Articles filed under Griswold, Robert

• With security deposits, expect documentation of large charges Apr 28, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. I recently moved out of a rental home. My understanding is I can be charged for any cleaning that is reasonable. Of a $2,500 deposit, I was charged $1,600 for cleaning based on a $35 per hour rate. Is that "reasonable?"
  

   

• The legal way to get your tenants to pay got natural gas Apr 14, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. I currently have leases with all 10 tenants in my building where I pay gas and they pay electricity. All the units have gas wall heaters. I recently realized that the large majority of the tenants left their heaters on during the day.
  

   

• Roommates want to break lease following break-in Mar 17, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. Our apartment was recently burglarized. The landlord hasn't done anything to make my roommates and me feel safer. We would like to move out, but still have six months left on our lease.
  

   

• Unusual rent delivery method causes rift between landlord, tenant Feb 16, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. I own a house that I am currently renting to a tenant on a one-year lease. But over the months things have been getting very uncomfortable for me, and I would appreciate your advice.
  

   

• Landlord is required to return any overpayment of rent Feb 3, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. I rent an apartment on a month-to-month basis and have given 30-day written notice to terminate my tenancy. It will expire on the seventh day of next month. I didn't know that I would be changing jobs until the day I gave notice so I have already paid my rent in full for next month.
  

   

• Landlord says tenant’s destruction requires fire safety upgrades Jan 20, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. Recently, one of my tenants kicked in one of the entrance doors to get into the apartment. They are double-door entries and he is now claiming the lock was not working. Of course, he had never complained about it and seemed to think of this excuse when I confronted him about paying for the damage.
  

   

• New landlord’s obligations for return of security deposit Jan 6, 2013 12:00 AM
  Q. I am a landlord who purchased a small apartment building approximately four years ago. Recently, a tenant who was there when I bought the building moved out, and this is the first time any tenant has moved out since I purchased the property.
  

   

• Tenant claims penalty for minor cat damage is unfair Dec 30, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I am a renter who recently vacated a rental property, and I have an issue with the owner over a pet security deposit. When I moved in, the landlord required both a security deposit and a pet deposit.
  

   

• Rental forum: New parking policy favors garage sales over tenants Dec 9, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I am a renter and we have a unique situation in our apartment building. When I first moved in a few years ago, there was nothing about assigned parking in my lease, but it does say that parking is available on a "first-come, first-served" basis behind the building. Although there are six garages, the landlord had been using all of them personally, so we could park in front of them and there was plenty of room for everyone's cars.
  

   

• Tenant claims fees for repainting, garbage removal are exaggerated Nov 25, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I vacated my rental house after living there for five years. I had paid a $650 deposit when I moved in. Per the landlord-tenant act in my state, the landlord is required to provide a detailed itemized statement or accounting and a refund of any remaining balance of my security deposit.
  

   

• How to bring long-term tenants up to market rents Oct 14, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. My husband and I have been managing a five-unit apartment building for more than three years. One tenant is still paying approximately $260 less than the other tenants because she was already living in the unit before we took over.
  

   

• Landlord demands payment for ‘missing’ cabinet door that never existed Sep 30, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I lived in a house with four other tenants for 12 months before recently moving out. We just received our security deposit refund accounting and noticed that we got charged $125 for kitchen cubbies missing a cabinet door. When we moved in there was never a door on the cubbies.
  

   

• Tenant claims flat paint made cleaning walls impossible Sep 16, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. We recently moved out of a rental apartment after two years.Now the property management company wants to keep $200 of the security deposit for painting. They say we are responsible for one-third of the cost of the repainting because we didn't stay in the apartment for a full three years.
  

   

• Landlord within his rights to crack down on parking space hogs Sep 2, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. We live in a 39-unit apartment complex where there is only one parking space for each unit. The landlord has recently implemented a parking sticker system and numbered the parking spaces to enforce its policy of only one parking space per rental unit. There is nothing in the lease about parking. Is this legal?
  

   

• Factors to consider before actively seeking a tenant Aug 19, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I have a rental home and can't seem to find any qualified tenants. Recently, a friend of mine who is also a landlord told me that all of his rental properties are full, and he credits the fact that they are furnished as being the key difference. Should I consider buying furniture for my property and offering it as a furnished home?
  

   

• Don’t withhold rent payment because of broken air conditioner Aug 5, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I live in a duplex and my air conditioner has been working intermittently now for nearly a year. Can I withhold rent until my landlord makes repairs?
  

   

• Don’t allow tenants to use cleaning deposit as last month’s rent Jul 22, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. My wife and I moved out of our home last year and rented it to a couple. The property has many upgrades and was in excellent condition when we moved out. The tenants are on a month-to-month lease and I just received their 30-day notice of moving out for the end of next month.
  

   

• Don’t allow tenants to use cleaning deposit as last month’s rent Jul 20, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. My wife and I moved out of our home last year and rented it to a couple. The property has many upgrades and was in excellent condition when we moved out. The tenants are on a month-to-month lease and I just received their 30-day notice of moving out for the end of next month.
  

   

• Tax appeals process can vary from one locality to the next Jul 8, 2012 12:00 AM
  Q. I am a relatively new landlord who owns four rental homes. Each of the homes is in the same neighborhood with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms. The homes are very similar in all respects, except one big difference: property taxes.
  

   

• When do late-payment fees become ‘excessive’? Jun 10, 2012 12:00 AM
  [No Paragraph Style]NewsQandA with bodyQ. My husband and I rent a townhouse that is privately owned. Per the lease that we signed, the rent is due on the first of the month and there is a five-day grace period. The landlord charges us $35 for the first day if we pay on the sixth of the month and $25 each additional day that we are late in paying the rent. Our monthly rental is $810.