Lease renewal

[KevinSenn]

I am renting in AZ and my lease agreement just expired. Before it did expire my landlord sent me a lease renewal. After reading it I had asked them to make a couple minor adjustments that they have always made in the five years I have been a tenant. This time they let it sit until it did expire and are trying to charge me month to month fees that are 150.00 higher. I have been arguing with them that if they would have made the adjustments when I asked that the new lease would have taken effect and the month to month never would have come about. They are acting like that doesn't matter and I need to pay the month to month price now. I don't think that this is fair because the minor change I asked for was to change my due date from the 1st to the 4th because I am on SSDI and my check doesn't get deposited until the 3rd. In my 4 previous leases they have always just made the adjustment as soon as I asked but not this time. I almost feel like they are discriminating against me because I don't check my check until the 3rd. So What I really want to know is can I bring my rent as stated in the new lease agreement to the court house and have them hold it until this is resolved and not be evicted?

 

[Zigner]

You have no lease agreement - you are month-to-month

 

[KevinSenn]

You have no lease agreement - you are month-to-month

Even though they did offer me one and decided to let current one expire before addressing my concerns with the new one. I really think that is was intentional what they did. I have been having nothing but problems with them every month for over a year now and every time it has something to do with stuff related to my disability. I have a file that's full of 5 and 10 day notices over stuff that has never been valid.

 

[reenzz]

Management is not required to change the due date to suit your needs.

 

[Whoops2u]

Even though they did offer me one and decided to let current one expire before addressing my concerns with the new one. I really think that is was intentional what they did. I have been having nothing but problems with them every month for over a year now and every time it has something to do with stuff related to my disability. I have a file that's full of 5 and 10 day notices over stuff that has never been valid.

They DID offer you one. You rejected it with your counteroffer. They have not accepted your offer and you are now a month to month renter.

 

[KevinSenn]

They DID offer you one. You rejected it with your counteroffer. They have not accepted your offer and you are now a month to month renter.

But they did not decline my counter offer. They said that they needed to rewrite the lease agreement and it's been over a week. In previous years when this same situation came up it was adjusted and given back to me the same day. So why it's taking them over a week this time just seems like they are doing it just to be able to charge me more before they let me sign the updated lease.

 

[HRZ]

They didn't accept your counter offer either ....so at least mechanically a small com micarion detail over the due date which was already status quo became a gap ...and you are MtM until such time as/ if the renewal counter offer is accepted and quite frankly if you have been a problem tenant I can see them renewing the lease at the higher rate ?

 

[KevinSenn]

They didn't accept your counter offer either ....so at least mechanically a small com micarion detail over the due date which was already status quo became a gap ...and you are MtM until such time as/ if the renewal counter offer is accepted and quite frankly if you have been a problem tenant I can see them renewing the lease at the higher rate ?

Well according to the Equality Act 2010 under section Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications, https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/reasonable_accommodations_and_modifications, they are violating my rights by not adjusting the lease when I asked. So I will now contact the State of Arizona Attorney Generals Office and HUD and start a discrimination against a disabled person suit against them. They are well aware of my disability and are legally required to adjust payment date because I am on SSDI.

 

[Zigner]

Best of luck to you.

 

[DeenaCA]

Here's an example of a housing provider that was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act for refusing to waive late fees when the disabled tenant did not receive his SS benefits until the third week of every month. Note that the management company was also charged with retaliation for threatening not to renew the tenant's lease due to the complaint.

These cases started to arise when the SSA stopped paying all SS recipients at the beginning of the month and went to a staggered payment schedule. This is not the only such case; it's just an example. It's called an "economic accommodation."

You can file a fair housing complaint online here. Or click here to find a local fair housing advocacy group.

 

[Whoops2u]

Here's an example of a housing provider that was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act for refusing to waive late fees when the disabled tenant did not receive his SS benefits until the third week of every month. Note that the management company was also charged with retaliation for threatening not to renew the tenant's lease due to the complaint.

These cases started to arise when the SSA stopped paying all SS recipients at the beginning of the month and went to a staggered payment schedule. This is not the only such case; it's just an example. It's called an "economic accommodation."

You can file a fair housing complaint online here. Or click here to find a local fair housing advocacy group.

It is a good point to the focus the OP brought with his last post. But, no accommodation, proven reasonable or not, has been denied.

 

[LdiJ]

It is a good point to the focus the OP brought with his last post. But, no accommodation, proven reasonable or not, has been denied.

Yes, it has, they are requiring him to pay extra rent for month to month.

 

[Whoops2u]

Yes, it has, they are requiring him to pay extra rent for month to month.

The accommodation has not been denied. The penalty for month to month is not related to the reasonable accommodation but to the lack of lease.

 

[DeenaCA]

The OP stated that he did request an adjustment in the due date for rent payments. He also stated that his disability is known to the management company and that the accommodation has been approved in the past. This is one of the examples of a reasonable accommodation listed on the FHEO website that the OP linked in post #8. A refusal to respond to an accommodation request is considered a denial. Housing providers cannot simply stonewall such requests.

A couple of excerpts from the HUD/DOJ Joint Statement on Reasonable Accommodations:

An applicant or resident is not entitled to receive a reasonable accommodation unless she
requests one. However, the Fair Housing Act does not require that a request be made in a
particular manner or at a particular time. An individual making a reasonable accommodation request
does not need to mention the Act or use the words "reasonable accommodation." However, the
requester must make the request in a manner that a reasonable person would understand to be a
request for an exception, change, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service because of a
disability.

A provider has an obligation to provide prompt responses to reasonable accommodation
requests. An undue delay in responding to a reasonable accommodation request may be deemed
to be a failure to provide a reasonable accommodation.

As noted, non-renewal of the lease could be considered illegal retaliation. I'd recommend that the OP contact a local fair housing advocacy group for assistance. The fair housing agency might be able to help get the issue resolved in a more timely manner than the formal complaint process.

 

[Whoops2u]

The OP stated that he did request an adjustment in the due date for rent payments. He also stated that his disability is known to the management company and that the accommodation has been approved in the past. This is one of the examples of a reasonable accommodation listed on the FHEO website that the OP linked in post #8. A refusal to respond to an accommodation request is considered a denial. Housing providers cannot simply stonewall such requests.

A couple of excerpts from the HUD/DOJ Joint Statement on Reasonable Accommodations:




As noted, non-renewal of the lease could be considered illegal retaliation. I'd recommend that the OP contact a local fair housing advocacy group for assistance. The fair housing agency might be able to help get the issue resolved in a more timely manner than the formal complaint process.

I agree a due date change can be a reasonable accommodation. I agree an undue delay in accepting or denying a request is a denial.

How much of a delay is undue? It's been a week where as before it was a day.