Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Tabi (WV) on July 3, 2012 @21:42

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I will definitely consult with an attorney before I make any decisions.

The accommodations they have requested do not put any particular burden on me. However, I am incensed at how it has all gone down. I feel they waited til they could run down the clock on signing the new lease and force me into giving them what they wanted. They seem self-entitled and have been manipulative in the way they have handled the situation. I'm terrified at this point that I will be stuck with them, when all I want is some quiet, even if if means not having a tenant in that unit.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Bryan (Ia) on July 3, 2012 @23:21	[ Reply ]

Present the fact the presence of the extra person was concealed from you so it obvious that the T knew it was lease violation. Therefore the request to add the extra person is an attempt at negotiating the terms of the new lease, not a request for an accommodation. The T will have to show how adding the person to lease and allowing them to live there will improve the quality of life of the disabled T that is currently on the lease for it meet the standards of a reasonable accommodation. You are allowed to ask for such proof. The same holds with adjustment of the due date. Read this NOLO page for some general guidance: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/disabled-renters-housing-rights-30121.html

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Sara on July 3, 2012 @23:51	[ Reply ]

The adjustment of the rent due date is nessasary to coincide with the tenants SSI check. An easy accommodation for the landlord to do. Adding another disabled person to the lease would not be a hardship for the landlord either, if the rental is large enough to have three people. The landlord would be the one to prove the accommodation was a hardship. He has aready rented to two disabled tenants and has acknowledge that the additional tenant is also disabled. The tenant does not have to prove that the additional tenant is not a hardship for the landlord, but the landlord has to prove it is. The landlord has no defense to not adding the disabled sister, but should either workout an agreement to add sister with an increase in rent to offset utilities or give the tenants a 30 day notice that the lease will not be renewed. Refuseing to rent to additional disabled sister because she is disabled will attract alot of attention from unexpected places.

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Anonymous on July 4, 2012 @00:53	[ Reply ]

An increase in utilities is a hardship.

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Bryan (Ia) on July 4, 2012 @01:25	[ Reply ]

Read the law. The T has the responsibility to show that a requested accommodation is necessary to improve the quality of life of the disabled tenant. You are making the assumption that the rent due date issue is due the arrival of the check, nothing was stated in the OP about this. I never said that the T has to prove that any accommodation is not a hardship on the LL, only that the requested accommodation would improve the quality of life of the disabled T. I doubt that an additional, disabled, T would improve the quality of life.

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Tabi (WV) on July 4, 2012 @04:13	[ Reply ]

I have been thinking for months (as they have been becoming more difficult to live under), of ending their rental agreement and reclaiming that floor of the house to use as a work space and for guests. My hesitation to honor their requests has nothing to do with the fact that they are disabled or what their source of income is. It is due to the fact that I have been experiencing increasing anxiety at the prospect of signing this lease and locking them in here for another year. After learning about the sister, all of this has been heightened for me. The reasons I do not want to rent to the sister and would prefer to end the rental agreement are: (1) Increased utilities and wear and tear on the apartment. (2) Increased noise, which my 3rd floor tenant has told me coincided with the time they told me she arrived. Unfortunately, my "good" tenant told me only recently about this. (3) The appearance of marijuana smoke coming from their apartment, also coinciding with the arrival of the sister. (4) Rental agreement violations, as per reason number 3 above and the unauthorized presence of the sister for 7 months. Just because these people happen to be disabled, does it automatically become all about disability? Do I not have any control about what happens in my own house? What if I want the space back? Am I not allowed to terminate an otherwise endable agreement just because they are disabled?

Re: Unauthorized roommate, lease signing, SSI by Bryan (Ia) on July 4, 2012 @10:59	[ Reply ]

"Just because these people happen to be disabled, does it automatically become all about disability?" NO "Do I not have any control about what happens in my own house?" Within the parameters of the LL/T law "What if I want the space back?" I find nothing other than notice requirements that would prevent that in your LL/T law "Am I not allowed to terminate an otherwise endable agreement just because they are disabled?" Yes, you may terminate as long as the reason for termination has nothing to do with the disability.