Greetings,
I have some tenants which have water running (leaking) in the basement but they will not let me in to make repairs. What are my rights to get in and make the repairs before waiting the 30 days (or whatever it takes) to evict them?
Thanks, William
Greetings,
In this case I gave them 24 hours notice. When I came to the door they had a chain on it. I called the police which arrived and talked to the tenant but said it was a civil matter and that they could not do anything. Before saying that it was a civil matter they said that they didn't really know the laws in this situation.
Hope this helps, William
What in the world are you doing asking here? You don't even say which state you are in.
Go to the local authorities, get the information, and do it by the book.
I live in Nevada. What you are doing makes as much sense as me asking what the weather is going to be like tomorrow. From someone in Vermont!
Steve
There's no need to get a lawyer involved for a landlord to gain access to their own property to make repairs.
If he's the landlord, he has every right to have a key to the place. Forced entry shouldn't be required.
As others have said, check the rental/lease agreement and the local landlord/tenant laws. It's not unreasonable for a landlord to gain access to their property to make repairs, especially if those repairs are to protect the integrity of the building.
Illegal!
If you gave legal 24 hour notice and was denied entry than go to court. The court will issue a court order that the police will be able to enforce. If there is risk of property damage the process can usually be speeded up. Similar to a 30 day eviction only faster.
How do you know the water is leaking? They probably have a grow operation down there and the water is 'leaking' to hydrate their crop.
Send them a certified letter that the water will be turned off at a certain date "to prevent further damage" unless they allow repairs to be made. Greg
Depends on your state's laws. As far as I know most have a
24-hour advance notification requirement, which is waived if a necessary repair is endangering life or property.
As far as I know, in all states, you have the right to enter and make emergency repairs without any advance notice. It must be an emergency where the property will be damaged if immediate steps are not taken. It sounds as if you qualify. If the tenants are hostile, you may want to request a police officer to escort you. That is better than going alone and having an altercation with no officers present as witnesses.
Most standard rental contracts and leases at least allow for entry with 24 hours notice regardless of circumstances. This is an advisement that you will be entering, not a request for permission to enter.
Tenants do have some rights, which vary by location. They do NOT have the right to prevent you from making needed repairs to avoid damage to the property.
Captain Joe Redcloud
Is damage happening to your property, or the possibility of damage? What exactly do you mean by "water is leaking in the basement"?
In most states, if there is reason to enter to prevent damage, you would have the right to cut chains, or break down any barriers with or without notice. Further, you can probably sue the tenants and make them responsible for any damage caused or exacerbated by their actions. They probably don't have any money, but they'll have a very hard time ever finding another rental with your lawsuit as part of their credit report.
More details about the type of rental, the location and the reason the tenants seem to resist would help. Meanwhile, no one can give you valid legal advice for your situation in usenet, including lawyers. You probably need to retain a lawyer at this point. If the rental agreement does not include some of the things I mentioned, you badly need a lawyer anyway.
Captain Joe Redcloud
You might start by looking at your rental agreement. What does it say. Next is local laws and what it says.
Would be interesting to check electric utility bills and let the PD know if there is unusual usage since they moved in :o)
Do you have a lease? What does it say about access? Jeesh - definitely a situation for an attorney.
Why? Do you think the OP is not capable or reading?
I might have missed it, but what's your evidence that there's a water leak? High water consumption could come from a lot of causes. To get any sort of emergency relief you'll have to convince someone that you know for sure there's a leak.
The wide range of responses you've gotten here indicate that you should seek out a local landlord/tenant agency and ask them what your rights are. I suspect that much will rest on the lease terms - you do have a signed lease, don't you?
-- Bobby G.
There is a pipe joint which is spewing water.
Yesterday the tenant was in the house and I would have had to physically push past them. I called the police and they were unwilling to intervene more than talk to the tenant.
I am evicting them. They have bad credit. They don't care about worse credit.
OK... but that doesn't help my problem.
The rental is a single family home and as far as I can tell they would rather just let the water run as it is costing me money and I am evicting them.
I need a lawyer to get access to my own property to repair it?
I don't think it is a grow or meth lab. I think they don't want me to fix it out of spite because it is costing me money and I am kicking them out.
In some states, especially CA, you can't do that. Turning off utilities on rental properties can get you in legal trouble.
Pagan
In NYC, my Father owned a rental. When he had to get access to a resistant tenant's place, the police told him that the Sheriff's Dept. would help, and they did indeed escort him in, threatening the tenants with arrest if they didn't comply, or denied entry to my Father in the future.
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