Barn apartment rental on land

[gabe75007]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
Good evening. We just started renting an apartment that is a part of a barn. About 25%. We moved in January 1 2018 and have now been informed that they will be leasing out the rest of the barn and putting an rv outside the barn for same person to lease the outside spot to live in the rv and take care of his horses and that person will be leasing the 20 acres the barn is on. We were told when we moved in and it's written on the lease that they could start building an RV park at anytime, as this is or was going to be an rv park on the back side of the property. The other day they informed us about the person moving in with horses in a rv. The guy moving in is a horse trainer. Anyways is this legal?? Can they take over the shared building with horses? They can be dangerous and I have young grand children that visit. I also think it could be loud and inconvenient at night and attract flies and whatever else. Also who has the liability for all this? One other thing the utilities are in our name and they want us to collect $ from the other tenant for their share. Which there is no way to split. Is the landlord in violation of the lease? Our lease just has thie property address with a comma apartment and the statement about access to the land to eventually build the rv park. Any help would be great. Thank you.

 

[quincy]

Thank you for starting a new thread. Your other one will be deleted.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
Good evening. We just started renting an apartment that is a part of a barn. About 25%. We moved in January 1 2018 and have now been informed that they will be leasing out the rest of the barn and putting an rv outside the barn for same person to lease the outside spot to live in the rv and take care of his horses and that person will be leasing the 20 acres the barn is on. We were told when we moved in and it's written on the lease that they could start building an RV park at anytime, as this is or was going to be an rv park on the back side of the property. The other day they informed us about the person moving in with horses in a rv. The guy moving in is a horse trainer. Anyways is this legal?? Can they take over the shared building with horses? They can be dangerous and I have young grand children that visit. I also think it could be loud and inconvenient at night and attract flies and whatever else. Also who has the liability for all this? One other thing the utilities are in our name and they want us to collect $ from the other tenant for their share. Which there is no way to split. Is the landlord in violation of the lease? Our lease just has thie property address with a comma apartment and the statement about access to the land to eventually build the rv park. Any help would be great. Thank you.

I suspect that the whole thing is a massive code violation. I suggest that you contact whatever agency for your county that handles housing inspections.

There is also a huge difference between turning the property into an RV park and housing horses in the same building as your apartment. That might even violate health department codes.

 

[justalayman]

I agree that you should check into whether it’s a legal apartment but, if it is;

Unless your lease grants you exclusive use of the barn or states it will remain unused or used in some manner othe than to board horses, well, it is a barn. Whether it is used for boarding animals, storing hay, storing equipment, or other farm purposes, barns aren’t the safest places to be.


Does the barn have stalls?
Does it appear unused for a long period of time?

 

[gabe75007]

I can contact the county and ask. No we don't any exclusive use of anything but the apartment. The barn does have horse stalls. If the county way doesn't work out are we out of luck? Cause it could be a fire hazard with hay in the barn. The exterior of the barn is metal but there is no fire barrier between the barn and apartment.

 

[not2cleverRed]

What did you expect they'd use the barn for? Just praise the Lord it's not chickens.

If you are in an unincorperated area, you might not have local codes to depend on.

 

[gabe75007]

This is what i expected they would use the barn for, as stated in the lease******************************************.....

Special Provisions: Landlord may start RV Park construction anytime on the property, including remodeling works in the barn.

I am asking for advice, I would hope that's not sarcasm.

 

[justalayman]

This is what i expected they would use the barn for, as stated in the lease******************************************.....

Special Provisions: Landlord may start RV Park construction anytime on the property, including remodeling works in the barn.

I am asking for advice, I would hope that's not sarcasm.

It sounds like they reserve the right to engage in construction within the barn. Unless there is something stating it would otherwise be unused, I say the obvious use of the barn would be expected until the construction began. That is why my question of whether it appeared abandoned as its prior use. If not, well, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, one would expect the sound it makes would be that of a duck


Quack quack.

 

[xylene]

If your "Apartment" is actually legal for rental occupancy I'll give you a dollar.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I've seen many barns and parts of barns that were converted to apartments and houses. These were not low end conversions either.

 

[HRZ]

I have visited a high end very fancy apartment above a horse barn ...but I also know it was far from " legal."

Others using my power and expecting me to collect for same ...suggests lots of things may be wrong or simply wacky

BTW the owner of the barn with fancy apt above it I visited carried a whopping insurance policy lest somevody got injured by farm animals and equipment ...does your LL?

THis rasa like a train wreck n process......

 

[Ohiogal]

I have visited a high end very fancy apartment above a horse barn ...but I also know it was far from " legal."

Others using my power and expecting me to collect for same ...suggests lots of things may be wrong or simply wacky

BTW the owner of the barn with fancy apt above it I visited carried a whopping insurance policy lest somevody got injured by farm animals and equipment ...does your LL?

THis rasa like a train wreck n process......

I wouldn't necessarily doubt it is legal due to the number of sites including the below that advertise such things to build:
http://www.barnpros.com/barn-plans-products.aspx?itemid=1556&pagetitle=Denali+Barn+Apartment
https://www.dcbuilding.com/us/texas-barn-builders/
http://www.stablewise.com/gralla/living.html

 

[xylene]

None of those convince me of the legality of this accessory dwelling, let alone a planned RV park.

 

[gabe75007]

Thanks for all the advice. I am not sure if it is legal or not, I don't know what that constitutes. It is a nice barn on a very nice piece of property. The LLC, that we rent from, just purchased it last month, and I feel they are trying to do things "as cheaply" as possible, and trying to recoup the money spent with a disregard for safety and that is what bothers me, plus asking me to allocate and collect for electric and water usage. I was happy with the place until all the changes. I am going to try to work with the landlord and get out of the lease, with the least expense possible. Thanks again!

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks for all the advice. I am not sure if it is legal or not, I don't know what that constitutes. It is a nice barn on a very nice piece of property. The LLC, that we rent from, just purchased it last month, and I feel they are trying to do things "as cheaply" as possible, and trying to recoup the money spent with a disregard for safety and that is what bothers me, plus asking me to allocate and collect for electric and water usage. I was happy with the place until all the changes. I am going to try to work with the landlord and get out of the lease, with the least expense possible. Thanks again!

When a landlord has multiple tenants who have to be on the same meters for water and electric, the landlord really should put the water and the electric I the landlord's name and be responsible for allocating the expense. Perhaps that should be part of your negotiating.