Renters Rights

[Mojo]

I recently moved into a new apartment. The landlady lives out of state and her brother keeps watch over the place and serves to represent her interests. When I was first checking it out, he showed me a parking garage. It was filled with stuff at the time, but he said that it was understood that whoever moved into the apartment I'm in now would be given access to one of the units (it's a triplex with a 3 car garage, one for each tenant I'm assuming) and that everything would be cleared out within a week. He even gave me the garage door opener after I moved in. It's been over a month and there is still shit in that garage. I emailed her about it and she said that it's being used for storage and to park on the street. At this point (due to this and other reasons), I'm completely over the place. I'm not interested in living there anymore. I'm wondering if this is a good case to break the lease. To me, it's the equivalent of letting my neighbor use my kitchen as storage after I'm moved in. It's completely unacceptable. There is nothing in the lease regarding the garage, although there is nothing in the lease regarding the kitchen either. I haven't been successful in finding any laws that specifically pertain to this (false advertising? no idea.) Was wondering if someone could provide some insight on the matter and what the next steps for me to take would be.

[Skjie]

hahahaha reading skills.

It's not in the lease, you don't have shit.

[SephYuyX]

There is nothing in the lease.

You don't have shit.

lol@rentersrights

[Kohan]

You agreed to an undesirable situation after hearing a wishy-washy verbal statement, didn't confirm it with the actual landlord, and yet you think the end result is "unacceptable"? I would personally say it's unacceptable to be such a sucker, and to then think you're entitled to special treatment after making your own mistakes. You're not some sad victim here. The landlady doesn't owe you anything in regards to the storage, and they're not in the wrong for not giving you something that wasn't in the lease, no matter how badly you want it.

However, you've said that there are other things. What are they? There's nothing you can do about this, but if the other issues are significant, perhaps you have other options.

EDIT: Also, what state is this in? That matters immensely.

[BaneTheBrawler]

just keep bitching about it until they get fed up and do it or evict you.

[Mojo]

You agreed to an undesirable situation after hearing a wishy-washy verbal statement, didn't confirm it with the actual landlord, and yet you think the end result is "unacceptable"? I would personally say it's unacceptable to be such a sucker, and to then think you're entitled to special treatment after making your own mistakes. You're not some sad victim here. The landlady doesn't owe you anything in regards to the storage, and they're not in the wrong for not giving you something that wasn't in the lease, no matter how badly you want it.

However, you've said that there are other things. What are they? There's nothing you can do about this, but if the other issues are significant, perhaps you have other options.

EDIT: Also, what state is this in? That matters immensely.

I live in Utah. There is nothing in the lease specifically regarding any of the space I'm renting other than an address although there never has been in any of the places I've lived before. I have never been provided with an itemized list of every space I'm paying for. You don't think that there are decent grounds for bait and switch or some other form of fraud? It was advertised to me as space I'm paying for both verbally and by giving me the garage door opener upon moving in. Honestly, you make it seem like it's okay to mislead someone and that if they believe you it's their own fault and they should be punished.

She has failed to provide me with receipts of paying rent although I do have two ways of verifying that I did. This has never been done for me before (for other places I've rented), but it is legally required on her part and given how this situation has unfolded I don't feel comfortable in proceeding without them. The other issues aren't valid reasons for trying to terminate the lease prematurely (my neighbors are fucking weird, can hear through the walls too easily, etc.)

I haven't escalated this, I'm probing for the best course of action. There's a good chance I could just find someone to take over the lease (in some sense it's actually one of the better places around here for the rent I'm paying.)

[Kohan]

I live in Utah. There is nothing in the lease specifically regarding any of the space I'm renting other than an address although there never has been in any of the places I've lived before. I have never been provided with an itemized list of every space I'm paying for. You don't think that there are decent grounds for bait and switch or some other form of fraud? It was advertised to me as space I'm paying for both verbally and by giving me the garage door opener upon moving in. Honestly, you make it seem like it's okay to mislead someone and that if they believe you it's their own fault and they should be punished.

On these boards, I've often been a staunch advocate of renters fighting for their rights, and have advised various people on how to do so. However, your stubborn stance of "I've been wronged" when you yourself made a mistake does make your case less appealing. Yes, it's not nice that Joe Blow told you that you could use the garage when you couldn't—I agree with that. Still, your landlady did not do anything wrong, and you did not check with her on that, nor did you look for a stipulation in the lease. It's annoying, but you would be in the wrong for squarely placing the blame on her. You've learned the golden rule the hard way, that rule being: get everything in writing.

As for the receipt matter, while Utah law does state that renters have a right to receipts, it does so almost as a cautionary tale, noting that you would need them if the landlord tried to evict you for non-payment, and you had no proof to discount them. Considering, I don't believe that you could use that as grounds for terminating a lease—you'd probably be asked if you have other forms of proof (e.g., your bank statements), and then advised to ask for receipts next time.

Since you may be looking into another place to live in soon, I'll give you a few general tips:

* Ensure that no terms in the lease contradict or attempt to override state law. Anything like this makes the document invalid. (You can use this knowledge to look through your current lease and compare it to Utah law, by the way—and if you find something illegal therein, that's grounds for breaking the agreement.)
* Always do an initial inspection with the land owner, and write down an itemized list of any existing problems with the place, even if it's the tiniest crack. This will save you when you ultimately move out and want to have your deposit refunded, and/or if you get into any scuffles about damages that you know you weren't responsible for.
* After you've conducted said inspection, send a certified mail letter of things that you would like to see repaired, and keep a copy for yourself, including the receipt from the post office.

Beyond that, there is something that you can do in Utah which may be useful in your case. Unlike how it works in some other states, I do not believe that landlords can sue you for the value of the remainder of your lease. Instead, all that they may collect from you is whatever rent is due while the unit is unoccupied. As such, you may be able to peacefully resolve this by speaking with your landlord, stating that the unit does not have the storage that you need, and that you are willing to list and show the unit to help them smoothly transition to another tenant. I would suggest doing it in a non-confrontational, friendly manner—more like a businessman, less like an irate customer.

If you're fortunate, the landlord may be much more pleased with this offer than, say, a legal challenge that probably would put them on the defensive. They may take you up on it. The only consequence is that you'll need your place to be in showroom shape, and you'll need to be all right with showing it to people. If you can do that, you can get someone else in there, watch them sign the lease with your landlord, and then move away.

[Komm Suesser Tod]

Any of the places I've lived that weren't just a house had floor plan, square footage and any garage or outside storage space listed explicitly on the lease. Even the house I lived that I rented mentioned all the various rooms and appliances and the garage.

[Brill Weave]

So the brother, who isn't the landlord, promised you something that wasn't in the lease? Sorry homey you're shit out of luck. This isn't even a valid reason to break your lease and you would lose in small claims court trying to get your money back.

[ringthree]

lol@rentersrights

It totally depends on the state. Some states, renting is almost as good as owning. Some states, you should always keep your bags packed.

[archibaldcrane]

just keep bitching about it until they get fed up and do it or evict you.

This, pretty much. Using garages for storage space instead of cars is for fucking hoarders anyway. Just complain every 3-4 days (vary your approach, call, text, email) about how her brother PROMISED YOU that you could park in the garage and that the stuff would be cleared out within a week, and ignore any assertion that it isn't in the lease.

Be annoying. It's your only shot.

[Tyrath]

^ Pretty much this. You don't really have any legal grounds here because all you have is a verbal promise from the person who isn't even the landlord and the garage opener key. Just keep bugging her about it.

[WrenDraco]

Rental laws are different state-by-state, municipality by municipality even. When I moved from Toronto, which has laws very much on the tenants side, I was shocked to discover that wherever we've lived in BC is all on the landlord's side and you can get evicted for all sorts of things that would be illegal for the landlord to even ask about in Ontario (for example, pets. In Ontario it's considered infringing on a tenant's lifestyle to even ask about pets unless there's shared air circulation and a severe allergy. In BC you can get kicked out for having a pet that isn't specifically allowed in your lease). So, really what you need to do is look up your actual local laws.

[Melena]

Next time it rains/snows just open up the garage door and let them deal with the mess, once they clean it out get your car parked in there.