Tenants will not give me access to my house!

[[email protected]]

I gave a written one-year lease to a couple who were waiting for their new condo to be built. The lease runs from 9/1/99-9/1/00. I gave explicit instructions (verbally) that I would need to sell the house next year and would therefore need to show the house during this summer. They agreed because their condo was suppose to be ready in July. Unfortunately, their condo will not be ready as planned and they want to stay until the end of November, 2000 now. I need to sell my house due to financial reasons and I don't want to extend their lease because I don't want to tie my hands and lose a buyer over the lease. Also she is refusing to let me have some work done in the house that I have planned and she changed the locks and will not give me a new key. Does she have the right to lock me out of my house and prevent me from completing interior work and can she stop me from showing the house to potential buyers who are interested in the house AFTER HER LEASE EXPIRES?

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by [email protected]:
I gave a written one-year lease to a couple who were waiting for their new condo to be built. The lease runs from 9/1/99-9/1/00. I gave explicit instructions (verbally) that I would need to sell the house next year and would therefore need to show the house during this summer. They agreed because their condo was suppose to be ready in July. Unfortunately, their condo will not be ready as planned and they want to stay until the end of November, 2000 now. I need to sell my house due to financial reasons and I don't want to extend their lease because I don't want to tie my hands and lose a buyer over the lease. Also she is refusing to let me have some work done in the house that I have planned and she changed the locks and will not give me a new key. Does she have the right to lock me out of my house and prevent me from completing interior work and can she stop me from showing the house to potential buyers who are interested in the house AFTER HER LEASE EXPIRES?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Read your written lease agreement for landlord access provisions. You as the landlord are allowed access for inspections, repair/maintenance, showing for sale etc. provided proper notice is given to the tenant. You are also allowed access with your own keys. Since the tenant changed the locks you clearly do not have access, therefore the tenant is under default. This is grounds to cancel the lease so at your option you can cancel the lease or send a letter stating that the lease will end as agreed on the lease agreement and no further extensions will be made. If tenant does not vacate the premises on 9/01/00, tenant will be considered a holdover tenant and rent will be charged accordingly. ( whatever the State law is, double the rent etc.)

Next time write a clause into the rental agreement that states something like; "tenant is aware that the property is or will be on the market for sale. In that connection, tenant agrees to have the unit shown whenever needed and upon 24-48 hours notice. Tenant also agrees to have the property open for open house a least 2 times per month and available as needed for normal repair and maintenance work and work in connection with the sale."

Both parties need cooperation from each other so the best thing to do would be to negotiate. You agree to extend the lease until Nov. under the condition that you get a copy of the keys and you have access as noted above. Create a win-win situation.

 

[Tracey]

If you post your state, I'll point you to the specific laws that say why T is so completely evictable it's not even funny.

In the meantime, here's general L/T law. A CYA note -- assume T is going to sue you & that you will have to be able to prove that everything you did was legal & proper. Establish PROOF - don't just expect the judge to believe you instead of her. She's gonna lie in court. That said.....

T cannot change the locks so as to prevent lawful access by L. If T does so, L may call a locksmith, install new locks, & charge T for every penny it costs. L must give T reasonable notice (24-48 hours) & make every reasonable effort to get T a key in a timely fashion. (Hand over the key before the locks are changed. Get her signature acknowledging that she received the key before the lock was changed.) If she doesn't pay to change the locks, you can sue her for the fees before the lease is over. Your costs will be added to the judgment.

T may not unreasonably withhold permission from L to enter the house to make repairs or show the house ot prospective buyers. L must give the statutory notice (24-48 hours), and may then enter at the aforementioned time, unless T protests in writing AND GIVES A GOOD REASON FOR OBJECTING TO ENTRY. Give T a work schedule & tell your broker to give T the full 24/48 hours before showing the house. Deliver everything in writing, certified, return receipt. You can also post the notice on the door, usually. Be sure to keep an accurate log of exactly when the notice was posted & leave a message on the answering machine as a courtesy. A 35mm picture with date/time stamp of the posted notice would be good. If she still prevents access, you get to sue her for your damages -- the costs you pay during the time your house is not on the market because you haven't completed the repairs yet & can't show it. Point this out to her. Be sure to mention that she was well aware of the fact that you'd be showing the house to buyers & working on the house to ready it for sale. (If she doesn't protest this assertion, you can argue that she "admitted its truth by ehr silence.") Hopefully, you also stuck this term in your lease.

T cannot hold over. If she does, you get to evict her & charge her your eviction costs & attorney fees. Stick it to her! Send her written notice right now (certified etc.) that you will NOT allow her to stay beyond 9/1/00 & that any holdover will result in her being evicted.


Hit her hard & make it absolutely clear that you WILL sue at the drop of a hat & they'd better straighten up and fly right!

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

 

[[email protected]]

Tracey, Thank you so much for your response. I live in Rhode Island...Deb
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tracey:
If you post your state, I'll point you to the specific laws that say why T is so completely evictable it's not even funny.

In the meantime, here's general L/T law. A CYA note -- assume T is going to sue you & that you will have to be able to prove that everything you did was legal & proper. Establish PROOF - don't just expect the judge to believe you instead of her. She's gonna lie in court. That said.....

T cannot change the locks so as to prevent lawful access by L. If T does so, L may call a locksmith, install new locks, & charge T for every penny it costs. L must give T reasonable notice (24-48 hours) & make every reasonable effort to get T a key in a timely fashion. (Hand over the key before the locks are changed. Get her signature acknowledging that she received the key before the lock was changed.) If she doesn't pay to change the locks, you can sue her for the fees before the lease is over. Your costs will be added to the judgment.

T may not unreasonably withhold permission from L to enter the house to make repairs or show the house ot prospective buyers. L must give the statutory notice (24-48 hours), and may then enter at the aforementioned time, unless T protests in writing AND GIVES A GOOD REASON FOR OBJECTING TO ENTRY. Give T a work schedule & tell your broker to give T the full 24/48 hours before showing the house. Deliver everything in writing, certified, return receipt. You can also post the notice on the door, usually. Be sure to keep an accurate log of exactly when the notice was posted & leave a message on the answering machine as a courtesy. A 35mm picture with date/time stamp of the posted notice would be good. If she still prevents access, you get to sue her for your damages -- the costs you pay during the time your house is not on the market because you haven't completed the repairs yet & can't show it. Point this out to her. Be sure to mention that she was well aware of the fact that you'd be showing the house to buyers & working on the house to ready it for sale. (If she doesn't protest this assertion, you can argue that she "admitted its truth by ehr silence.") Hopefully, you also stuck this term in your lease.

T cannot hold over. If she does, you get to evict her & charge her your eviction costs & attorney fees. Stick it to her! Send her written notice right now (certified etc.) that you will NOT allow her to stay beyond 9/1/00 & that any holdover will result in her being evicted.


Hit her hard & make it absolutely clear that you WILL sue at the drop of a hat & they'd better straighten up and fly right!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[Tracey]

The Residential Landlord Tenant Act is in Title 34, Chapter 18. http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/INDEX.HTM

Your agreement to have T do repairs as part of the rent is enforceable only if you had it in writing & the work was not necessary to bring the buildign up to code. [34-18-22] She MUST allow you access to make "agreed upon repairs". [34-18-26] Their refusal to allow you access is grounds for you to terminate the lease immediately. [34-18-45] You can also just go to court and get an injunction. In either case, the court has to award you costs & attorney fees.


So, if you're feeling nice, send T a letter saying that you will terminate the lease immediately if they do not give you a copy of all keys (or put the old locks back in if you had a special key system) & allow you access to make repairs/remodels, you will terminate the lease tomorrow. If you're just tired of these bozos, send them a letter terminating the lease for abuse of access & requiring them to be out by the end of July. You can find a sample notice in 34-18-56(c). Then, after their time has passed, you evict them for holding over. [34-18-38] If you can show their hold over was willful & not in good faith, you can get a judgment for 3 month's rent (or triple damages) + attorney fees.

Given the fact that they have no place to go, I'd guess they're going to try to hold over past 9/1/00, so you might as well terminate the lease now & start evictions on 8/1/00. Then they might actually be out by 9/1. To preserve your right of access until they leave, apply for an injunction requiring them to allow access to make repairs or show the place. The procedure is set out in 34-18-6.

An eviction takes 25-35 days from filing. You are entitled to prorated rent until they leave. [34-18-43]

========================
§ 34-18-26 Access. – (a) A tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.

(b) A landlord may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of emergency, or, during any absence of the tenant in excess of seven (7) days, if reasonably necessary for the protection of the property.

(c) A landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant. Except in case of emergency or unless it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two (2) days' notice of his or her intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times.

(d) A landlord has no other right of access except:
(1) Pursuant to court order;
(2) As permitted by § 34-18-39; or
(3) Unless the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises.

============================
§ 34-18-45 Landlord and tenant remedies for abuse of access. – (a) If the tenant refuses to allow lawful access, the landlord may obtain injunctive relief to compel access, or terminate the rental agreement.

(b) If the landlord makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner or makes repeated demands for entry otherwise lawful but which have the effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct or terminate the rental agreement.

(c) In any action under subsection (a) or (b) the prevailing party may recover actual damages and shall be awarded costs and reasonable attorney's fees.



------------------
This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

 

[[email protected]]

Tracey, Thank you again for all your help. Deb
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tracey:
The Residential Landlord Tenant Act is in Title 34, Chapter 18. http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/INDEX.HTM

Your agreement to have T do repairs as part of the rent is enforceable only if you had it in writing & the work was not necessary to bring the buildign up to code. [34-18-22] She MUST allow you access to make "agreed upon repairs". [34-18-26] Their refusal to allow you access is grounds for you to terminate the lease immediately. [34-18-45] You can also just go to court and get an injunction. In either case, the court has to award you costs & attorney fees.


So, if you're feeling nice, send T a letter saying that you will terminate the lease immediately if they do not give you a copy of all keys (or put the old locks back in if you had a special key system) & allow you access to make repairs/remodels, you will terminate the lease tomorrow. If you're just tired of these bozos, send them a letter terminating the lease for abuse of access & requiring them to be out by the end of July. You can find a sample notice in 34-18-56(c). Then, after their time has passed, you evict them for holding over. [34-18-38] If you can show their hold over was willful & not in good faith, you can get a judgment for 3 month's rent (or triple damages) + attorney fees.

Given the fact that they have no place to go, I'd guess they're going to try to hold over past 9/1/00, so you might as well terminate the lease now & start evictions on 8/1/00. Then they might actually be out by 9/1. To preserve your right of access until they leave, apply for an injunction requiring them to allow access to make repairs or show the place. The procedure is set out in 34-18-6.

An eviction takes 25-35 days from filing. You are entitled to prorated rent until they leave. [34-18-43]

========================
§ 34-18-26 Access. – (a) A tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter into the dwelling unit in order to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.

(b) A landlord may enter the dwelling unit without consent of the tenant in case of emergency, or, during any absence of the tenant in excess of seven (7) days, if reasonably necessary for the protection of the property.

(c) A landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant. Except in case of emergency or unless it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two (2) days' notice of his or her intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times.

(d) A landlord has no other right of access except:
(1) Pursuant to court order;
(2) As permitted by § 34-18-39; or
(3) Unless the tenant has abandoned or surrendered the premises.

============================
§ 34-18-45 Landlord and tenant remedies for abuse of access. – (a) If the tenant refuses to allow lawful access, the landlord may obtain injunctive relief to compel access, or terminate the rental agreement.

(b) If the landlord makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner or makes repeated demands for entry otherwise lawful but which have the effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief to prevent the recurrence of the conduct or terminate the rental agreement.

(c) In any action under subsection (a) or (b) the prevailing party may recover actual damages and shall be awarded costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>