Landlord problem - What do you think?

[Wolf DOT]

And for all you renters out there, it's good to know what your rights and responsibilities are.
You can find out here

http://www.nycrgb.org/html/resources/attygenguide.html

 

[albano]

Tell your landlord that if there is any damage he can keep your security,tell him a bathtub holds 210 gallons,you only have 120 lol

MAYBE, Donald Trump's bathtub holds 210g... But the average tub is probably closer to 50g

 

[masterswimmer]

A nice civil conversation with your landlord with lots of give and take questions could reveal concerns on his part that are easily dealt with. For instance, Dannyboy mentioned RO water. Excellent point. You might find that offering the landlord an extra $10/month to cover the increased water use will satisfy him. With all due respect, the additional cost of your excessive water use should not be his responsibility in the first place. For $10 this whole headache could possibly go away.

If you find that he is concerned about load bearing walls and structural issues, then the structural engineer might put that concern to rest.

I've never rented an apartment so I don't know 100% of the arrangements made between parties, but I do know that some rental agreements include utilities. If your rent includes electric, you can bet the ranch he saw a major spike in his electric bill when your tank went up. Again, offering him your fair share of the electric bill might satisfy his concern.

All in all it could be a combination of all these things, or even more, but talking to him civilly will certainly get you closer to mutual respect and a possible resolution.

Best of luck,
Russ

 

[masterswimmer]

Oh, and Albano was spot on with his contention that a bathtub isn't holding 210g of bathwater. I would actually challenge the 50g of water because of displacement of your body in the tub. I wouldn't be surprised if you had 30-35 total gallons, but nowhere near 210g range.....unless it was a 6 person hot tub.

Russ

 

[BaaMNYC]

He just being a wise guy 120g is nothing to be worried about small family weight more then that
Tell him straight out if the fish a such big problem u will move but he need to pay for your move and wait til you find a fish friendly place until then you staying here rent free you can't move my the in the winter so he just have to wait and you have a year to move , I'm sure that will turn him into a fish tank lover quick ,It's worth a shot

Wow, I wish bad tenants on you if you ever become a land owner. A land owner put good money to own a property. And want to keep the property in good condition. As a tenant and a decent person, he should be reasonable and understand that his concern has merit and working together is the way to go.

Making an uncompromising stand should be a last resort. hopefully his landlord is reasonable as well.

 

[h2o]

Sometimes a good bluff can go a long way nobody wants to go to court over a couple of fish next time you know its a 65g as far as he needs to know. good luck keep the updates coming if the bluff dont work you can always fix that with some $ give him another deposit I'm sure he jump on that

 

[h2o]

Wow, I wish bad tenants on you if you ever become a land owner. A land owner put good money to own a property. And want to keep the property in good condition. As a tenant and a decent person, he should be reasonable and understand that his concern has merit and working together is the way to go.

Making an uncompromising stand should be a last resort. hopefully his landlord is reasonable as well.

Thanks yeah that's what's gonna happen you get rid of a good guy with fish and your next tenant might burn your house down you never know and don't point fingers at me most landlords pray at night for a tenant like me you can take that to the bank

 

[tosiek]

Sometimes a good bluff can go a long way nobody wants to go to court over a couple of fish next time you know its a 65g as far as he needs to know. good luck keep the updates coming if the bluff dont work you can always fix that with some $ give him another deposit I'm sure he jump on that

I don't know where you live but around me the landlords don't really care about extra cash for the stupidity they have to deal with with tenants like you. They want stable tenants, people that don't cause trouble. They want to spend as little time as needed in the building taking care of the normal issues associated with it. Stuff like snow removal, the occasional faucet or toilet issue, maybe the heat doesn't go on for some reason and needs to be checked out. They have better things to do than deal with whatever issues your planning on creating.

There might be a bump in the road with the water issue. As far as water usage goes, most landlords in buildings 4+ families have switched from pay by usage to a monthly fee for their water bill and if they haven't I would consider it as an option. Comes out cheaper per year for their water bills than paying for monthly usage unless you have tenants that are never home. For the avg tenant with a family using utilities it is a no brainer. I'm saving about 1300$ on my 6 family with a storefront for water a year.

Yes, you should talk with your landlord to see what his issues are. Most landlords are easier to work with than people think. Once you know those issues its going to be easier to fix whatever problems you and him have with the issue.

 

[BaaMNYC]

Thanks yeah that's what's gonna happen you get rid of a good guy with fish and your next tenant might burn your house down you never know and don't point fingers at me most landlords pray at night for a tenant like me you can take that to the bank

My friend had an electrical fire in his house from his fish tank leaking onto his power strip and outlet. Anything can happen.

I'm going by what you said. Rent free for months until you get evicted demanding they pay for your moving expenses. I would never in good conscience do that. A homeowner may still have a mortgage and depend on that rent to survive. To screw em Over(or bluff) because of a disagreement over something he has reason to be concerned about. It seems very wrong in my opinion

I wouldn't "pray for a tenant" that has that mindset. Just my opinion. Nothing against you personally but I do not agree with what you said earlier at all.

 

[tosiek]

Thanks yeah that's what's gonna happen you get rid of a good guy with fish and your next tenant might burn your house down you never know and don't point fingers at me most landlords pray at night for a tenant like me you can take that to the bank

Its not about getting rid of a good fish guy. Your putting 120g of salt water in an apartment that he doesn't own. Extreme circumstances, lets just say the tank breaks (god forbid) and leaks through into the basement or the floor below. The saltwater, known for its ability to conduct electricity well can cause a short in the electrical wiring the landlord has running in the floor below the tank and poof, the house goes on fire. Now, any damages or deaths (god forbid) associated with that fire are the sole responsibility of the landlord as well as partially the tenant. Yes, both parties are liable but the landlord holds the blunt of the blame thanks to your tenant favored law making. Now to you its just another good fish guy, but accidents do happen, and its the landlords responsibility to keep all of the tenants safe in his building.

There is a bigger picture to your "screw the landlord" mentality.

 

[reefslife]

I always care about our relationship, live it like I own it. However, he text me just saying " I ask you to move it" makes me kinda pissed off. I'm saving up to buy a home within the next few years, that's why I get a 2 years lease in the beginning, well... almost half of the lease is gone now, I can be like an ass to him now but I prefer not to, hope he listens to me and leave the tank here. You know how crazy to downsize or move the tank. I am sure not the RO issue as I dont really use it that much, I go by 1 tap - 1 RO at water change to save him water for my hobby.

 

[bizzarro]

Check your lease agreement and if it says "No Pets" then you have no complaint against him.

I hope you have a copy since you're not entirely sure on those terms.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

If I was in your situation I'd be counting my blessings that he let you keep a dog when the lease said no pets. If you stir the pot enough or anger him he can always decide to actually enforce the lease conditions and you'll either be rehoming the dog or moving. He has every right in the world to say no fish tank and while you're at it no dog anymore. Kind of falls under the don't mistake my kindness for weakness clause.

Save to get your own house and then you can have whatever size tank you want/can afford without worries. I just don't think a tank that you can replace anytime is worth screwing with your living arrangements over.

Good luck and I hope you can get this all resolved to where everyone is happy.

 

[h2o]

Like I said 120 is not doing any damage to anyone's property if it is then u a pig treat people the way u want them to treat u. Landlord have your security deposit the tank is good shape he has nothing to be worried about .Tank flooding is still better then a fire or some other careless accident . Odds are every landlord will find a tenant or two that won't pay rent for months in their lifetime how many of them get flooded by a fishtank like one in a bilion. So fish guy is still better Things happen that's why we have insurance and only dumb people blame pets for accidents they had nothing to do with . My point is its the tenants not the pets and you have no reason to hate on innocent pet if u don't get it then u belong in the zoo with other animals

 

[JimmyR1rider]

Like I said 120 is not doing any damage to anyone's property if it is then u a pig treat people the way u want them to treat u. Landlord have your security deposit the tank is good shape he has nothing to be worried about .Tank flooding is still better then a fire or some other careless accident . Odds are every landlord will find a tenant or two that won't pay rent for months in their lifetime how many of them get flooded by a fishtank like one in a bilion. So fish guy is still better Things happen that's why we have insurance and only dumb people blame pets for accidents they had nothing to do with . My point is its the tenants not the pets and you have no reason to hate on innocent pet if u don't get it then u belong in the zoo with other animals

LMFAO. I'd say no I KNOW that it happens at an insanely larger frequency than 1 in a billion. Between that and your 210 gallon bathtub your posts surely are amusing.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/140324-tank-sprung-leak.html

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...t-tank-leaking-best-place-li-get-new-one.html

So there's 2 tanks in a week and if they rent there are 2 billion other renters that own tanks renting that it hasn't happened to? Lol. Not to mention the amount of ATO flood threads due to a snail and the multiple overflow boxes flooding threads and that's just on here not to mention reefers that aren't on any forums that have had floods.

I don't understand what your big hang up is, the property owner has the right in a no pets allowed lease to not let you keep anything other than humans in his apartment/house. It is what it is. I would hope if I had a tenant that I let keep a pet against my original agreement when he signed the lease would show me the respect of following my rules when renting my property.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Just offer an additional month of security and show him you have very high renter's insurance liabilities.

 

[beerfish]

Just approach him and explain that your tank really means a lot to you, then ask him what you can do to make him comfortable with it. Maybe he wants to make sure that the floor will hold it and you can get an engineer to inspect it, maybe he wants a few extra dollars in security, or maybe he's just looking for an excuse to get you to leave.

You won't know until you ask, and 6 pages of bad suggestions and conjecture can easily be eliminated by a 5 minute conversation.

 

[Awibrandy]

I would recommend that you follow some of the GREAT advice given to you here by members here, and forget the advice given by a couple of people. I definitely would not go about arguing with the Land Lord....... That is a setup for total failure for all future relations with him.
We hobbyist run risks with from floods to fire. What ever his fear, or concerns are he is rightfully entitled to them. You need to do as others have already advised: sit down with him discuss what his concerns are, and how can you show him that there is no need for concern. Such as having someone he (landlord) trust to come look at the structure beneath the area the tank is sitting to prove to him that there is nothing to worry about, or to show you that there is an issue.
Also, if it is the extra water, or electricity being used by the addition of the tank you need to come to an agreement as to what is a fair amount of extra cash per month that works for you both.
If his fear is that of floods, then you have to figure out a way of containing any water from hitting the floor, and going down to the floor below (be it basement or not). This one is not so easy as it would entail you emptying the tank, constructing some sort of catch basin to sit the tank in. Trust me my tanks have had many flood through out the years for one reason or another. I'm grateful that in every event I have been in my own house, and not renting.
One tank (brand new) sprung a leak in the middle of the nigh at the bottom seam, besides flooding my dining room floor it leaked down in to the basement as well.
Another leak was caused by a hose coming loose while I was at work. Another one was from the hose to the ATO coming out of the sump. Another from the hang on skimmer leaking. These have happened at different times through out the 40+ years that I have had aquariums fresh as well as salt.
Anything can happen...

 

[NewfiDog]

A 120 gallon tank can do alot of damage just from weight, forget about leaking. Your only 2 options are get rid of it or talk to him about an engineer like most people mentioned. Floor systems are not designed for this amount of weight.

The largest bath tub i ever installed was 140 gallon and it was like a swimming pool, we had to do major reinforcing of the floor system and this is spread over a much larger area than a tank. Like russ said the average tub holds about 30 gallons with no one in it. A heavy cast iron tub weighs 350-450 pounds and will have about 25-35 gallons of water, much lighter than your tank.

 

[lanacane214]

I said tell the landlord the bathtub was 210g,just to shut him up and hope he doesnt look up how much a bathtub actually is lol jua jua jua!!!!