Getting bullied by landlord

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by mostpost

Are you sure that this isn't how the owners want the management company to run things? The fact that you never received a response kind of indicates that.

My opinion is that there was an extreme over reaction in both instances. The first time your rent check was lost in the mail. You had no way to know this, yet you were treated as if you stole the landlords silverware.

The second time you are more responsible in that you forgot to mail the check. But why not just call you or email you and remind you.

The acted as if he made a conscious decision to not pay, you were right about the "nuclear" option, they acted as if everyone who's late is trying to stiff.

[mostpost]

I guess I am fortunate to live where I do. Oct. 1 I will have lived in the same Apt. Building for thirty years. Management takes care of any problems I have promptly. They have replaced the tiles in my hallway and kitchen; refinished the hardwood floors in my living room, dining room and bedroom, repainted twice, replaced my stove and oven.

For my part I pay my rent on time, don't fight with the neighbors, and only complain when something is seriously wrong.

[davew]

MA has some interesting rules
no late fee or interest until 30 days late
they need to go to court to get you out
the name of your owners and contact info is supposed to be on lease

www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/tenantsrights.pdf


what makes you think the management company and owners are not the same?

[Actor]

I've been a landlord off and on since '83. Of course it varies from state to state but as a rule it takes about six months to evict a tenant. You have to get a court order and then law enforcement has to do the actual evicting. No judge in his right mind is going to sign an eviction notice for a tenant who is less than 30 days behind on the rent. You can't even file a credit report on a tenant if he is less than 30 days behind.

Management companies like to howl. They think it keeps tenants on their toes. Some will threaten to evict next week even though they know they can't. Free speech I guess.

I do have to pay mortgages and taxes and insurance. If a tenant is late with the rent it is an annoyance but, in my opinion, if you don't have the reserves to cover that occasionally then you have made the wrong investment.

By the way if I had it to do over again I would never become a landlord. It's very labor intensive and you have to do it yourself, otherwise the profit evaporates.

[Neumeier]

Originally Posted by davew

MA has some interesting rules
no late fee or interest until 30 days late
they need to go to court to get you out
the name of your owners and contact info is supposed to be on lease

www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/tenantsrights.pdf


what makes you think the management company and owners are not the same?

The name of the company is ***** but the checks go to ****** who acts as the mgmt co. I don't think they are the same people but trying to find out

[lansdale]

Originally Posted by Neumeier

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

My wife and I are model tenants. We've lived here 6 years. About 3 years ago we got a call that they never received our rent check. I told them to wait a week or so to see if it turns up. They never received after a few more days (3 weeks late at this point) and called me saying I needed to bring a cashier check to the office (30 miles away) or they will come clean our apartment out the next day. I thought this was odd since we never missed a payment. I let it slide and brought a cashier check. About 2 months later the lost check was returned to us. No idea what happened with it.

Fast forward to this month. My wife ran out of checks so she told me to send the check from my other account. Of course I forgot. Completely my fault. So the rent is 3 weeks late. Over the last 6 years we have never ever missed a payment besides the lost check. They called me today saying to hand deliver it or they are serving us an eviction notice.

The place that calls threatening is a management company that works for the complex. I sent the owner of the complex an email. I am hoping he will respond. I want him to understand how horrible the people are that manage the property. I have never been spoken to so rudely by people. There is no way they can evict you for being a couple weeks late after never missing payments.

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

[nijinski]

My landlord charges a late fee of $30 if the rent is over five days late .

I agree with those here that say a good tenant should get better treatment !

[HUSKER55]

I ran into a bad landlord years back. The tenants got together and put the rent in an escrow account and sued the bastard and got the state inspectors involved.

It seems that those who are out to play the money game are walking a tight rope. You would be amazed how fast change will come. They can't get the money until the property meets the standard expectations. They also can't evict you until the lawsuit is settled.

Check out the laws in your state.

[lamboguy]

my best story was back in the late 60's, my mother owned and lived in an owner occupied 3 family house just outside of boston. she had rented an apartment for $260 per month to a law student and his wife.

one day this tenant decided to complain about the heat being only 68 degrees where he claimed it should be 70 in the month of october. the student decided to practice law and refused to pay his rent. my mother didn't know what to do because she needed the rent to pay the mortgage.

i decided to take matters into my own hands, i went downstairs to this couples apartment with a louisville slugger and started busting the place up. the guy was scared and out popped his wife, she handed me the rent money and apologized for her husbands behavior.

at the end of August they moved out of the place, about 10 years latter this want to be lawyer became a very big lawyer and sent me a christmas present with a note. the note read that he learned more about law in the 5 minute episode with me than he did in 3 years of law school and thanked me for the way i handled things.

[sammy the sage]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

my best story was back in the late 60's, my mother owned and lived in an owner occupied 3 family house just outside of boston. she had rented an apartment for $260 per month to a law student and his wife.

one day this tenant decided to complain about the heat being only 68 degrees where he claimed it should be 70 in the month of october. the student decided to practice law and refused to pay his rent. my mother didn't know what to do because she needed the rent to pay the mortgage.

i decided to take matters into my own hands, i went downstairs to this couples apartment with a louisville slugger and started busting the place up. the guy was scared and out popped his wife, she handed me the rent money and apologized for her husbands behavior.

at the end of August they moved out of the place, about 10 years latter this want to be lawyer became a very big lawyer and sent me a christmas present with a note. the note read that he learned more about law in the 5 minute episode with me than he did in 3 years of law school and thanked me for the way i handled things.

good OLE days...try that now and YOU'D be in jail...possibly for years...

[tucker6]

Originally Posted by mostpost

I guess I am fortunate to live where I do. Oct. 1 I will have lived in the same Apt. Building for thirty years. Management takes care of any problems I have promptly. They have replaced the tiles in my hallway and kitchen; refinished the hardwood floors in my living room, dining room and bedroom, repainted twice, replaced my stove and oven.

For my part I pay my rent on time, don't fight with the neighbors, and only complain when something is seriously wrong.

reading your post reminded me of my girlfriend and her lease before she became my wife in the early 90's. The landlord loved her so much as a tenant that he not only gave her the security deposit back whole when she left but also returned the last month's rent as a thank you for being a great tenant. Now that is class.

[Tom]

See a lawyer.
I thing you have grounds for at least a formal complaint to the BBB, and possibly a harassment suit.

Verbal threats by collectors are illegal.
Stand up to these guys....what is their name again, Third Reich Realty?

[Grits]

Originally Posted by Neumeier

We aren't renewing the lease that comes up in June. We are buying a house. We are in Massachusetts. I don't know the owners. I'd like to just bring it to their attention that they threatened to come empty the house. If he explains that it's how it works I'd be fine with it.

You were told that you would be "served". This is the property owner's right, and too, its the management company's responsibility to contact you. You are currently three weeks past due on your rental without having addressed the status.

I would not send the owner a note, not by any means ...because:

(a) Those who pay close attention to their bank accounts and their monthly payments, DO NOT run out of checks.

(b) Those who pay close attention to their bank accounts and their monthly payments, DO NOT tell the owner of the property upon realizing they were out of checks, "I still forgot".

Last of all, and more importantly, before you attempt to qualify with your mortgage lender for the home you plan to buy, check the current status of your credit report. You want to ensure that your rating is in good standing.

[Neumeier]

I just paid the landlord. They came and picked it up which made my life easy. Got this email this morning though.

Do you have a time frame for the check?


If we do not have the check by 10am I will be calling the Constable to have
you served the summary process for eviction. Once they are called it will
not be cancelled until I have the check in the Natick office. Calling the
Constable is a fee of $60 which is charged back to you as it states in the
Addendum A clause of your lease.

Your rent is due on the 1st of the month.

[Neumeier]

I just want to point out that not complaining that I owe rent. I am taking full responsibility for being 3/4 weeks late and it's all my fault. I just think their actions are drastic for the situation.