Mailbox Issue
I have a three family brownstone, I live in the bottom apartment and rent out the top two. The mail for all three units is dropped in my downstairs gate by the mailman and I put the mail for the two tenants out in the secure hallway in unlocked boxes. My new tenant has an…
I have a three family brownstone, I live in the bottom apartment and rent out the top two. The mail for all three units is dropped in my downstairs gate by the mailman and I put the mail for the two tenants out in the secure hallway in unlocked boxes. My new tenant has an issue with not having his own locked mailbox and with me touching his mail. Am I legally obligated to install and give him his own locked mailbox? I think there are maybe two 3-family buildings on my block with those ugly silver units with separate locks, everyone else does it the way we do. Anyone?
I understand the tenant, but he rented knowing this, didn’t he? It seems like something that should be explained. I put in mailboxes because I hate the idea of the USPS throwning mail on the ground beyond the gate, nice and dirty and soggy when it rains. I don’t want to be responsible for distributing mail, I travel for work, I don’t want anybody “touching” my mail. But then he didn’t rent from me. He should do like dirty hipster and get a box at the post office.
I think some of you protest too much.
I think we have some secret mail snoopers on this board who only became landlords to check out their tenants late notices, charitable organizations, political affiliations, magazines, and favorite lingerie catalogs.
🙂
Our mailman does separate mail in two-unit brownstones. My neighbors have helped by getting big boxes clearly labeled with last names and unit number.
Just sayin that in the scheme of things, this request seems reasonable. Exterminator for fruit flies? No. Mailbox? Yes. Regs say you can do it one of two ways, and tenant doesn’t like your way. Like CH and NSR, I’m sympathetic to privacy concerns. Remedy is cheap and relieves you of liability and hassle. Thinking strategically, it’s a good tradeoff against this tenant’s other complaints and gives you some points as responsive to concerns.
am sure even in Manhattan (why that matters more than someplace else I’m not sure) – if rent in townhouse (which there are plenty further uptown) mail for whole house comes in together. And maybe fewer today but plenty of the old apt bldgs sorted the mail by staff member and went into your cubbyhole and you picked up at desk.
I just know I would not do it. Somehow mailman needs a key to get into vestibule and then that ugly metal box.
(in my neigbhorhood the MM does walk up the stoop).
Anyone who’s bothered by someone else “handling” their mail should go live on a mountaintop. Unbelievable.
In 2-unit brownstones, the mailman will NOT separate the mail. So unless you have a trained monkey to split the mail, it will have to be handled by a human other than the addressee.
“Demanding and entitled and thinks he/she owns the place.”
Actually, if the tenant thought he/she owned the place, he/she would just change the mailbox without consulting anyone.
Look, I understand that in some of these small buildings it is normal for everyone’s mail to arrive together, but I don’t see why some of you are so surprised that other people aren’t comfortable with this.
You’d be hard pressed to find a rental building in Manhattan where the owner gets to browse through the tenants’ mail every day.
The tenant may have other issues (e.g., fruit flies), but requesting a private mailbox does not seem so out of line to me.
It’s not a question of whether or not the landlord “cares” about what kind of mail a tenant gets, because once the genie is out of the bottle you can’t put it back again. What if the tenant is homosexual and gets some mail that makes this obvious? Even today, there are PLENTY of landlords in Brooklyn that would react badly to finding out their new tenant is gay. Or worse yet, what if he is a republican?!
If the landlord can and does refuse to install a private mailbox, then the tenant can go get a PO box, which is certainly doable but is extra expense and hassle and not as convenient as receiving your mail at home.
I’m curious, OP. Is the tanant upset with you seeing and handling his mail or the actual act of “touching” it??? Sounds like a severe case of OCD if it’s the latter; along with the arachnophobia & drosophila melanogasterphobia.
so if landlord (or in my bldg perhaps one of the other tenants – whoever gets home 1st) touching your mail bothers you go live in some other bldg.
The tenant sounds like a major pain in the neck. Demanding and entitled and thinks he/she owns the place.
When he/she decides to buy a place -can do what they want.
I agree with every poster on this thread that has at one time or another felt a violation of privacy knowing that their landlord has distributed/handled their mail. I also feel that any building owner who cashes more than 2 rent checks a month and resides in the building should not be handling mail. They should have an Academy box installed. This thread caused me to recollect a tidbit from my childhood when my bouffanted, cat’s eyeglass frame wearing late Great Aunt’s would gossip over a single female tenant who was receiving Frederick’s of Hollywood Catalogues :)- the notion of owners handling the mail is outdated , install the triple box with locks and if you as the owner ever do handle the tenants mail, it was because it was placed in your box by accident.