End of lease - how many showings are reasonable
Our lease ends at the end of january. I work from home, and we also have a 6 month old baby as well. The landlord, who was a total tight-ass throughout the lease, is clearly scared he will be without rental income for 3 minutes between leases has given the apartment to (so far) three…
Our lease ends at the end of january. I work from home, and we also have a 6 month old baby as well.
The landlord, who was a total tight-ass throughout the lease, is clearly scared he will be without rental income for 3 minutes between leases has given the apartment to (so far) three agencies to re-rent. It is in a hot area, extremely expensive, but very shabby inside which I am sure means there will be many couples wanting to come in to see it and turning around and leaving. eg: the description and pictures on the BHS site makes ME want to live here (I can’t wait to leave).
How much can i deny access, and still get my deposit back? I don’t care about pissing off the landlord, he pissed me off for a year, but i do want my security deposit back of course.
Before my tenants move in I define what is reasonable access to show their apt. And that is written down and put in a rider signed by both parties. What I believe to be reasonable is a minimum of 3 showings per week, with a minimum of 24 hours notice for each showing. One to be on a weekday evening, one to be on a weekday during work hours or before, and one to be an open house type situation for a couple of hours on a weekend day. And btw, before I wised up and wrote this down I still was able to keep some of my tenant’s security deposit when they didn’t allow this much access. And this has been upheld by small claim’s court judges as well. Tenants should really think twice about limited access to showings. It’s one thing if you have a sick child. It’s another thing if it’s just inconvenient.
“and this assumes the landlord has your deposit and you’re not thinking of using it for last month’s rent to save yourself the trouble of getting it back from the dirtbag”
THAT’S the BEST advice you’ll find here. Screw these landlord-empathetic a-wipes!. If you have the SLIGHTEST doubt that your deposit might not be returned then pre-empt the cheap bastard by using-up your deposit as your final rental.
Needless to say tho, to keep it fair (while maintaining your legal credibility ..just in case)you should make SURE you leave no damage to the unit (document w pics & witness!) other than REASONABLE wear & tear.
Boy are there a lot of angry, uninformed people on this thing.
Hi orgininal poster,
You’re absolutely right. Your lease doesn’t grant UNLIMITED access to your apartment, it only grants REASONABLE access. 4 rental agents is probably not reasonable. Having had terrible landlords before becoming one myself (a landlord, hopefully not a terrible landlord) I empathise.
And of course your landlord has an obligation to fix things, not you. You’re doing him a big favor by enabling his absenteeism. These situations are usually reflected in below-market rent.
Sooooo . . . if it were me, (and this assumes the landlord has your deposit and you’re not thinking of using it for last month’s rent to save yourself the trouble of getting it back from the dirtbag) I’d do what a prior poster suggested and set some parameters that suite you and your family.
Regardless of the fact that you’re apparently a terrible tenant for thinking you have rights!!!
For shame . . .
Please do every landlord a favor and buy a home and stop renting. you obviously do not know how to behave as a tenant and have unrealistic expectations.
Yes, this is really strange. I would never ask my tenant do deal with real estate brokers to rerent my property. And I would like to be in control of schedule even to make it as convinient as it possible for my tenants who are leaving.
But I would agree that you sound like a terrible tenant and I do not envy your next landlord.
BTW, what was wrong with that stove that “doesn’t work right”.
Whatever your leases stipulates governs access. That being said, I doubt your lease includes coordinating visits by brokers or even fielding their calls.
Maybe you are in violation of your lease by working from home. Did the lease mention a washer dryer? If not who is the fool for believing a real estate agent over what the lease says?
“Your” apartment is his property. Limiting access and thereby hurting his ability to make money on his property b/c it slightly inconvienences you (how long does a showing take? 15 minutes max?) is absurb. If you don’t like it, buy your own place.
How is the landlord lucky you are paying rent? Did you not sign a lease? Or do you think that splinters in the floor negates the lease and entitles you to withold two months rent? I hope to never get you as a tenant.