I sent my landlady a certified letter stating that I would be vacating the rental property by the end of January (more than 30 days notice). She sent me an e-mail the next day,(Friday, at 8:30 PM)acknowledging that she'd received my letter and also told me that she'd be having a real estate agent showing the property and that she herself would be with the agent the first time....and that it would probably be sometime on Saturday or Sunday. As I did not get the e-mail until I got home from work, it would be less than 12 hours that someone would be here and even at that , there was no set time or day given. I sent the landlady an e-mail back telling her that I needed more than a half a day's notice as it was the weekend, it's also Christmas week and reminded her that I work the night shift and am usually sleeping during the day. She has had a habit in the past to tell me that she'll be here on a certain day, at a certain time and has never shown up within the time frame...usually about 4 to 5 hours later than stated. I realize she does have the right to show the rental, but what is considered a reasonable amount of notice? And do I have the right to say to her or the agent that they need to show up within the window of time they say they will be here? The last time the landlady said she was coming, she told me she would be here between 9 and 11 AM...and didn't show up until almost 3 PM.....
Submitted by Karin P on Sat, 12/18/2010 - 05:01
reasonable notice
So after all of that, the landlady never called me back. And I've not heard anything from any real estate people about listing the house for rent or showing it. But then again, she(the landlady) has a habit of doing that. At this point, I'll just let it ride out. I plan on being out sooner than the last day of the month anyway, so she can do what she wants after that. There was no security deposit, so I'll just send her the key. Have I forgotten anything?
Take pictures of the vacated
Take pictures of the vacated apartment as you leave in case she tries to claim damages later. Just because you did not give a security deposit does not mean she cannot sue you for damages later. Try to be complete and thorough with your pictures (include inside the cabinets, for example). As for your original question, 24 hours is considered adequate notice and you are entitled to a specific time frame.
Reasonable notice to show apartment
Yes, the landlord must give you reasonable notice to show the apartment. You have the right to make reasonable requests regarding when the showing will take place. However, given that you work at night, you may have to be a bit flexible. If the two parties cannot agree on a time, then either party can seek court intervention.
re: reasonable time
Hello and thank you for your insight. I am in a similar situation except we are happy in our rental and our landlords are trying to sell it. Our lease extends through August and we are looking for a new place to move to but we similarly do not want outsiders sifting through our closets and office in our absence.
We provided a few weekday nights that we can commit to being available for on a consistent basis and some weekends. They would like to show the place this weekend and we will be out of town. Is this considered reasonable? and if so are we at a point were court intervention and legal council might be necessary?
Greatly appreciated!
show apartment
I can't tell you what a court will consider reasonable. However, I think it is reasonable for the landlord to pick some times when you are home and are available to let him show the unit. If you tell the landlord not to enter your apartment on any particular day, he takes a risk if he enters. If it came to it, perhaps a court will side with the landlord and find you had reasonable notice of the showing, but perhaps not. What happens in disputes like this (if you can't work it out on your own) is that the housing court will have you sit down with the landlord and a "Housing Specialist" to work out a list of times when the unit can be shown.
I should also add here that tenants should make an effort to be helpful to the landlord in these situations, especially if they like their apartments. Landlord's should be reasonable also, but the fact is if a tenant makes a pain of himself about showing the unit, he may be making a bad impression on the person who ultimately buys the building. Even if the potential buyer is not aware of the drama, it is not uncommon for buyers to ask the current owner about the tenants in the building. Just something to think about.
Reasonable way to show the appartment
I just got in with 20 months lease.
My landlord is trying to send me out after just three weeks because wants to sell. I left her coming in to show the appartment. She wants me to sign for the release, but I told her that I'm looking but it's not in my controll.
Since then she's been harasing me everyday offering "deals", threating
but I can't go out so quickly and I tried beging to leave me alone but nothing changed.
She left me a message on saturday 2/11 saying she's gona show the apt. at 2 30pm. I responded that I need a longer notice.
She sent an e-mail saying that will be on Sunday at the same time and the name of the agent.
The agent came with two people, I opened the door and she steped in without a word. I asked who she was and she refused to identify herself acting loud and offensive still refusing.
I invited to not block the door and stay outside until I call the police. In the mean time she called the landlord and the l. me ordering me to let her to come in.
After a short debate were I ivited the agent more then once
to calm down she agreed to give me here business card.
I iveted to come in and sign a paper reporting she was comming in with date and time.
First she signed then she ripped it in front of me and took away the pieces ordering me to give her the business card.
I refused and called 911 for clarification and they sad that I can let them in with only the card.
I the mean time the agent was downstairs and I called the landlord telling her the result of my phone call with the police but she started to screem and saying that I was done
and her attorney housband "'s gona kick your ..." because
I lost for them a huge sale.
I sent an e-mail too.
A friend of mine was present.
I beg somebody for help, I'm just a poor emigrant that's trying to poorly live in peace
Always gratefull