I signed a lease on a new apartment a couple of weeks ago, and am supposed to move in this Friday. I’ve scheduled movers, switched all the utilities and my mail to the new address, am in the throes of packing up all my earthly belongings, etc.
When I signed the lease, the rental agency told me that since the apartment is currently vacant, and all they had to do was repaint and hook up the new stove, it would be no problem for me to move in a few days early, so that I could vacate my current apartment by June 1st. Specifically, they told me I could come pick up the keys on the 23rd (that’s this Friday) and move in anytime after that.
Since the movers cost $90/hour, I thought it would be a good idea to have the new apartment keys already in hand when they arrive sometime after 2 pm. I have a doctor appointment in the morning, but the management office is only a few minutes away and is more or less on the way to the doctor’s office, so I figured I could just swing by either on the way to or from my appointment, grab the keys, run to the new place and make sure they work, and be home in plenty of time to have a nice peaceful lunch, pack up my last few things, and wait for the movers.
So I called the management office just now to set a time to get the keys, and the lady who prepared my lease, etc. (and gleefully cashed my large security deposit check) said, “Oh, I’d been meaning to call you. Actually, the landlady said you can’t move in until the 29th.” “What do you mean? What’s the problem? You told me it was fine to move on the 23rd. I’ve scheduled movers, switched all the utilities, etc.” “Well, the place is vacant, but she thinks that if she lets you move in early, nobody will ever move out on time.”
WTF!!! This makes no fucking sense! Why do they need to keep an already vacant apartment empty for an additional week and piss off a new tenant for no fucking reason? And why didn’t the management company call me the second they found this out, so I could do something about it? I would have been perfectly willing to pay the landlady a few days’ extra rent to get out of my current hell-hole early, but do they not realize that I took action based on their assurances, action (such as hiring movers, which requires an advance deposit, and taking a vacation day) which will potentially cost me a chunk of change? This may be a rhetorical question, but are they complete fucking morons?