First off: a shout-out to all the good landlords out there. Thank you. Now, this is not about you.
No, this is about the not-so-great landlords, the ones who give good landlords a bad name. The ones who do little, spend less and feed tenants some pretty wild lines about why the air conditioning is still out.
Tenants, take note. If the landlord starts sputtering, only you can prevent a long, strange trip in the apartment. No housing cop is going to drop by for a routine check. Landlords themselves may be unaware of their legal duties; no one makes them take a test to enter the rental business.
"Tenants do have rights, but those rights aren't going to jump off the page," says Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenants Legal Center of San Diego. (Bing: Learn about tenants' rights to privacy)
Step one: Know which of the landlord's explanations are pure wind. Housing laws vary by state, but tenants have some pretty basic rights everywhere. For a sense of what they are — and how you can respond — start with these seven landlord claims. Then, for more, check out our first installment, "Don't fall for these 10 crazy landlord claims."
If the landlord doesn't respond, seek help from a tenants association in your area.
1. Landlord's claim: 'It's my apartment. I can come in whenever I want.'
Tenant's response:"Sorry. You may be paying the bank for the mortgage, but I'm paying you to occupy the space. So, unless it's an emergency, please set up a time in advance."
Some landlords may be a little more coy, even polite. Christine, a Maryland renter, says she had a landlord upstairs who entered her apartment repeatedly. He told her he had to bring her a fire extinguisher. Another time, batteries. Then another fire extinguisher. One time, he checked the television hookup. Finally, she left.
"Always trust your gut instinct," says Christine, still fearful about having her full name published. "I ignored it for months and knew right away when he started making excuses for coming into my apartment that something was not right."
Here are the facts: The landlord does have a legal right to enter, even if only for an inspection, but laws govern when and why. In most places, the landlord must provide at least 24 hours written notice along with a time. Only in an emergency may a landlord enter unannounced.
So if the washing machine is overflowing and the folks downstairs are getting a soaking — OK, the landlord can come in with a screwdriver and some towels.
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Even month-to-month renters without a lease establish tenancy and have a right to privacy. So unless there's a fire, a flood or a pack of squealing raccoons, landlords will have to snoop through their own families' stuff.
2. Landlord's claim: 'By the way, we're renting your apartment for Mardi Gras.'
Tenant's response: "Excuse me. No you're not. My lease isn't up."
Meghan Chapman was living in a New Orleans rental— sweetly perched right on the parade route— when management slipped a 30-day notice under the door after Christmas. She and her boyfriend were welcome to return after the high-rent month.
"We went and talked to them," says Chapman, who had several months left on the lease. "They had no sympathy."
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According to New Orleans lawyer Hardell Ward, a provision in Louisiana law allows a landlord to take possession of the property — even in the middle of a lease term — as long as the landlord provides one month free rent and has put that option in the lease.
Still, adds Ward, who works with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, he's seen other tenants get kicked out before Mardi Gras without the free month.
And, to be sure, the law in other states does not allow a landlord to terminate a lease.
"That's blatantly illegal," says Janet Portman, a landlord-tenant lawyer with Nolo, a publisher of legal information. "If you have a lease, the whole point is you have the apartment for the duration of the lease, unless you do something like not pay the rent or some other bad behavior."
The upshot: If landlords say they want the unit back for their nephew, or themselves, or a wealthier tenant, it's almost always not OK — until the lease is up.
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3. Landlord's claim: 'It's just a standard lease — no worries.'
Tenant's response: "Uh … well, I'm going to need the standard one day to review the document."
Guess what? There's no such thing as a standard lease.
That's right. You can find lease forms at legal sites online; leases distributed by property-management associations; even leases that some guy typed out in his basement and printed on paper with stately legalesque borders.
That's all fine. But there simply is no "standard lease," even for a particular state.
"It's a catch-all phrase aimed to prevent you from asking questions or scrutinizing," says Portman, also author of "Every Tenant's Legal Guide." "It's not like an IRS form."
Portman doesn't take sides and helps landlords, as well. She reviews leases for organizations throughout the country. The scary part, she says, is that many documents — even ones the lawyers draft — contain clauses that not only favor landlords but that also wouldn't hold up in court.
"They ask people to waive their rights to habitability … to notice to enter … to repair and deduct," she says. "They're not legal, but the tenant doesn't know that."
Always ask for a copy of the lease to review overnight. If something doesn't make sense or seems troubling, call a tenant advocate or lawyer for help.
4. Landlord's claim: 'Other people in the area don't have air conditioning.'
Tenant's response: "Well, isn't that special? Now can you fix the unit I'm paying you for?"
This is an even bigger stretch than the popular "No one else complained" or "It's just you."
All miss the mark. A rental agreement is between the tenant and landlord. What others do in the building or the neighborhood or across town is irrelevant. If you agreed to pay for an apartment with air conditioning, the landlord has to maintain the air conditioning.
"It's just basic contract law," Portman says.
MSN Real Estate reader "Herkxena" reported being fed that line by an apartment manager after requesting that the air conditioning be repaired quickly; it was hot, and the tenant's elderly mother shared the unit.
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The manager said they'd get to it when they could find a repairman "and that I should just live with it because others in my area have apartments with no air conditioning."
Herkxena informed the manager that the lease agreement included air conditioning. When the manager hung up at that, Herkxena called headquarters.
"We had a new heating/air-conditioning unit installed within 24 hours," Herkxena writes. "Had I not complained to the corporate office, who knows how long it would have been?"
