Security cameras installed and landlord requires lights on at night

[neva1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I have mentioned about this security system which was installed way back in the past, when I was moving into my residence. At the time, the system was not active for all intents and purposes. In the last few months, I allowed a technician into the premises I now occupy, and have him set it up, per my landlord's request.

Now she is asking me to keep the lights on at night time so that she can watch what happens in *MY* backyard at night time as well. And after a few other thing she did recently, causing myself and my significant other quite a bit of stress, I decided to put a kibosh on this camera surveillance business. This camera system is not mentioned in anywhere on the rental contract. I do not want to destroy it but want to disable it by just unplugging the camera's connection cable to the recorder box. My reasoning is, this set up is invading my privacy. I want to be able to go outside to my back yard, wearing shorts and when I bend down to pick up something from the ground, I do not want to think twice about where the cameras were and if some of my private parts can be seen on those recordings, should there be a wardrobe malfunction.

There is a phrase in the contract that she can come in anytime she desires, unlocking the yard gates, for yard maintenance. But I noticed, she comes in almost every other day and even though the house has a sprinkler system in place and almost all other vegetation is southern California's drought tolerant plants, she is using obscene amounts of water to water those plant. And I am paying for the water bill. Can I send he a notice, regarding I want her to cease this watering or I will charge her, say 10 dollars, every time I catch her doing it, or watering is in the coverage of "yard maintenance" and I am SOL ?

I will have few more questions about her antics but I just want to start with these thorny issues and see where we can get to.

Thank you for your advice.

 

[FarmerJ]

Where is the outside faucets shut off valve if it has one ? If push comes to shove see if a local hardware store has a locking cover that goes over the whole faucet and tell her ` your landscaping is supposed to be drought resistant` and remind her that you pay the water bill and your lease with her does not say she has unlimited water use . Lights on all night , NO , your lease with her does not require it` Your argument RE the water is easier than you think , If she wanted to have unlimited use of the water you pay for then she would have included the water in the rent and Id say take pics of the landscaping and tell her ` it might be fun watching you in a court explain why you did not disclose in your lease that my water meter was shared with you same way landlords have to disclose to tenants shared electric meters` Camera well I guess you might consider hanging something in of it to block the lens from seeing anything when you are home and if she makes a fit about it `ask her if she would really like to explain how she is entitled to violate your privacy this way in court. Consider moving out with proper written notice according to the terms of your lease. The cam system and it recording is not in your lease and even if it was Id suggest that she would have a very hard time showing a court why she is entitled to violate your privacy this way and last but not least too if this camera system is using any electricity you pay for and its not disclosed to you in your lease this is one other thing you are free to put a stop to.

 

[neva1]

Where is the outside faucets shut off valve if it has one ? If push comes to shove see if a local hardware store has a locking cover that goes over the whole faucet and tell her ` your landscaping is supposed to be drought resistant` and remind her that you pay the water bill and your lease with her does not say she has unlimited water use . Lights on all night , NO , your lease with her does not require it` Your argument RE the water is easier than you think , If she wanted to have unlimited use of the water you pay for then she would have included the water in the rent and Id say take pics of the landscaping and tell her ` it might be fun watching you in a court explain why you did not disclose in your lease that my water meter was shared with you same way landlords have to disclose to tenants shared electric meters` Camera well I guess you might consider hanging something in of it to block the lens from seeing anything when you are home and if she makes a fit about it `ask her if she would really like to explain how she is entitled to violate your privacy this way in court. Consider moving out with proper written notice according to the terms of your lease. The cam system and it recording is not in your lease and even if it was Id suggest that she would have a very hard time showing a court why she is entitled to violate your privacy this way and last but not least too if this camera system is using any electricity you pay for and its not disclosed to you in your lease this is one other thing you are free to put a stop to.

Thank you for that information. This is the way I feel but again, not being a legal or real estate professional, I am not sure how words can be wrangled to serve one's self interest on the side of my land lord. I am trying to avoid a legal battle in my last 2 months and change tenancy left in this hell-hole.

 

[FarmerJ]

Your landlord has a written contract with you , the LL cannot change anything in it with out the lease granting the LL the right to do so , this means things like if your LL has a shed on the lot and wants to keep it for them self then the lease they have with you must exclude it from your use in writing otherwise if a lease does not exclude something then every space on the property that is designed to be used by a person is for tenant use. shared utils in your state they must be disclosed. That lease with your LL is your landlords bible so to speak. Your LL would not likely win any legal claim against you if you refuse to run your outside lights all night, Your LL likely would not win any legal claim against you if you if you refuse to supply the electricity to run this camera system since your lease does not require you to , Your LL would have one hell of a time trying to prove to a court why they are entitled to unlimited use of the water you pay for with out a written disclosure and if you just put your foot down with this LL theres not a whole lot they can legally do about it and your free to keep reminding her that ` my lease with you doesnt say you can XYZ ` and there is not one thing the LL can legally do about it, see you live in the very very very tenant friendly state of CA so If I was you I would not worry about having a legal battle with this LL. Any claim the LL would have about those things the LL has to be able to prove the claim I just wouldnt worry about it if I were you ! Now repeat after me ` your lease with me does not allow you to require me to (XYZ ABC Etc ) `

 

[Gail in Georgia]

" she is using obscene amounts of water to water those plant. "

Please describe what are "obscene amounts of water"?

"Can I send he a notice, regarding I want her to cease this watering or I will charge her, say 10 dollars, every time I catch her doing it, or watering is in the coverage of "yard maintenance" and I am SOL ? "

You can send her whatever you wish. She can ignore this request. Legally you have no right to do this and if you, for example, withhold $10 each time she is there off your rent, you face the risk of a possible eviction.

Instead of doing something as stupid as this, why don't you simply express your concerns to your landlord and see if you two can't come to some sort of understanding regarding this matter?

Gail

 

[neva1]

" she is using obscene amounts of water to water those plant. "

Please describe what are "obscene amounts of water"?

"Can I send he a notice, regarding I want her to cease this watering or I will charge her, say 10 dollars, every time I catch her doing it, or watering is in the coverage of "yard maintenance" and I am SOL ? "

You can send her whatever you wish. She can ignore this request. Legally you have no right to do this and if you, for example, withhold $10 each time she is there off your rent, you face the risk of a possible eviction.

Instead of doing something as stupid as this, why don't you simply express your concerns to your landlord and see if you two can't come to some sort of understanding regarding this matter?

Gail

I am not really after the money. I want something to discourage her from doing what she is doing.

Obscene amount of water refers to mostly one person (girlfriend only comes on weekends and here for 2 days out of 7) household getting upwards of $100 water bill. I do not have a dishwasher but rely mostly on paper plates and there are maybe 2 loads of handwashed dishhes and 3 loads of laundry per week and this is a very over the top estimate. I know most of it is landscape watering and I know the sprinklers go off for only 4 minutes every other day, and there are not that many of them.

Last but not the least, my landlord, if give the chance, chew my ear out to explain why it is so important for her to be able to come and water the plants because she has spent so much money on landscaping, which is a total crock of BS as the plants look like they have been there since Jesus walked the earth. And I am done dealing with her face to face. I will just send her a cease and desist letter.

Unfortunately, outside sprinklers do not have a separate valve that I can lock. They fed directly from water main valve, which is in the front side of the house. I tried turning it off few times and my landlord (presumably her as nobody has any other interest in this house) comes and turns it back on as she wishes. She has no respect to my privacy or for my money, whatsoever and I am at the end of my wit. Last night she came and rang the doorbell/knocked the door and I did not want to talk to her. So I chose to ignore the front door. She then welcomed herself to the back yard, which she is authorized by the lease, to access for *yard maintenance*, then started knocking on my back door and windows. In what land does this pass for acceptable behavior ? If I put an extra lock, preventing her access to my back yard, I will be in violation of the lease. Can I report these incursions to the local law enforcement and then change the padlocks ? I am really fretting my last two months in this place.

On a totally unrelated subject, is there yelp-like place for rental places, not necessarily the commercial outfits but houses rented by individuals, so that, fisrt, I do not find myself in this situation again, second, I have a chance to warn the possible next sucker, what he or she is getting into.

 

[quincy]

... I am really fretting my last two months in this place.

On a totally unrelated subject, is there yelp-like place for rental places, not necessarily the commercial outfits but houses rented by individuals, so that, fisrt, I do not find myself in this situation again, second, I have a chance to warn the possible next sucker, what he or she is getting into.

There are "yelp-like" gripe sites where you can voice your complaints and advise others of your problems with a person or place. However I advise against doing this for a whole host of reasons.

Published gripes often lead to lawsuits against those who are doing the griping. What is written must be written very carefully so that the writer does not defame the person or the place by exaggerating or embellishing or generalizing their personal experience to the point where what is written becomes false facts or misrepresentations of the truth.

In addition, published gripes about a landlord can make you a less-attractive tenant-applicant for other landlords. You may find it harder to rent in the future.

And, once published, these gripes remain as part of YOUR online history that can be accessed by other tenants, other landlords, friends, family, schools, employers. It is far easier to publish online than it is to remove what you have published.

If you only have two more months to go with your lease, I suggest you try to have a civil conversation with the landlord to try once again to resolve your differences (as Gail suggested) and then perhaps let the landlord know that the law appears to be on your side (as FarmerJ noted).

 

[neva1]

There are "yelp-like" gripe sites where you can voice your complaints and advise others of your problems with a person or place. However I advise against doing this for a whole host of reasons.

Published gripes often lead to lawsuits against those who are doing the griping. What is written must be written very carefully so that the writer does not defame the person or the place by exaggerating or embellishing or generalizing their personal experience to the point where what is written becomes false facts or misrepresentations of the truth.

In addition, published gripes about a landlord can make you a less-attractive tenant-applicant for other landlords. You may find it harder to rent in the future.

And, once published, these gripes remain as part of YOUR online history that can be accessed by other tenants, other landlords, friends, family, schools, employers. It is far easier to publish online than it is to remove what you have published.

If you only have two more months to go with your lease, I suggest you try to have a civil conversation with the landlord to try once again to resolve your differences (as Gail suggested) and then perhaps let the landlord know that the law appears to be on your side (as FarmerJ noted).

As a computer professional, I am well aware of pitfalls of online slander and related kakameme that can ensue and I have no desire to be on the hook for one.

As I have repeatedly mentioned, I do not want to talk to her in person or over the phone.

I would like to send her a written notice, telling her

1. I am disabling her cameras by unplugging them
2. I am screwing the outside light bulbs loose to save energy
3. I do not want her to come and use my water other than what is already being used by sprinklers
4. I do not want see her in my back yard while I am home
(I know, the lease gives her right to come in as she wants for yard maintenance, but I want her to keep this Mon-Fri 10AM-3PM time frame)
5. I do not want her to knock on my door or call me, unless there is a grave danger to someone or something
(Like house on fire/flodded, someone fell and can't get up, pets got poisoned etc.)
6. I want her to keep all optional communication (maintenance scheduling, inspection requests, etc.) with me to email, snail mail or fax.

This is basically what I want from her for the next two months.

At the same time, I know that she will come and make any excuse when I confront her.
I am planning to send her a registered email with my desire list

When I have a proof that she disregarded some of my wishes (I will set up digital surveillance cameras this weekend to several points around the house), can I replace the gate padlocks to prevent her going to my back yard ? (This will be a violation of lease agreement by myself) ? Should I report this as trespassing to the local law enforcement ? What other options do I have ?

 

[STEPHAN]

You can not change the terms of the lease without having her agreement. So, whatever was agreed in the lease is valid.


BTW: Next time somebody requests strange things from you in the lease, find out why and make better agreements
;-)

 

[FarmerJ]

As long as your lease does not disclose to you that your water meter is shared for her use when there and that your electric meter is shared for her use with the camera system then Id say to unplug the power cord to the camera system and get a faucet cover for outside use from hardware and put it over the faucet , lock it and make sure you take it with you when you move. She is the one who cant impose new rules into your lease unless you agree in writing and you just dont have to agree. No elect lights on all night, no elect to run the cam system , locking cover over the outside faucet and let her have a fit, as you tell her `your lease does not allow you to do this and thats the end of the discussion`

 

[neva1]

You can not change the terms of the lease without having her agreement. So, whatever was agreed in the lease is valid.


BTW: Next time somebody requests strange things from you in the lease, find out why and make better agreements
;-)

She was given access to the back yard for landscape maintenance. I don't believe this permit enables her to come in anytime and start knocking on doors and windows, because I am not answering the front door bell. Especially not after it got dark. And regarding the strange things on the lease, I hear ya this was my waking call. No more. From now on, in my next house, only a landscaper can come in and they have to come in once a week at a previously agreed upon time. No free reign of the property to the landlord.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

"I would like to send her a written notice, telling her

1. I am disabling her cameras by unplugging them
2. I am screwing the outside light bulbs loose to save energy
3. I do not want her to come and use my water other than what is already being used by sprinklers
4. I do not want see her in my back yard while I am home
(I know, the lease gives her right to come in as she wants for yard maintenance, but I want her to keep this Mon-Fri 10AM-3PM time frame)
5. I do not want her to knock on my door or call me, unless there is a grave danger to someone or something
(Like house on fire/flodded, someone fell and can't get up, pets got poisoned etc.)
6. I want her to keep all optional communication (maintenance scheduling, inspection requests, etc.) with me to email, snail mail or fax"

Well, you can send her whatever you wish.

No guarantee she'll agree to any of this, especially what the lease allows her to do...and certainly because it appears easy for her to turn the water on at the front of the house, correct?

By the way, are these standard light bulbs on the outside light fixtures? I'm assuming you'll need a ladder to unscrew them. Before you go risking life and limb climbing up such (we have a fair number of spinal cord injured patients who got that way falling off ladders) be aware that running a 60 watt lightbulb for 12 hours at night will cost you all of $3.50 a month in electricity.

Gail

 

[Zigner]

"I would like to send her a written notice, telling her

1. I am disabling her cameras by unplugging them
2. I am screwing the outside light bulbs loose to save energy
3. I do not want her to come and use my water other than what is already being used by sprinklers
4. I do not want see her in my back yard while I am home
(I know, the lease gives her right to come in as she wants for yard maintenance, but I want her to keep this Mon-Fri 10AM-3PM time frame)
5. I do not want her to knock on my door or call me, unless there is a grave danger to someone or something
(Like house on fire/flodded, someone fell and can't get up, pets got poisoned etc.)
6. I want her to keep all optional communication (maintenance scheduling, inspection requests, etc.) with me to email, snail mail or fax"

Well, you can send her whatever you wish.

No guarantee she'll agree to any of this, especially what the lease allows her to do...and certainly because it appears easy for her to turn the water on at the front of the house, correct?

By the way, are these standard light bulbs on the outside light fixtures? I'm assuming you'll need a ladder to unscrew them. Before you go risking life and limb climbing up such (we have a fair number of spinal cord injured patients who got that way falling off ladders) be aware that running a 60 watt lightbulb for 12 hours at night will cost you all of $3.50 a month in electricity.

Gail

Replace with CFL lights - it'll cut the cost dramatically

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Quite true, although that would require going back up that ladder to do so (if changing the bulbs require this).

Gail

 

[neva1]

"I would like to send her a written notice, telling her

1. I am disabling her cameras by unplugging them
2. I am screwing the outside light bulbs loose to save energy
3. I do not want her to come and use my water other than what is already being used by sprinklers
4. I do not want see her in my back yard while I am home
(I know, the lease gives her right to come in as she wants for yard maintenance, but I want her to keep this Mon-Fri 10AM-3PM time frame)
5. I do not want her to knock on my door or call me, unless there is a grave danger to someone or something
(Like house on fire/flodded, someone fell and can't get up, pets got poisoned etc.)
6. I want her to keep all optional communication (maintenance scheduling, inspection requests, etc.) with me to email, snail mail or fax"

Well, you can send her whatever you wish.

No guarantee she'll agree to any of this, especially what the lease allows her to do...and certainly because it appears easy for her to turn the water on at the front of the house, correct?

By the way, are these standard light bulbs on the outside light fixtures? I'm assuming you'll need a ladder to unscrew them. Before you go risking life and limb climbing up such (we have a fair number of spinal cord injured patients who got that way falling off ladders) be aware that running a 60 watt lightbulb for 12 hours at night will cost you all of $3.50 a month in electricity.

Gail

Thanks for the information. As I have made this point before, I have no problem paying an extra 5 bucks for power and 3 bucks for water, if my landlord was a reasonable person. The reason I want to disconnect the light bulbs, is just to tell her or show her that, this is not her house anymore, it is mine and I can do whatever I want with it, within my contract terms and within reason. And since this is a single story house, the light fixtures are accessible by a simple stepping stool, not necessarily requiring a ladder. But thanks for the advice. Today, I found an outside faucet lock for $5 a piece at Home Depot. Getting a couple of those to start. It definitely is going to be an interesting couple of months coming up.