Specialist · New York City, NY · Member since 2019 · 39 posts · 36 votes
Hey BP
I have a tenant that took it upon herself to changes the locks to my property. She’s been unresponsive, I’ve called, texted, mailed went up to the property and still unresponsive. She is in violation of her lease by doing this which I’ve told her before. Her lease is up in October and I will be giving her a 30day notice.
I would send her a certified letter saying you are doing an inspection and give her 24 hours notice. Then I would show up with a locksmith and change the locks. Your lease should have some language about that .
@Karl B. That’s good to know. I’ll give that a try. But when I contacted her case worker about the matter in addition to other things. The caseworker said sorry we don’t get involved in that that’s landlord tenant issues. We only get involved for non payment of rent
Apply the payment you have received to the fee for the exterminator (and the fee for hiring a locksmith to change the locks back). Then the section 8 payment will be partial, not in full, and subject to late fee. Then contact the section 8 office about the partial rent payment.
I would agree with Max. I would treat the tenant changing the locks the same way you would if she broke a window. Rent would first go to cover the cost of repairs and then reach out to your local section 8 office.
Also I would use the Section 8 Inspection to bring a new lock with you and change it on the spot. It only takes a few minutes and you would have the inspector there to bear witness in case it had to go through their office again. Kill two problems with one trip to the property.
@Nathan Hall The Kwick set locks don’t solve this issue. If anything a tenant could easily buy that little tool and change the locks with less effort and money...
@Nathan Hui I may be wrong about this and forgive me if I am, as it's been a bit since I needed to actually rekey one myself, but I'm fairly certain that there is a difference between the tenant and master keys for this solution, and I don't think master keys work across unbundled lock sets unless they are keyed to a single master first. Like I said though, it's been a while, and regardless your point stands: In this instance it does no good because we're dealing with an occupying tenant. I think I was just +1'ing someone else's buy-in on the Kwikset solution originally, and I stand by that assessment.
@Nathan Hall I think I missed the previous post that you were responding too. Also we may be taking about different technologies. Here is what I’m thinking of...https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...
I see some people here are encouraging OP to collect the rekey fee and missed appointment fee from the rent payment, but Sec 8 pays 100% of the rent - be careful with that and know your local rules. Many Sec 8 contracts will specify that Sec 8 rents cannot be applied against other fees, not tenant portion of rent (if any), not late fees, not maintenance, etc. You as landlord can lose the contract if you violate this. Not sure of the local rules in CT, but just thought I'd put the warning out there anyway.
Find out from your local Sec 8 office as well, what happens if tenant is evicted? Will she permanently lose her voucher? I find that Sec 8 tenants who don't pay their rent portion or are otherwise violating their lease often don't get evicted because landlords balk at the cost of eviction when they are still getting most/all rent paid. But what they don't realize is that filing the eviction can actually be a way to enforce compliance with the lease because it's the only way a voucher holder may lose their voucher, permanently.
Honestly, respecting your tenant's right to safety and privacy is the better course of action. You'll get more respect in the long run as a landlord, from the tenant and from what they tell others about you. If you aren't incurring any damages from them changing the locks and not passing out copies of the keys to you, then why get into a power struggle? Just let your tenant be. Would you want a bank (the true owner of your home) having a copy of your front door deadbolt to the home you mortgage? Then treat tenants as equals.
It is not a power struggle at all, or shouldn't be. When someone enters a contract with someone else they both agree to a specific set of terms. One side changing those terms on their own is the same as a landlord deciding that the cost should just go up mid lease, the tenant can no longer use the back yard or access to one bathroom is now restricted. You can't do that, it's why there is an agreement in writing.
Because the tenant is not responsible for the mechanical features in the building, the landlord retains the right of access with notice. Many commercial tenants don't give this right up, but they are usually responsible for the furnaces, windows, H2O tanks, stoves, roof repairs. It is something that has never taken off in the residential space. Usually because noone wants to "rent" and still have to pay for a leaky H2O tank or get a new roof put on.
I am the biggest advocate on this site for treating your tenants with respect, giving as much notice as possible to enter. Making sure inspections are done at least twice a year to check furnace filters, dryer traps, smoke detector batteries, check for leaky pipes and ensure issues are addressed timely. However I am not going to hand over 100% full control of a $100,000 asset (and more importantly the liability if there is a gas leak and they all die) for $1,000 a month where I am not allowed to ensure it remains compliant with local safety requirements. Even more importantly up to the standards of a piece of property I want my tenants to live in.
Honestly, respecting your tenant's right to safety and privacy is the better course of action. You'll get more respect in the long run as a landlord, from the tenant and from what they tell others about you. If you aren't incurring any damages from them changing the locks and not passing out copies of the keys to you, then why get into a power struggle? Just let your tenant be. Would you want a bank (the true owner of your home) having a copy of your front door deadbolt to the home you mortgage? Then treat tenants as equals.
Thing is, the bank isn't the true owner of a house (it's not like a car loan) - the homeowner is the one on the deed. The bank is planning to get paid and leave, while a rental is not permanent.
Landlords need to be able to get inside for a lot of reasons, including the example above with the exterminator - the building needs work, and some hard headed tenant (who can just leave when the place deteriorates) is making life difficult by violating the lease.
This is even more true with someone who's not paying their own rent, because payment is now riding on third party inspections. In this case, the inspection failed because of another lease violation (the gas being shut off).
This tenant doesn't need to be shown more respect - she needs to be shown the door.
The key sentence there is: "When someone enters a contract with someone else they both agree to a specific set of terms". The reality is that very few landlords openly disclose from the beginning that they will not allow their tenant to change the locks and hold onto all copies of the keys. Instead, they mask it as a violation under "alteration" paragraphs. If you honestly tell a tenant >>up front<< that you're going to treat them in that manner, than scarce would be a landlord finding a tenant who is going to surrender their privacy and safety in exchange for their rental.
It's possible for a landlord to get in to make repairs and do inspections by knocking on the door, making a phone call, or sending an email to set and time and date with the tenant. Having a copy of the keys is not about getting necessary access.
A homeowner might hold a deed but the bank IS the true owner. If you miss your mortgage payments, they take your house. It's not permanent until you've paid the last dollar. And it doesn't matter if a tenant is temporary either, they still have a right to privacy and safety
@Karen Jackson be sure to document with notice the lease agreement violation, specifically changing locks without written consent from landlord and failing to provide you with a copy. It’s important to document the violation prior to issuing the request to vacate. Especially if you end up in court. All the best!
As per your lease agreement signed and dated xx/xx/20xx changing locks without written permission is a violation. As such, entry locks will be changed on xx/xx/2020 between 9am and 3pm to ensure the landlord has access in case of emergency or maintenance requirements. This will be done at your expense and payment in full is required within 2 business days of receipt of this invoice. At this time we would also like to remind you that multiple lease violations is grounds for immediate eviction. To ensure this does not happen, please refer to your lease agreement and send an email to ______ if you require clarification of any terms within.
You should get a locksmith out there. Post a notice that you will be by in 24 hours to open the property and change the locks at her expense. Moreover, give her notice of eviction for cause. Check your local laws to see how to go about this.
Melinda Aka Tamar is obviously trolling her opinion out there, from her philosophical safe space, and has no idea how the real world works.. Shes certainly welcome to her opinion, but my advice is to ignore the troll.