Anonymous wrote:Op here

The landlord does not live there. It is not a boarding house. It is an actual house. The rooms are rents but all tenants must share the common areas. I kind of thought that the no overnight guests rule would encompass the issue of someone moving in as a permanent guest, but they can't even go upstairs?? Really? That seems extreme.

If she is scared of rodents, it isn't as if you leave one crumb on the ground and suddenly you have a hoarders level infestation. Get real lol

I think the landlord just came up with those rules because she is relatively inexperienced and maybe just didn't want any trouble. If you daughter is fine with it, abide by them but the question is how would the landlord know if you wash the clothes for example late, or if you have a friend that is in your room chatting away. If the landlord is able to "see" somehow, eg. hidden cameras, then i would think it is creepy. the movie" Sliver" comes to mind

If you can help it, I would still raise the objections now. Verbal acknlowedgement is somewhat still an agreement. Say you are responsible parents but you are concerned that with those rules, her privacy is being undermined for example if she and a friend is discussing a project for example and not throwing a party, why couldn't the friend chat later than 10? See what she says but if there is any hint of the landlord being strange. Get out. Many creepy people out there.

OP - my family owns several properties that I manage and this LL is crazy! We have rented and currently rent to some students and I would never think to put these types of rules into place. Bottom line is that this house has been rented and the tenants need to be given privacy to live in the house as they see fit. If there are problems with the care of the property from tenants then that is why the security deposit has been collected. As a landlord you must expect and accept some levels of wear and tear on a property. In addition, why aren't the girls paying their own utilities? The washing machine rules can only stem from a concern about the water bill. However, if the girls are paying that utility then it shouldn't be a concern for the landlord.

Basically, there are some people who simply should not rent their properties. They have a hard time removing themselves from the space and this woman sounds like she wants to control the property and the tenants, but that is most definitely not her place. The part about the guests not allowed off the 1st floor and not past 10 o'clock and no overnights is creepy and over-stepping her boundaries. Also, most jurisdictions have laws against a landlord entering a property without 24 hours notice (with the exception of emergencies). Many places also have requirements that these visits by the landlord must be presented in writing. The girls need to know that the landlord is NOT allowed to simply drop by and let herself into the property. Check the state/city laws pertaining to this rule right away.

As others have stated I'm not sure that her list of rules are enforceable unless they are in the lease, but she may very well use them to harass the girls and also to retain portions of the security deposit. You need to do some research about the laws for this area and make a decision of whether your DD will stay in the house. I personally would move on as quickly as possible and make it clear because it was because of the over-reaching rules. I would do this and I'm a landlord myself!

I'll be honest that I would never have allowed my DD to move into a property set-up like this. The idea that the landlord will be choosing your DD's roommates would most definitely not be okay in my opinion. You do not know who this person will be or where they are from. Although your DD probably had a stranger for a roommate her first year at school that is a different scenario since she would be surrounded by others in the dorm and also had the RA system to help her of there was a problem. Those safety nets are not in place here. Look for a true rental property that will be shared with your DD and a few friends. Or look for a small apartment that will be shared with 1 other friend.

For those thinking this is an opportunity to learn life lessons…I don't think you are thinking this through very thoroughly. Do you really want your children learning that life is about letting others take advantage of you, forcing their own beliefs on you and invading your space?! I seriously doubt it. I'm sure OP's DD will have plenty of other opportunities to learn about life besides this crazy lady.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Premarital sex? That really isn't her call to make.

No kidding. But why else would she make that rule?

Haha. Sounds like exactly the kind of nutjob who is so in her own world that would think that a rule about which floor of the house someone can be on would preclude college sex. Um, college kids will have sex basically anywhere!

OP, why are you so involved with your daughter's living situation? She's an adult, let her handle this.

Anonymous wrote:DH must not be a great lawyer if you lost half of the deposit to a lease termination fee when the landlord was breaking all sorts of laws.

LOL!! That's funny.

Problem is that at a certain point, it is not worth the constant fighting - especially from out of state. The woman was crazy and she was harassing the girls to no end. So...yea...his clients (the college students) made the decision that instead of fighting this woman tooth and nail for $150.00 (which was 50% of their pro rata share of the deposit), they wanted to focus their energy on their academic and athletic requirements.

I like the rules! Having said that I don't think you have a problem because the rules are not in the lease. Is there a stipulation that the landlord must give 24-hour notice before inspecting the property?

Anonymous wrote:It's one year. Your daughter will learn to do her own research (hunt down and ask former tenants).

I don't know what kind of living arrangements this is - I don't know and I've had 2 go thru college recently. It seems unique. Maybe it's a good price (?) 'cause it's unique and the landlord is a pain.

I would have objected to the no-over-night-guests. But that's just me.

What? This is terrible advice. Who hunts down former tenants, anyway?

And what's next? I would encourage DD to move. Even if the rules are not a problem for DD, I would let LL know that I do not need to follow them (following them sets a bad precedent that LL thinks she can inflict silly rules AFTER the contract has been signed) in hopes of getting out of the contract. At any rate, LL cannot add a bunch of rules after executing contract. Ridiculous.

you are an idiot, 11:46. i am sure it wasn't remotely worth that poster's husband's time in court arguing over 1/2 a security deposit.

DH must not be a great lawyer if you lost half of the deposit to a lease termination fee when the landlord was breaking all sorts of laws.

My DD had a landlord like this for her off campus house and it was an absolute nightmare and a constant fight. Landlord refused to abide by her own lease. We knew that our DD and her roomates were in the right and we constantly raised objections - but it is unecessary stress for kids trying to balance grades and, in DD's case, a sport. Eventually, we mutually agreed that the girls would move out and she could keep 50% of the deposit as a lease termination fee. Over a year later, we still get emails from her saying the girls owe her for this or that.

Examples:

1. Landlord or her college age son would drop by unannounced and come in with a key in non-emergency situations. VERY scare for 3 college age women to come downstairs and see her son in the home.

2. She would tell the girls where the furniture had to be placed and she approved every piece of furniture brought in.

3. The maid, her sister, who was only supposed to clean common areas, would enter the girls' rooms without permission and take pictures.

4. She got mad with the girls for something and cut off the cable/internet at the junction box. Problem was that the cable was in the girls' names and she violated the cable company policy by doing that.

5. She tried to evict the girls for inviting one of the girls' family for dinner, including her grandparents. She claimed it violated the "no party" clause in the lease. Besides that, she failed to follow state law in evicting the girls. It resulted in $500 fines foe that she tried to pass on to the girls.

Funny though, DH is a RE lawyer and he responded to every infraction by letter - he specifically told the girls not to engage her and to tell her they were repped by counsel. Drove her nuts!

I'd fight the landlord tooth and nail on this. And maybe find another place for the kids to live. If your daughter actually has to adhere to these rules to make her life easier, she's going to be miserable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Premarital sex? That really isn't her call to make.

No kidding. But why else would she make that rule?

Probably there are multiple bedrooms and she doesn't want to have to deal with 2 or 3 people complaining about the 4th being noisy, having a guy up there, etc.

So to clarify, OP, your DD is renting a room in a house? In other words, she is not renting the whole house with roommates of her own choosing and the rent is proportionally lower than it would be for a house?

All = ll