frozengopher
New Member
I rent the end unit of a brand new but small storage unit complex. This is an unsecured (no surrounding fence) 16-unit facility just off a major street in my community. Prior to the situation evolving that I will explain I had been late on my rent once but was "current" on my rent when this situation began:
I was contacted by the landlord (lady) and was told that I had to clean-up the ''east end'' of the units or I would be kicked-out. She referenced some beer cans, cardboard boxes, a broken microwave stand and some scrap lumber that had accumulated on that end (''my'' end). I told her that I "do my part'' when I'm there and often pick-up several aluminum cans and other debris that seemingly blows in the wind down to ''my end'' of the units but that the other refuse that had accumulated on the side of the building was not mine and that I didn't feel I should be held responsible for it. I also informed her that I had on one occasion essentially ''scared-away'' a carload of younger people that were parked on the slab in front of my unit and that I believed the building had become a common place for ''kids'' to pull-off the road and drink a few beers on summer nights as that end of the units is also partially protected (hidden) by a small stand of trees. Yet I did still offer to ''grab what I could'' the next time I was there but, again, the trash that was evidentally left there purposely was not my doing and I didn't feel I should be singled-out for the problem. Shortly thereafter she sent me another lease agreement with a very poorly written end note or ''addendum'' stating that I had to ''clean-up the east end of the units'' and sign/return it or face being evicted. The original lease agreement or this new one did not mention any ongoing responsibility regarding tidiness around the units but I felt that by signing it I would obviously be obligated to oversee the grounds essentially and clean them to her whim (at least on ''my end''). By phone I explained to her my position and reiterated that I was aware there was an issue (albeit small one) and that I would continue to do my part but would not sign a revised lease. I then sent her two-months rent payment (Nov. & Dec.) and a letter outlining my position as well in hopes that she would ''back-off'' and that I wouldn't have to deal with her pestering during the holidays. I did not hear from her throughout November and I had normal access to my unit and observed that the perceived garbage problem had diminished, partly because of my removing of the lumber and some other things as a courtesy basically.
(Note: I myself have owned/managed a small block of storage units in another community and have rented units from time to time in my current community for 15+ years from two or three different companies. More importantly, I CURRENTLY rent storage/warehouse space from four other entities and am very knowledgable of the local market . . . and I can say that the tidiness issues at the subject property are minor in comparison to what I see elsewhere in town.)
December rolls-around and one Sunday in the middle of the month I make arrangements to meet a gentleman at the storage unit to sell him a fairly expensive pool table stored within. The guy drove over an hour to see it. There's a second lock on my unit when we get there (I'm locked-out). I'm fuming and call the landlord. She doesn't answer but I leave a polite message. The guy goes home empty-handed (I think we should've just cut the lock off in hindsight... at least I'd have my $2K for the pool table). The landlords occasional billing statements are lacking basic information, usually misdated, and non-professional to say the least . . . she clearly doesn't know how to run Quickbooks and I think her bookkeeping is likely error-ridden so I don't know at the time if she thinks my December rent is past due (it was paid in late October) or if she's just decided to lock me out because I wouldn't sign her revised lease or both. After finally being able to reach her two days later, I find-out the so-called reason was both and I get a ''tough luck'' story essentially. The original lease agreement says, by the way, that written notice would accompany putting locks on units if they were behind on rent. She did not provide that notice. At the end of December I sent her another letter (no, not certified mail) that I would be pursuing a legal remedy and would not be paying any rent until the lock came off and that I wanted a month's rent credited for her error at the minimum. I have not paid Jan. or Feb. rent and she has not removed the lock from my unit. She has begun the eviction process towards me including two legal notices in the local paper.
I should've initiated a claim of some kind back in Dec. but was just too busy with the holidays and work, etc. I haven't been in small claims court in a long time.... what should I do? What are my rights? What do I ask for? Was I somehow obligated to sign a lease revision?
I was contacted by the landlord (lady) and was told that I had to clean-up the ''east end'' of the units or I would be kicked-out. She referenced some beer cans, cardboard boxes, a broken microwave stand and some scrap lumber that had accumulated on that end (''my'' end). I told her that I "do my part'' when I'm there and often pick-up several aluminum cans and other debris that seemingly blows in the wind down to ''my end'' of the units but that the other refuse that had accumulated on the side of the building was not mine and that I didn't feel I should be held responsible for it. I also informed her that I had on one occasion essentially ''scared-away'' a carload of younger people that were parked on the slab in front of my unit and that I believed the building had become a common place for ''kids'' to pull-off the road and drink a few beers on summer nights as that end of the units is also partially protected (hidden) by a small stand of trees. Yet I did still offer to ''grab what I could'' the next time I was there but, again, the trash that was evidentally left there purposely was not my doing and I didn't feel I should be singled-out for the problem. Shortly thereafter she sent me another lease agreement with a very poorly written end note or ''addendum'' stating that I had to ''clean-up the east end of the units'' and sign/return it or face being evicted. The original lease agreement or this new one did not mention any ongoing responsibility regarding tidiness around the units but I felt that by signing it I would obviously be obligated to oversee the grounds essentially and clean them to her whim (at least on ''my end''). By phone I explained to her my position and reiterated that I was aware there was an issue (albeit small one) and that I would continue to do my part but would not sign a revised lease. I then sent her two-months rent payment (Nov. & Dec.) and a letter outlining my position as well in hopes that she would ''back-off'' and that I wouldn't have to deal with her pestering during the holidays. I did not hear from her throughout November and I had normal access to my unit and observed that the perceived garbage problem had diminished, partly because of my removing of the lumber and some other things as a courtesy basically.
(Note: I myself have owned/managed a small block of storage units in another community and have rented units from time to time in my current community for 15+ years from two or three different companies. More importantly, I CURRENTLY rent storage/warehouse space from four other entities and am very knowledgable of the local market . . . and I can say that the tidiness issues at the subject property are minor in comparison to what I see elsewhere in town.)
December rolls-around and one Sunday in the middle of the month I make arrangements to meet a gentleman at the storage unit to sell him a fairly expensive pool table stored within. The guy drove over an hour to see it. There's a second lock on my unit when we get there (I'm locked-out). I'm fuming and call the landlord. She doesn't answer but I leave a polite message. The guy goes home empty-handed (I think we should've just cut the lock off in hindsight... at least I'd have my $2K for the pool table). The landlords occasional billing statements are lacking basic information, usually misdated, and non-professional to say the least . . . she clearly doesn't know how to run Quickbooks and I think her bookkeeping is likely error-ridden so I don't know at the time if she thinks my December rent is past due (it was paid in late October) or if she's just decided to lock me out because I wouldn't sign her revised lease or both. After finally being able to reach her two days later, I find-out the so-called reason was both and I get a ''tough luck'' story essentially. The original lease agreement says, by the way, that written notice would accompany putting locks on units if they were behind on rent. She did not provide that notice. At the end of December I sent her another letter (no, not certified mail) that I would be pursuing a legal remedy and would not be paying any rent until the lock came off and that I wanted a month's rent credited for her error at the minimum. I have not paid Jan. or Feb. rent and she has not removed the lock from my unit. She has begun the eviction process towards me including two legal notices in the local paper.
I should've initiated a claim of some kind back in Dec. but was just too busy with the holidays and work, etc. I haven't been in small claims court in a long time.... what should I do? What are my rights? What do I ask for? Was I somehow obligated to sign a lease revision?