Had a thought today.... - Posted by Briton (IN)

Posted by Gavin Wilkinson on December 19, 2003 at 16:06:28:

The way I would look at this is…

Why try to stay somewhere where you are not wanted? If your landlord wants you out, and has given you notice, move! Don’t waste money fighting, don’t be a vandal:Just go. In the long run, the landlord always wins:its their property and they can charge what they want and do what they want. Life is too short to spend precious time proving that you are right and someone else is wrong. Enjoy life! Move to somewhere you are wanted and valued.

Had a thought today… - Posted by Briton (IN)

Posted by Briton (IN) on December 06, 2003 at 14:27:53:

In the state of Indiana it is illegal to turn off a tenants water and utilities if they do not pay. To be honest i think that is BS. But i got to thinking. Would it still be illegal to turn off their utilities if you put in the contract it will happen as a result of being 30 days late? How can a judge change the aggrement between a landlord and tenant? My father told me once they used to do it all the time on some apartments he had. Until it became illegal of course that is. It seems the bad people are always getting more help, and honest people have a harder time because of that. So what do ya think? Is it legal to put such a concept in a contract? It sure as hell should be! Briton (IN)

Re: Had a thought today… - Posted by gary

Posted by gary on December 07, 2003 at 11:25:33:

it is easier, and often cheaper to have utilities in tenants name. my question is that with many parks now putting meters on each home and billing water seperate from lot rent does the rules apply about turning off water to units. and i can verify from personal experience that if you turn off the water you wont like the mess the tenants will leave for you. oh, a buddy of mine who has many rental units in a very rural environment has been known to start taking the doors off to have them repaired, and keeping them unitl the folks leave. and its all just one more reason that i greatly prefer a mortgage to a renter.

Re: Had a thought today… - Posted by Lyal

Posted by Lyal on December 07, 2003 at 08:59:39:

Briton,
One thing to keep in mind is that you can’t change the law with the terms of a contract. The law always applies. If you write it in your lease or contract, and they agree, it won’t mean squat when they take you to court. The law as written law will supercede and you’ll suffer the prescribed penalties (which of course will be the maximum to make an example of all you nasty, rich landlordsB-)
All the best, Lyal

Re: Had a thought today… - Posted by Kyle WY

Posted by Kyle WY on December 07, 2003 at 24:19:34:

Briton,

I am pretty sure that it would STILL be illegal to shut off utilities if they don’t pay if that was in the contract. Just because you put it in a contract doesn’t make something thats illegal, legal. Other wise you could put in the contract that its ok for them to grow pot in the back yard, when you KNOW, it’s STILL illegal!

Kyle

had a great friend do that in Texas… - Posted by Greg Meade

Posted by Greg Meade on December 06, 2003 at 19:24:20:

and it was a real mess. Cut off water to mobile and 3 weeks later when they vacated, both toilets were overflowing with…well you know. Marty had to pay a septic pumper 300 to suck the matter out and then another 250 to have his handy man remove toilets, take outside and hose off, clean floors,replace wax seal and toilets. Cost another 126 for a water heater…when he cut off the pump, water heater elements fried! Would have been cheaper to pay them to leave, which is what i do now. I will say " This has been a real bummer for both of us,how much will it take to get you gone by sunday?" Then i negotiate. a really wise woman said “A very poor negotiation is better than a good law suit” This is Leslie, my attorney! Anyone who rents units puts up with this…don’t take it personal b…there are some very well disuised dead beats out there. If you choose great people 90% of the time, you are ahead of the curve. I am raising all rents in my Park by 10% this year in january to help offset this kind of thing. I may lose a tenant or two, but my very first responsibility is to me and my family! Regards, Greg

BUT… - Posted by Briton (IN)

Posted by Briton (IN) on December 07, 2003 at 09:54:06:

I am not looking to change any laws, i am just wondering what the law is! It all comes down to my main question, Is it ilegal to turn off utilities if its not stated (like any normal contract) Or CAN you state it, and enforce it if you would like? You are assuming (or you know and did not state it) that the law is you can NEVER do it, under any circumstance. I think i just would need to call my lawer. Thanx for the input Lyal, Have a nice Christmas, Briton (IN)

Thanx Greg… - Posted by Briton (IN)

Posted by Briton (IN) on December 06, 2003 at 21:30:28:

Thanx Greg. I do not really have any plans of doing this at the time, but its a thought for future investmtents. I can see why it could be a bad thing for the landlord as well. I still wonder about the legality of it.?. Thanx buddy, and have a good Christmas, Briton (IN)

The law in California - Posted by Gavin Wilkinson

Posted by Gavin Wilkinson on December 07, 2003 at 16:06:43:

In California, the landlord must maintain the house in a habitable condition. That has been interpreted to mean with heat, electric, water and sewer, and without vermin, with a smoke detector, with a non leaking roof, with walls, doors and locks, no broken windows, no flaking lead paint etc.

If you try to evict someone and one of these conditions exists, you will fail. The judge will rule against you, the tennants will stay in your unit rent free and the landlord will get a judgement against them. Then the landlord will be required to fix the bad conditions, and start the eviction all over again.

So keep your units in good condition, and evict people legally. The solution is to take a deposit when your renter arrives and if they don’t pay their rent, you can take it out of their deposit. No, you may not collect every penny of rent owed you, but you will collect most of it and the rest of it should be figured in as part of doing business.

Besides, if you do nasty tactics like removing doors from a unit, the tennants will get you back ten fold by truly trashing the unit as they leave. How much will it cost you to repair every window that they break as they go out?

Re: BUT… - Posted by Lyal

Posted by Lyal on December 07, 2003 at 11:12:46:

Briton,
Pretty sure that every state has it’s statutes in searchable form online. Start here:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/
and do some searches for “tenant rights” “landlord” etc.
Nice Christmas to you too!!
Lyal

Re: Thanx Greg… - Posted by Sam Chevel

Posted by Sam Chevel on December 08, 2003 at 12:06:02:

It is a health issue. As posted above the place will soon become a cess pool and a breeding ground for disease. And if that disease that you created by turning off the water decided to take to the air and fly across the street and infect others, well I hope that you like four grey walls, cause you will be stairing at them for quite awhile.

Re: The law in California - Posted by Bob

Posted by Bob on January 12, 2004 at 19:42:24:

>In California, the landlord must maintain the house in a habitable condition. That has been interpreted to
>mean with heat, electric, water and sewer, and without vermin, with a smoke detector, with a non leaking roof,
>with walls, doors and locks, no broken windows, no flaking lead paint etc.

I’ve seen cases where this was so even if the condition was caused by the tenant. Example: tenant breaks the toilet. You evict. Tenant counters, claiming that the property is not habitable (see toilet). Judge stops eviction and the tenant doesn’t have to pay rent for each day it wasn’t fixed. California is scary.

Re: The law in California - Posted by David Clancy

Posted by David Clancy on December 17, 2003 at 16:21:34:

My ex wife recieved a 60 day eviction notice from her landlord. My question is; She paid her rent on time and never violated any of the rules of her lease agreement. What prompted the eviction was a lawsuit against them that she had dropped two weeks before she was notified. A maintenence employee twisted her arm and injured her. She recieved medical treatment and went through phycical therapy for her injuries. She is also on SSI because of other unrelated medical conditions she has. She is currently recieving medical treatment at least three times weekly and is very sick most the time. Can they legally evict her considering her medical condition and the retalitory nature of their actions? What does the law say?

Just a convo to learn, no ones goin to jail man NT - Posted by Briton (IN)

Posted by Briton (IN) on December 08, 2003 at 13:12:03:

nt

Re: The law in California - Posted by Gavin Wilkinson

Posted by Gavin Wilkinson on December 18, 2003 at 13:39:54:

Why did she drop the lawsuit?

Re: The law in California - Posted by David Clancy

Posted by David Clancy on December 18, 2003 at 20:48:23:

I don’t know why but think she had a darned good case from what I was told and saw. I think she had a dispute with her lawyer and didn’t want anymore trouble.