Trailers on property

[Kaldric]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

I have a question I know not what part of the law is on. but I am housing some trailers for my dad who is a seinor and a vetran (if that even matters) they are currently stationed in my back yard. My land lord told me I have to get rid of them. what are the laws concerning trailers in the yard. they are outr of the way not being any trouble, and one of them we use frequently because it houses tools we use for mechanic and or house work like fixing and repairing. I was told that it weas visiable and had to go.

 

[Zigner]

Yes, your landlord can require that you remove the trailers from his property. I would bet they are unregistered.

 

[Kaldric]

i am not worried about the landlord's word., I want to know what the law states and how many trailers can be within the yard and what not

 

[Zigner]

i am not worried about the landlord's word., I want to know what the law states and how many trailers can be within the yard and what not

It doesn't matter because the LANDLORD can require you to remove them. If you don't, the landlord can evict you.

 

[Kaldric]

i know what the landlord can do, I can talk to the landlord. I can compermise with him. I want to know the legal aspects of it so i know what the limit is. so please just help me with the information I want/need. if it is not LEGALLY required I can inform him of this and he may change his mind.

 

[army judge]

i know what the limit is. so please just help me with the information I want/need. if it is not LEGALLY required I can inform him of this and he may change his mind

You can ask YOUR elected city council representative and make your inquiry of him or her.

You can visit the code enforcement office of the city, town, or village where you reside. If you live in an unincorporated portion of your county, you can visit the county code enforcement office. Whichever one applies, ask him or her your questions regarding LOCAL ORDINANCES about trailers. More than likely your landlord has received a notice about the equipment, which probably instigated him/her to contact you with the recent request.

If you're so inclined, nothing prevents you from requesting an audience with your landlord TODAY to seek the compromise you mentioned. However, steel yourself to receive unwelcomed news, too.

 

[Kaldric]

thank you for the information I may call the code enforcement people tomorrow, right now its too late

 

[adjusterjack]

You can probably look up your city code online and see if there are any potential code violations. Even if there are no code violations, the next place you look is your lease, to see what it says about how you take care of your landlord's property while you live there.

A written lease may give the landlord some limitation at to what he can do about the trailers. OTOH, depending on what the lease says, general conditions may also allow him to terminate because of the trailers. If you have a written lease, feel free to upload a copy.

If, by chance, you don't have a written lease and are on an oral rental agreement, tenancy at will, you look to the Georgia landlord tenant statutes for the rights and obligations of landlord and tenant.

Georgia Code Title 44, Chapter 7 (2022) - Landlord and Tenant :: 2022 Georgia Code :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia

Note that 44-7-7 requires the landlord to give you 60 days notice of termination of tenancy and it can be for any reason or no reason.

 

[welkin]

You can probably look up your city code online and see if there are any potential code violations.

Whichever one applies, ask him or her your questions regarding LOCAL ORDINANCES about trailers.

Its not just trailers in the code that you (or your landlord) have to worry about. You also need to check the local zoning code for property setbacks regulations and if anything is allowed to be placed in them, if in fact, the trailer is located in one of them.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I want to know the legal aspects of it so i know what the limit is.

If there is any limit it is likely to be found in your city or county ordinances. If your county/city might have those online you can look at the ordinances to see if any of them apply. Or they may have a set of them available at a city or county office where you can look through them.

Apart from that, you could ask the county or city code enforcement officer that question, though doing that might spark his or her interest in why you are asking and go out to take look at what you have. You may also ask a local lawyer that handles property law matters or go to a local legal aid clinic if you qualify for their services. None of us on these boards will know your local ordinances or what the enforcement attitude of local officials are on something like this.

Note that is not likely you will find a law that says what you can have on the property. The default rule in this country is that you can have what you want on it unless what you have is dangerous to others or is prohibited by law or restricted by contract. So if you don't find any law limiting what you can have then it's likely legal so long as its not causing harm to anyone else.

 

[Red Kayak]

I want to know the legal aspects of it so i know what the limit is. so please just help me with the information I want/need.

This can vary from municipality to municipality, so you have to either look up the code yourself or consult a local lawyer.

if it is not LEGALLY required I can inform him of this and he may change his mind.

Or he may get more annoyed.

 

[cbg]

The default rule in this country is that you can have what you want on it unless what you have is dangerous to others or is prohibited by law or restricted by contract. So if you don't find any law limiting what you can have then it's likely legal so long as its not causing harm to anyone else.

Keep in mind that this door swings both ways. It is the LANDLORD's property. If he decides that the number of trailers he wants on HIS property is zero, it's unlikely that the law of any municipality will force him to allow you to keep them.

 

[Zigner]

Keep in mind that this door swings both ways. It is the LANDLORD's property. If he decides that the number of trailers he wants on HIS property is zero, it's unlikely that the law of any municipality will force him to allow you to keep them.

Sure - but the OP doesn't care what the landlord thinks.

 

[Tax Counsel]

Keep in mind that this door swings both ways. It is the LANDLORD's property. If he decides that the number of trailers he wants on HIS property is zero, it's unlikely that the law of any municipality will force him to allow you to keep them.

That's why I included the term "restricted by contract." If the lease contract prohibits what the tenant is doing then it doesn't matter if there isn't any law prohibiting it. But being in breach of contract is not a crime and thus not "illegal". That's what my last line of my prior response was about, though perhaps I didn't make that clear enough. It might be legal for the OP to have the trailers there. But that alone is not enough. It must also not violate the lease. On the other hand, if the landlord didn't have the lease drafted clearly enough to allow for eviction based on what the OP has done, then that's the landlord's fault. Sloppily drafted leases tend to come back and bite the landlord.

 

[welkin]

Note that is not likely you will find a law that says what you can have on the property. The default rule in this country is that you can have what you want on it unless what you have is dangerous to others or is prohibited by law or restricted by contract. So if you don't find any law limiting what you can have then it's likely legal so long as its not causing harm to anyone else.

That is not the case. Your statement is way too broad. There are plenty of laws that do just that.

Unless the property is in some unincorporated area of the country where there are no zoning or policing regulations, there are laws that say what you can and cannot have on your property. And also, where you can and cannot place permitted things on the property; even where you can place a house.

OP may be able to place a trailer (mobile home or RV) on the property but not a shipping container on the property which is what I think OP is speaking of. If allowed, it may only be placed in certain places on the property. That, of course, also depends on the level of local enforcement of the ordinances. Property owners can usually get away with violating some ordinances until someone gets a bug up their ares and makes complaint.

 

[Tax Counsel]

That is not the case. Your statement is way too broad. There are plenty of laws that do just that.

That may be the case, though in the places I've lived that's not how ordinances are written. They are written to impose some kind of restriction. Even an ordinance that says "the homeowner may only have homes with outside colors that are on the council's approved list" is one that tells you what colors you cannot have. An ordinance simply saying that the homeowner "may have a green color exterior" with nothing more is too vague to be enforceable unless there is also an ordinance that says something like "any colors not allowed in these ordinances are prohibited". Given our legal tradition, a statement like the owner is allowed a green house with nothing more said is not by itself effective because nowhere is it stated that other colors are not permitted.

 

[adjusterjack]

thank you for the information I may call the code enforcement people tomorrow, right now its too late

Your IP address is at Stone Mountain, GA so I'll use that as an example. The municipal code has two sections that might apply. Section 5-267 (h)

(5) In residential district, no trailer, recreational vehicle, travel trailer, camper, pickup coach, motorized home, boat trailer or boat shall be permitted to be parked in front of the principal structure or within twenty (20) feet of the rear lot line, unless it is parked or stored completely within an enclosed garage or roofed carport. Approved surfaces shall be in accordance the minimum parking requirements provided for each district within Appendix A, Zoning, Article V. District Regulations.

My guess is that "approved surfaces" would prohibit parking anything on grass or dirt.

(6)

Storage of machinery, implements and equipment. No person shall park or permit any other person to park any machinery, implements or equipment designed for use in agriculture, construction, or other commercial enterprise, unless the machinery, implement or equipment is parked in an enclosed garage. This requirement does not apply to single parcels zoned for commercial or industrial purposes or to single agricultural parcels greater than five (5) acres. This requirement does not apply to such machinery, implements or equipment that is being used in construction of structures or dwellings so long as such machinery, implements or equipment is removed after fifteen (15) days.

ARTICLE VI. - PROPERTY MAINTENANCE | Code of Ordinances | Stone Mountain, GA | Municode Library

There may also be something in the DeKalb County zoning regulations:

Zoning* | DeKalb County GA

I'll leave that to you.

 

[welkin]

That may be the case, though in the places I've lived that's not how ordinances are written. They are written to impose some kind of restriction. Even an ordinance that says "the homeowner may only have homes with outside colors that are on the council's approved list" is one that tells you what colors you cannot have. An ordinance simply saying that the homeowner "may have a green color exterior" with nothing more is too vague to be enforceable unless there is also an ordinance that says something like "any colors not allowed in these ordinances are prohibited". Given our legal tradition, a statement like the owner is allowed a green house with nothing more said is not by itself effective because nowhere is it stated that other colors are not permitted.

It is the art of the language in writing ordinances. But the net effect is, in some cases, to say what you can do.

For example:

The outdoor storage or parking of trailers, boats or recreational vehicles is prohibited in all districts except as follows:

1. In Residential Districts, not more than one trailer or recreational vehicle and not more than one boat can be stored or parked in the side yard or rear yard of the premises upon which the owner of the vehicle resides provided:
(a)
Storage or parking is not nearer than five feet from any lot line.

(b)
The vehicle is at all times kept properly licensed, registered and in good repair.

(c)
The vehicle is not related to any business use and is not commercially licensed.

 

[Zigner]

It is the art of the language in writing ordinances. But the net effect is, in some cases, to say what you can do.

For example:

Your examples states what you can't do.
(Yes, it's a potato potato thing, but there is a difference.)

 

[Tax Counsel]

It is the art of the language in writing ordinances. But the net effect is, in some cases, to say what you can do.

For example:

I wrote regulations for the IRS when I was an attorney there. I know how to write rules. And the example you gave is exactly the kind of rule to which I was referring. It tells you what may not do. You bolded only two words of the rule to prove your point, but what you didn't bold is the operative part of the ordinance. Here is the entire introductory clause:

In Residential Districts, not more than one trailer or recreational vehicle and not more than one boat can be stored or parked in the side yard or rear yard of the premises upon which the owner of the vehicle resides provided:...​

I've underlined the prohbitive phrases that precede the "can be" that you bolded. As you can see, it is telling you that are not permitted to have more than one trailer or RV and not permitted to have than one boat. It needs that language to have the intended effect of specifying what you may and may not do. Had it left out those phrases and just said "one boat is permitted, given the way our legal system works, it would be worthless because it doesn't clearly say what the prohibited conduct is. A person was allowed to have one boat before that rule was written, and stating that one boat is permitted doesn't change that.

Given the legal premise that our nation uses that most every thing is permitted except where some rule prohibits it, it naturally follows that the things not prohibited are permitted. Good law/regulation writers in this country have to keep that in mind to achieve the goal they want with the law or regulation.

Contrast that with legal tradition of some other countries in which everything is illegal unless a law says it is legal. There the laws are not written in terms of what is prohibited, as ours are, but states what is allowed.

The difference is highlighted in the example I gave before. In our legal tradition, a law saying I am "permitted to have a green house" with nothing more is worthless because even before that law was enacted I could have a green house. Or any other color. That law does NOT tell me that all other colors are prohibited. For a law to be enforcable in the U.S. it must be very clear and specific regarding what is prohibited. Thus, we'd need that law to say instead something like "Homes may only be green, all other colors are prohibited." The law written this way makes it very clear what is prohibited: any color but green.

In the legal tradition where everything is prohibited unless there is a law that allows it, a law saying I am "permitted to have a green house" has a very different effect because before that law my house couldn't be any color, I needed a law that tells me what colors I may use. This type of legal system would mean that the law stating I am "permitted to have a green house" with nothing more has a very different effect. Under that system it does mean that all other colors are prohibited since they were prohibited before that law was enacted.

The difference is sometime subtle and hard to discern, but it's important for anyone writing laws and rules to understand if they want it to have the intended effect.