Home Renters Rights , Federal And State ( Ky. ) .

Hi ,

As someone stated earlier about renting out a house I'm curious as to what a renters rights are . Like landlord telling you what you can or can't have in your yard or how many cars that you can have , etc. Especially, when they have a ton of junk stored in your house that you're renting that was there when you moved in . Act like we are supposed to move in , live here and use their stuff and get rid of ours not have anything outside , like no more than two vechiles or one lawnmower , etc. What they don't realize is that it's my tools and mowers that take care of their place. I fix whatever tears up ( within reason , nothing major ) and if it's cheap don't charge them nor any labor . No telling how much they save on repair men. But , fortunately nothing tears up much . Also , it takes them forever usually to get anything done , unless it's major . I can ellaborte more if needed . Any ideas or thoughts from both sideds , rentor and rentee ? Point in case , landlords dumb son moved up to take care of farm ( and he's dumb as a rock when it comes to farming , wanted to pick their corn one time before the ears got to big ) and he's done jumped on at least three guys wives when husbands weren't around and one of them was in the middle of a store . Thanks for any and all advice .

Thanks,
Whizkid

If you have a contract, what's ever in the contract you sign, should be what you can or cannot do...

Not necessarily.

You should read and understand the landlord/tenant laws of your state.

Dean

You know,from what you are saying it sounds like you probably need to look for some place else.There are people who are jerks.They seem to think they are better than other people because maybe they have a little more money,or are more fortunate than others,or something.When they start throwing that around on others as if they think they can,thats called overbearing.Most of us wont put up with anybody thats overbearing at all.Now somebody that owns a place and you rent from them might have a right to say what the place looks like.Maybe they dont want a bunch of cars parked there or maybe they want things a certain way,and maybe if you want to live there you need to try and get along with them.But you also probably need to try and find somebody else to rent from or a place you can buy of your own.Most people hate to rent just for some of the reasons you mentioned.Jerks have been around always.They have done the same things you say always.But it was never right,and most people dont want to put up with it any more than you do.

You might want to talk to the landlord about re-negotiating the rental agreement, to address some of your concerns. I assume you have been there long enough to show that you aren't just trying to accumulate the state's largest collection of non-running mid-80's automobiles- talk to them about what you have, and your need to have it, and amend the rental agreement as appropriate.

Neither the stupidity nor the libido of their son Idiot have anything to do with anything- but him, combined with the fact that they still have a bunch of stuff in the house, tells me this could be a significant train wreck down the road. You might want to look at the overall situation, and quietly start looking for another place.

Property law is one of the oldest and theres tons of common law regarding Landlord and Tenant but much has been codified (One would have to research your states statutes) so that coupled with the doctrine of freedom of contract and absent researching the issue, makes it darn near impossible to provide you any meaningful attorneys opinion to answer your question.

THE FIRST THING THAT DETERMINES THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION WOULD BE "What the Lease says" the Landlord can do or not do..

THE SECOND THING is what the state statutes may say a Landlord can do or not do regardless of what your private contract says i.e. as a matter of public policy your state may have enacted statutes that nnalert and over ride what your lease says


That all being said, its the Landlords property and unless the leases states otherwise I would hesitate (as an attorney) to come out here and start listing any sort of "Renters Rights" that youre looking for.

I can tell you this with all certainty, without a thorough trained professional review of your states statutes coupled with the common law of your particular state, ANY OPINIONS POSTED HERE (including mine for sure) BE THEY LAY OR PROFESSIONAL, ARE PRETTY MUCH WORTH WHAT YOURE PAYING FOR THEM NOTHING ZERO NADA

I suggest you keep good records and evidence such as photograps or video plus a detailed written daily ledger of all that transpires and records and receipts of all your work to develop admissible evidence and a paper trail when this thing falls apart...

"If it all blows up n goes to H(i)ll, think of all the stories you can tell" Jimmy Buffett

best wishes n God Bless

John T Country Lawyer

The basics of the Tenant/landlord laws are the the tenant gets to live in the place without mistreatment and the landlord gets paid on-time and doesn't get a torn up house.
I am a landlord. I leave the tenants alone even though the lease gives me the right of unannounced inspection--I usually do that once or twice at the beginning of the lease. I expect and the lease states the tenant WILL call when something goes wrong/breaks, not try to fix it--CALL. My responsibility is to get it fixed immediately, I actually have relationshi[ps with individuals who do that for a living.
And I expect to be paid the rent on time. Tenant get one month behind I tell them to get caught up--they don't I tell them to move.
Whizkid sounds to me like you don't have the best landlord and I expect you're not the best tenant--you should move.

for my renters. two people two cars and must have plates and used NO JUNKERS if they need more cars or trucks they have to ask. THEY must have trash pickup NO trash left anyplace THEY cut the grass there more must be cut when it's 5in. long. i inspect my places every two months after 24 hr notice after three tries they are out. i am a as- but all my rentals are just like new and i'll be dam-- is someone is going to live like a pig in one. have 4 houses and all are rented by retired people and they take care of them like they own them

I wasn't going to get into specifics regarding rental agreement provisions vs. landlord tenant law, but VADAVE's post provides a good example.

In Washington, at least, his provision for unannounced inspections would simply not be enforceable, even if both agreed to it in the rental agreement. The rule is, a rental agreement provision can not be more burdensome on the tenant than the corresponding provision in the Landlord Tenant Act. Here, 24 hours notice is the minimum for entry into the unit to inspect, and if tenant objects, it increases to 48 hours. So if Dave tried to evict based on denial of entry (even though the rental agreement said unannounced inspections were OK), judge would throw it out. Ditto notices to pay or vacate- statute says 3 day notice. You could agree to a 5 day, or 7 day, or anything else that was not more strict on the tenant. But not a 2 day notice.

Most things like number of cars, pet or no pet, etc. are not addressed by landlord tenant law, and the rental agreement would control.

Just curious, how many cars do you have there, and any of them not running?

Thanks Guys,

Thanks for the info . There was no agreement that I know of only talk between my borther in law who worked on the farm at the time and still lives on it . Actually, we're good tenants , take care of the place , pay rent on time , and no problems or complaints. As my sister said these people are pack rats theirselves . Also , other people have had problems with them . Actually , landlords wife complimented my yard on time to her husband and my brother in law that her son kept it looking good down here , they laughed and when she asked what they were laughing about her husband said that " Whizkid " mowed this yard . We may not be perfect , but we are great renters compared to others !!!!!

Whizkid

Gordo SD,

Three good ones and one that dosen't run , but I'm already planning on junking this one out and selling it for scrap .

Whizkid

First off most landord/tenant laws don't apply if the landlord rents less than 5 units and discrimination laws don't apply either.We're renting out a coulple houses we own and if the tenant pays the rent and doesn't tear up the place I'm happy a couple extra vehicles ain't a big deal.And we always run a credit check before we rent to anyone if they won't pays others they won't pay us.

VADAVE ,

Actually , we are the best tenants you could hope to have . Been told that before , actually . The landlord is alright most of the time ,but wants everyone to know that this is their property and tell people what they can and can't have . Didn't want us to have a storage building , but it's nicer than their building . We always pay rent on time , never had to collect or anything .

Whizkid

Well of all the nerve of the Landlord acting like he owns the place(LOL)

Go buy a neighbors property, & buy a Civil War Cannon. Set it off every 4am on Saturday morning, & leave it aimed at his house the rest of the time. He might then rent his own home out, & leave!!!

As a rule, unless you are in one of the metropolitan areas which have a rental code you are left at the mercy of the KRS and what your rental agreement states. As you dont have a written agreement from reading this thread you are renting "at will". As it was explained to me by my attorney if they pay the rent on time for this month they can do what they did last month as long as it isnt illegal. If you want to change something you have to serve them with notice 30 days before the change. He writes the letters for me and they include an non compliance evicition clause. Bottom line is you are getting the use of his property for a period of time by paying him money, but its still his property. If you search the KRS under landlord tentant relationships it spells it out pretty well. Go to the Kentucky Legislative Research Comission page and look under Kentucky Law, KRS, and then read them in order. Keyword function can give misleading results.

Here it is, Chapter 383.000 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS 383.000

I was referring to where this son he was talking about was saying stuff to the women who were renting at the store in town.Thats not just a landlord,thats a jerk.
You are right,the landlord owns the place,and I told him he needs to get along and keep it to what the landlord wants it to look like.But if his son is jumping on wives in the store in town,he has to stop that crap.Probably before his son gets hurt real bad.

It's always best to look at things from the other guy's perspective. If you think you're going to force your landlord to move all his stuff out of the house, think again. The 85 bucks a month you're paying for rent is chump change compared to the aggravation for him to clear out his junk. If you tell you landlord "either your junk goes or I do", you best have your bags packed.

Yup not enforcable BUT I'm not allowed in--Give the required notice and now I'm really looking. Evidence of not taking care of the place and I nicely suggest they need to take care of the place. Last time I was in one of the rentals the tenant was moving out (had given notice) and discovered she hadn't said anything about the bathroom fan and there was a mildew issue. Said nothing just fixed it. Had she not been leaving we would have had a discussion about telling me when things broke and set up a regular visit to be sure I knew what was broke that month. Too much (that's a judgement call) and tell them to leave--not taking care of the place and too much breakage--not wear and tear-BREAKAGE.
Had a problem with another rentor not paying the rent--got 3 months behind--sent a letter "you have to pay or move" they ignored it. Found out I couldn't evict based on that letter cause I gave them an option. Now 4 months behind and I sent the next letter "you are 4 months behind vacate by..". They were gone in the required 30 days because now I could evict. But 5 months behind--I bought that lesson.

The landlord has a duty of habitability. That is the unit must be fit to live in, roof not leaking, no broken windows, locking doors, a working bathrooom, ect. When you moved in you had the oppertunity inspect the place, when you paid rent and were given the keys (contract! promise made-consideration given)it is implied you were given the oppertunity to inspected it, and accepted the place as is, save for some undiscovered defect that effects habitability. You saw your landlords junk, the time to handel it was when you were dealing over the contract. The lease or rental agreement can indeed limit the number of cars, the conditionin(running,insured, current lic) and where they are parked. Once the lease is up, the landlord can give a 30 day notice of "Change of Conditions", and change that number, making it 0 if he wants to. The tennant has the right to give a 30 day notice that they are leaving, assuming no lease.

You may have "unnanounced inspection" in the lease, but are you sure you can actually enforce it? You can't in Iowa. Clearly spelled out in Iowa landlord/tennant law. The landlord can be convicted of criminal trespass showing up uninvited. VA may be different though.

I own 126 rentals. As you were told every state is different. Some wildly different.

I do NOT allow any vehicles that do not have a current registration. No vehicles on jack stands, blocks, missing wheels, body parts etc. One vehicle per adult whose name is on the lease. No equipment including lawn mowers that can be seen from the road, street or by neighbors at ground level.

All of my properties either have a utility room or shed that will hold a riding or walk behind mower of sufficient size to maintain the property.

No trash or debris will be on the property unless it's in a approved garbage collection container with a lid securely fastened to it.

I do not allow the tenant to perform any repairs or modifications to the property.

I have a property manager who inspects every single property once every 2 months with 24hrs notice as required by the law in my state.

I provide a clean, well maintained safe home for a fair rent. I own the house, my rules within the laws of my state.

Abide, pay your rent on time or please move quickly.

Most of my evictions are not "rent" related....even in this economy. They're do to people trashing the place up, not cutting the grass etc.

Buy a house in a non deed restricted community and so as you please.

No reflection on you but many people have no respect for other peoples property and believe that if they're "renting" they have the same rights as a homeowner. they do not.

(quoted from post at 12:37:54 08/08/11) VADAVE ,

Actually , we are the best tenants you could hope to have . Been told that before , actually . The landlord is alright most of the time ,but wants everyone to know that this is their property and tell people what they can and can't have . Didn't want us to have a storage building , but it's nicer than their building . We always pay rent on time , never had to collect or anything .

Whizkid

Click to expand...

id it ever cross your mind to buy your own place,than the whole tenant/landlord issue would be gone...wouldn't it?... :roll: