Hi, I just want to ask Doper landlords a question; it’s not a trick question:
Would you ever tell apartment-dwelling tenants that they could not grow a tomato plant in an ordinary (large-ish) planter pot on their own porch, if there was plenty of room?
If you did object to the tomato plant, would you just come by without notifying the tenants and remove the tomato plant, planter and all?
–That’s all – thanks!
No, as a landlord I would not do that. Methinks there is a detail or two missing. Can you share?
How many people use this porch? If there are other people besides the OP it could well be a safety hazard–they come home at night, drunk…or simply carrying a big bag of groceries.
Former resident manager here… and the short answer is “Yes”
Before we talk about tomato plans in particular, I’d be looking at the general rules in the lease agreements we sign. No matter how reasonable your plant might be, if you signed something that says “No plants/possessions on the porch” then I’m going to tell you to move it. I’m going to do that not because I’m a dick but because
Now, if there’s no pre-existing rule about putting things on the porch, I’m going to use my judgment about whether this plant could be in anyone else’s way (perhaps including our maintenance and landscaping people), or whether it establishes some kind of precedent that encourages behavior I dislike. I’d be inclined to permit it based on your description, but with some reservations about the number and placement of plants - I certainly wouldn’t want people turning their porches into jungles.
Oh, as to the question about removing the plant… no, I would not just remove it myself unless it was some kind of immediate danger or major obstacle to the neighbors.
We’d probably have a conversation about it, but you’d also get a written notice giving you some time to remove it yourself. If you fail to comply, the next notice would be threatening eviction. The notices are there to provide a written record of the conversation in case you want to be stubborn about it. I’d probably give you 30 days to comply with each notice (60 days total), but I could give you a lot less time if it was a priority for me.
Just what makes that little tenant
Think he can grow a tomato plant?
Everybody knows a tenant
can’t
grow a tomato plant
Are you sure that it was the landlord/manager who removed the plant? Sometimes people will come up and steal anything that’s lying around. One of my older neighbors used to have quite a collection of potted plants on her front porch, but they got stolen. She owned her own place, so it wasn’t the landlord stealing the plants.
But he’s got pie hopes, pizza-pie hopes.
Hot pizza-pie in the sky hopes.
It’s against strata regulations in our apartment block to have pot plants on the balcony, so our tenants can’t have them.
I’d be cranky if they asked, and I said no, and they went and got one anyway, but I wouldn’t just take it. I’d send a letter first.
Thus was born the urban legend about the creation of the first Beefsteak tomato…
“No, honey, I can’t help you carry the groceries. I’m not drunk enough yet…”
I’d tell them, but no, I wouldn’t want them doing that. There will be water all over, no matter what they think. Slips, water damage, etc. Nope
I would allow the tomato growing, but I would help myself to an occasional tomato and think of the tenants as my serfs.
This is on a porch. All porches get water on them.
If I wanted the tomato plant gone, I’d definitely request it in writing, not remove it myself.
If it’s on a balcony or upper floor, maybe water was getting on the unit or walkway below.
Even if the tenant ignored my written request and a subsequent written reminder, I’d initiate eviction proceedings (providing that the tenant’s plant was in violation of the lease) rather than remove the plant myself, as the plant is not my property. I suppose if there was somewhere I could allow the plant, I’d relocate it.
I’m not a landlord, but I’ve had several over the years. You would get a written notice first.
Agree w/ others that plant theft is a real phenomenon.
I’m a landlord. No objections to potted plants. I’d have no objections to raised beds or traditional gardens, if they were in the back yard, and carefully maintained.
Yes, but most porches that get wet do not have large and heavy objects sitting on them that hold/retain the water against the porch and result is at minimum water marks, discoloring, or mold and at worst warping and rot. A wet porch without a pot will dry within an hour once it stops raining. A wet porch with a heavy pot on it will dry everywhere but under the pot which will allow more water to absorb into the porch (if a material like wood), create mold spots, etc.
It is not the renter’s property, it belongs to someone else. Someone who has to think about on-going maintenance costs and the next tenant who moves in after you’ve completed your lease and move on. If that landlord now has to replace/repair the porch to maintain the appearance and quality of the property and the amount of rental income then they have every right to say “no”. If the renter wants to grow tomatoes on a porch, go buy a home with a porch.
Stealing the pot is not acceptable however. Written notices and appropriate follow-up to confirm the tenant has complied with proper escalation towards eviction for failure to comply is acceptable.
dracoi makes some good points, but me, I would not remove the tomato plant. And the reason is that in the scheme of things, a tomato plant is nothing. Now, a pit bull (or even a cat) I’ve been known to draw the line at.
Well, I think landlords most places except Washington, Colorado, and a couple counties in Texas would definitely draw the line at pot plants on the balcony.
Well, I had a plastic bag tidily knotted around the base of the planter pot, to keep the water in, since the pot had large drainage holes. I had put small rocks in the drainage holes before I put the dirt in; but I wanted to make sure it got to keep its water.
The porch is the front porch of only the apartment associated with the tomato plant. It is the back porch of the next door apartment, but in any case, it was actually on the low roof which is over the courtyard, adjacent to the patio. Impossible to trip over unless you were walking on the roof.
Yes, I’m sure it was the landlady. I have reliable witnesses.
I don’t know … you nurture something for a few months, you watch it grow, you see it blossom, you get all ready in happy anticipation of delicious homegrown tomatoes … and then somebody comes along with a misguided sense of … I don’t even know what. I have no idea why she did it. But it bummed me out a whole lot. I have always wanted to grow tomatoes. There are no community gardens around here. The plant wasn’t doing any harm, and it wasn’t in anybody’s way, and she just took it and threw it away. I think that is just mean. She could have at least given us the opportunity to put it indoors. The pot belonged to me. I spent seven bucks on the potting soil. It did not belong to her and I think she had no right to just summarily throw it away.