy (and he/they very likely is/are) they'll get the message that it might be a good idea to dump the management company once they get hit with the damages. If anyone is concerned about retaliation, that, too, is a criminal violation.

Although housing law varies in different parts of the country, there is no jurisdiction I know of where a landlord can evict a tenant without a court order. This is something so basic I thought it was general knowledge, but apparently not. Thanks to davew for also emphasizing this.

There is much more to be said about this, but it's getting late, so I'll post this link to a web page on your rights re taking a landlord to court in MA - this is somewhat complementary to davew's link.


http://www.masslegalhelp.org/chapter...dlord-to-court

Just to follow up -

Some decades ago I was involved in rehabbing apartments and buildings in New York. During that time, as NY was gentrifying and many neighborhoods were seeing a sharp increase in property values, the phenomenon of the so-called 'Dracula' landlords arose in the area. These people specialized in terrorizing the longtime tenants of rent-controlled and stabilized buildings, many of them ill, elderly, often out of touch, in order to drive them out of buildings the owners had recently snapped up. Heat, hot water, electricity etc., were on and off sporadically in the middle of winter. In some buildings, public area lights were smashed or the fixtures themselves removed, including the elevators. Tenants' possessions were put in the hall or outside the building - occasionally in the omnipresent dumpsters - or the doors to apartments were simply removed. Tenants were verbally abused and sometimes physically intimidated.

During this time I also managed some small six-unit buildings for a friend, and I still have a number of friends with substantial real-estate holdings, so I also have some awareness of the problems of that side of the business.

Despite the occasional deadbeat of psycho tenant, there's no question in my mind that such people are a tiny minority of the tenant population compared with the much larger proportion of thuggish sociopaths among landlords and building managers.

In the situation cited by the OP, many seem to miss the point. Of course, he should pay his rent on time, and of course, the landlord has the right to serve notice when the tenant is late with the rent. What is illegal is the landlord threatening to remove his possessions (in NY this is known as a 'lock-out') or actually removing them. Again, a landlord *cannot ever* evict a tenant without a court order.

I've linked the NY Legal Aid tenants' rights page below. The law isn't applicable to every region, but these actions tend to be violations in most jurisdications. Always good to be aware of local housing laws.



1, What is the legal definition of
harassment?
The term “harassment” refers to any act
or omission that causes or is intended to
cause any person lawfully entitled to
live in a room or apartment to give up
their apartment or any of their rights in
relation to the room or apartment.
2. What are some common types of
harassment?
Harassment may include:
• using force or threats of force
• stopping or interrupting essential
services
• bringing baseless, frivolous court
cases
• removing possessions from the
dwelling unit
• removing the door of the dwelling
unit
• breaking or changing the lock of a
dwelling unit without supplying a
new key
• Anything else that causes or intends
to cause the lawful occupant to
vacate or to give up any legal rights
related to occupying the dwelling unit


https://www.legal-aid.org/media/1809...assment_en.pdf