Posted by Kris on February 14, 2001 at 14:50:57:
In Reply to: Re: landlord problems posted by Leigh on February 12, 2001 at 19:19:27:
Leigh,
The definition of living there varies and usually is not defined by many states'Landlord / Tenant law. Does your lease define the terms (I know mine does so that there are not any misunderstandings... it says Occupancy by guests for more than _10 days in a 3 month by any individual_ is prohibited without Landlord's written consent and will be considered a breach of this Agreement.). I sometimes do not strictly enforce this clause but the tenant knows it is there before they agree and sign.
Probably in your case your landlord has had a problem in the past with people moving in their boyfriend / girlfriend. Even though you pay almost all of the utilities, an extra person does cause more wear and tear.
If you want to resolve this problem, I would call your landlord and schedual an appointment to talk. Act very calm, collected and business like. Bring a copy of your boyfriend's current lease and possibly a letter from his current landlord to prove he is living / paying rent somewhere else. Explain that you like your boyfriend to spend the night on average x days a week. Tell her you sympathise with her concerns and your boyfriend would be happy to submitt to her standard application / background check, but as she can clearly see he is living somewhere else. That way she can assure herself that he is not some sort of deadbeat or criminal. This might make her comfortable enough to stop asking you about it all of the time. Anytime you try to avoid her or quietly get your boyfriend over for the night, it just feeds her suspicions that you are trying to pull something
By the way, she can not legally tear up your lease. Unless the lease says no one other than the people listed on the lease can live there, she does not have a legal ground what so ever to stand on. If it does state that only the people listed on the lease can live there, but does not define living there, it would be up to a judge to decide when she tries to evict you for not complying with the terms of the lease. Eviction is her only option. She can not tear up a lease (you do have a copy right?) without you agreeing to it.
Now if you really want, you can have your boyfriend sign her lease like she wants (that will make him as well as you liable for the rent and any damage). If your boyfriend trusts you enough to know you will pay the rent on time and take care of the place, it really won't effect him in any shape form or fashion. If you did stop paying or did a bunch of damage, him signing a lease with you would make him liable for all of that as well as you.
Good luck with your situation. I hope this works out well for everyone.
: I completely agree that the landlord has every right to know who is living there. What I have a problem with is her accusing my boyfriend of living there, when he is only over about 3 times a week, when I have discussed this with her 20 times.
: Please, if by definition, that means that he is living there (by visiting 3 times a week), let me know what state law or regulation states this so that I can adjust his visits to what would be acceptable. What would be considered "consecutive overnight visits"? Staying over more than one night a week? a month? staying over a couple times a week or the majority? Wouldn't it have to be his permanent place of residence and wouldn't he have to be getting mail or something there to consider him living there or a permanent occupant? Does this mean that I cannot have anyone even visit me and stayover a couple of nights or a week? There is nothing stated in my lease about limitations on visitors and since I just moved to California, I was not aware that limitations might exist due to utilities. My landlord only provides hot water, I pay for all other utilities. Please let me know what regulation you are referring to. I can't imagine that there is a law or regulation against an apartment renter having overnight guests. Please let me know if you have any more concrete information. Thanks.
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