The other day, a friend ran out of gas and called me. Always willing to do favors, I ran to my car to see if I had a gas can. Whenever I walk out, I lock the door by habit. However, it was still open. A gust of wind pushed the door closed…
In my Apt rental lease, I was given an emergency number, 24 hours. Well I called the number (around 8PM) and a very rude voice told me that if she had to come out, it would be a $50 charge. However, I should call this other number… one of the maintenance men who could be there to open the door. I called the number to a beligerant roomate screaming “No, He’s at the liquor store!” Click
I called the lady back and said, that’s fine, I’ll pay the money, I just need to be let in the apartment. I received a phone call back from her stating he wasn’t at the liquor store and he’ll be there in 30 minutes. 45 minutes pass and he arrives, obviously drunk, with a friend in the passenger seat. Very professional. He tells me that the woman informed him to collect the $50… it was obvious that if she didn’t have to come out the $50 would be waived. The in case of an emergency fee is not covered very well in the lease. I simply and respectfully told him that I didn’t have the $50 at the time. He said that woman would take care of it with me in the morning.
Well, thoughts went through my head. I asked her what an ‘emergency’ was during our first phone call. she had mentioned that it was anything to do with a water heater breaking or something physical on the property. But, nothing about the tenant, just the unit. This is not defined in the lease. What if I had diabetes? What if I needed insulin? That’s not an emergency?
So, I’m assuming they will deduct this from my security deposit. However, I plan on writing a letter to the landlord himself about the unprofessionalism that took place.
To boot, My lease actually expired in may! I had made all my payments on time and called and asked for an extension. I never signed anything. Am I still bound by this contract?
Also, when I moved in I was told that i would be provided with a list of things that were wrong with the apartment. In fact, the floors were dirty, there were holes in the wall and under my good graces I said “Provide me with a list and I’ll do the cleaning” just to get off on the right foot. I never received a list. I left the apartment in the same condition that I moved into, but, of course, I expect the security deposit will be taken away.
So, my GQ is: How is emergency defined by law through precedent?
and… sorry mods… but, any advice for my letter writing?
Any other GQ facts to help me out would be great! Thanks!
IAAL, but most likely not in your jurisdiction, and definitely not yours, anyway. When your lease expires and you are still in possession of the apartment, you have a holdover tenancy. The wikipedia article seems like an adequate summary, although the actual rules differ from state to state.
The definition of “emergency” is a matter of contract interpretation, and I can’t even guess on what it means without seeing your lease.
You may have some luck by googling “tenant rights” and your state to find out what your rights are in the security deposit. The rules differ quite a bit from state to state on how to treat a tenant who either doesn’t receive or doesn’t return the statement of condition of an apartment.
FWIW, the last time I was in a rental, and lockout service was defined in the lease, “emergency” was any time the complex business office was closed.
In this case, I’d feel safe in assuming that “emergency” is being defined as any time that they’re not personally standing in the apartment, in which case, you’re probably not going to need help getting in.
Do write to the landlord - I’m guessing that they’ve farmed out the day-to-day operation of the building to someone else, and they might like to know how they’re treating the tenants.
As it happens, I’m an Illinois attorney, but I can’t give you legal advice here. (See disclaimer at the end of this reply.) I do have a few general comments nad questions, and may be able to point you to local ordinances and resources once I know where you are.
Why?
Not sure what you’re driving at here. I’m guessing that there is some sort of provision in the least that lists an emergency contact number and another provision that says that some types of emergency calls will result in a $50 charge to the tenant. Without seeing those provisions, there’s not much I can say. But there’s basically four types of emergency in a rental situation: 1) tenant caused/affects the unit: 2) tenant caused/affects only the tenant; 3) not tenant caused/affects the unit; and 4) not tenant caused/affects only the tenant.
At least in a non-commercial lease, I’ve never seen a provision that would charge a fee to the tenant for 3. Landlords want to know about emrgency threats to their property, and why charge a tenant for something that’s not his fault or doing? A charge for 1 is more likely, but not usually in the form of a flat fee. If it’s the tenant’s fault, the tenant usually gets charged for the cost of repair. A charge for emergency call type 4 is more likely, because the emergency doesn’t affect the landlord. (Even if it’s something he’ll choose to fix, he’s fine with waiting until normal business hours – the only emergency is that of the tenant.) If the problem affects the habitability of the unit, though, he may not have any choice, especially if there’s a strong local tenant ordinance.
That leaves emergency type 2, which is what you seem to have here. Your fault, affects only you. Sure there might be a charge for this kind of service call. What makes you think that the landlord must provide you with free after-hours lockout service? Even if the least were completely silent on the issue, I could see ways that you could legally be charged for this.
Not the landlord’s emergency. He’s not a governmental agency. He’s under no obligation to solve your individual problems. Sure, if he’s a nice guy, he might help you out, but you have no legal claim against him if he doesn’t, and he can condition his help on your agreement to pay a fee, especially if he’s paying someone else for the service call.
They’ll probably expect you to pay now, or at least no later than when the next month’s rent is due.
In general, tenants who stay beyond the end of a lease term will fall into one of three categories (assuming no express agreement replacing or extending the lease, or at least the lease term). First possibilty is a holdover tenancy. Your lease might say something about this, and you might be liable for increased rent and penalties. You also might be subject to eviction. Second possibility is an automatic renewal of the lease. Third possibility is a month-to-month tenancy. In all of these scenarios, barring something extraordinary, you remain bound by the terms of the lease
Under none of these scenarios does the landlord have to provide you with free after hours lockout services.
I wouldn’t. What are you upset about? Is it because he got there 15 minutes late? It appears that this was an after-hours situation that was your fault. Aren’t maintenance men allowed to drink, or go out with friends when they’re off duty? I mean, sure, if he was supposed to be working that night, you might have a point, but that’s not clear. It sounds like you dragged this guy in after hours, interrupting a date, and he got there in 45 minutes. I’d be thrilled with that response.
The lockout happened just “the other day” and you’ve since moved out? I’m a little confused.
But you might be right about the security deposit if your landlord is dishonest and you have no proof about the original condition of the apartment. True, that doesn’t mean he’s legally allowed to retain the deposit, but you still might have a problem proving that you’re in the right, if he otherwise follows the laws about security deposits.
As I hope I’ve made clear, this seems to be irrelevant. Unless there’s some provision in the lease saying that all emergency calls are free, that is. But (a) you haven’t said there is such a provision, and (b) that would be highly unlikely.
Also, although there are probably Illinois cases defining “emergency” in various contexts, there’s no overall, applies-to-all-contexts definition. No way I could say anything useful here without seeing the lease.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but I don’t see where you have any legitimate complaints.
Disclaimer. IAAL, but I’m not your lawyer, and you’re not my client. These are general observations, made without knowing the whole situation, and not to be considered reliable legal advice. See an attorney in person (with your lease) for that.
Originally Posted by chefL11
it was obvious that if she didn’t have to come out the $50 would be waived.
Why?
She made the comment “Call X, he’ll come out and let you in because if I have to, I’m going to have to charge you $50.”
In that situation, I think it’s reasonable to believe that calling X would have not incurred the charge. I believe that a reasonable person in that situation would have assumed that although she didn’t directly say the $50 would be waived if he came out, she worded it to sound as such. Even if that was because she simply didn’t want to come out.
I just read through the entire lease and noticed something very interesting.
There is a page missing entirely. There is no page four. It is the original copy… It seems as though the missing page wraps up the conditions for the contract before the signature page. The pages are numbered but one page ends and another begins independently. I had to look at the page numbers in order to discover the missing page. I suppose I should assume responsibility for the missing page since I signed the lease as it is now, with the missing page. However, there is no way the page could have been taken out after the signing. It remained in one place and is in ‘mint’ condition. It hasn’t been moved since I originally filed it.
Also, I suppose my memory served me wrong. There is NOTHING in the lease I have that states anything about emergency opening. However, I was told the emergency number at the time of signing and there is a magnet which I was provided with that has the 24 hour emergency number for the fridge. However, nothing is stated in the contract itself.
To address the professionalism comment, I meant it about the entire situation. The back-and-forth that occurred between the three of us and the fact that she could have come out… She had talked to him on the phone. He could have said “I’m not in a very good condition to drive over there right now” The bottom line was that she just didn’t WANT to come out… it was evident.