So I'm taking in a cat from a friend who found him as a stray. I signed a 1-year lease in July that says the pet fees are: $250 non-refundable one-time fee for a cat, and $10 a month extra on rent.

I let the rental company know today that I'm getting the cat in a few days. The office lady said that the fees have changed, and it's now $350 one-time non-refundable fee, and $20 a month.

My signed lease for this year says $250 and $10 a month. Can they just disregard our previous contract (that goes through July 2010), and change the terms on me without notice to me or consent from me?

This sounds like bullshit. If they can do that, why can't I just tell them "Hey, I changed the terms of our contract without your consent also - my rent is now $100 a month, by the way."

9/10/2009 2:01:45 PM

There's probably some bullshit in there about those items being subject to change at any time, yadda yadda yadda.

Look for that. If it's not there, you could bring that up with them. Going further than that would take a lawyer and it wouldn't be worth it for 100 bucks. Just tell them you're beating feet at the end of the lease.

9/10/2009 2:05:56 PM

there are two possibilities here, but to determine which is correct, you'll need to refer to your contract

1.) they have a clause in the contract that specifically mentions that the pet fees are subject to change without notice and you're SOL, or
2.) they have no clause, in which case you're right...your contract says $250 non-refundable one-time fee with an additional $10/month fee

in any case...why did you tell them in the first place?

9/10/2009 2:08:31 PM

I just wouldn't report the cat.

9/10/2009 2:11:52 PM

i just wouldn't get the cat

9/10/2009 2:14:19 PM

i've lived in two apartment complexes (not to mention wolf village) with a dog and i never once reported that i had one (to my benefit, she never destroyed anything or made a mess on the carpet, so there wasn't a lot of evidence)...the maintenance personnel all knew i had a dog (at the complexes, they'd specifically play with her because she's pretty playful) and they never said anything

the last place i stayed was a $350 non-refundable deposit and i refused to pay it just on principle...i can't imagine how much you'd end up paying

9/10/2009 2:23:56 PM

What is the normal way for gettingout of a lease before its over? no way out? google didn't help.

10/19/2009 9:13:28 PM

Landlord's default.

10/19/2009 9:24:08 PM

landlords have to be held to the terms of the lease just as much as you do so i agree, as long as it doesnt say they can change the terms during your lease then just pay 250 and tell them to call your lawyer if they aren't happy and youd be willing to accept a small settlement to find somewhere new to live since they are defaulting

10/19/2009 9:28:44 PM

^++

Go see student legal and have them review your lease. They can help ya determine all this clause shit.

10/19/2009 11:45:54 PM

lol...Just negotiate that shit out. You people forget that if you're a good tenant your landlord wants to keep you there pretty badly. If you leave they're pretty much guaranteed to lose one month's rent + cleanup fees and maintenance. When they mess with you over some trite stuff just remind them that you are taking good care of their place, you pay your rent on time, and it would be their loss as much as yours if you were to seek out different housing arrangements. If you're not taking care of the place or paying your rent on time then I guess you have no negotiations, but for the rest of us it's worth discussing.

It's all in Neirenberg's The Art of Negotiation.

10/19/2009 11:56:11 PM

Everybody in these threads says "go see student legal services". Agreed, but most of the folks posting at this point are alumni, not current students.

Most of the time (in general), companies cannot jack rates without something in writing to you. You have at that point the option to cancel your contract if you don't like it, or, silently accept the terms.

Read through your lease. quagmire02 and Skack have the majority of it down. Do your research, present your case, ask them to present counter-evidence (if any), and then negotiate a final solution. If it comes down to it, your call if you want to spend the time and hassle to save $100 + $10 * 8 = $180.

[Edited on October 20, 2009 at 12:03 AM. Reason : .]

10/20/2009 12:03:35 AM

Silly you, reporting you were getting a cat in the first place. I thought the whole point of cats in apartments was they're easy to conceal so you don't pay the pet fees.

10/20/2009 7:16:25 PM

i lived at sumter square for a few years, the last year every apartment around me had smokers and the smell was coming from a/c vents, the bathroom vent, AND the dryer vent (yucky hot wet ashtray, yum!) I talked to the mngmt and they put something on the dryer vent which helped for a day and then the smell came back. we had several conversations about it, and then i emailed their parent company and we settled. they were pretty nice about it.

also when we moved out our carpet was in horrid condition, jello shot stains and my dog chewed some azo tabs up and they got wet and stained the carpet. while moving out we noticed that water was coming under the wall between the bedroom and living room where the gutter ended outside. i mentioned that during our move out inspection and they didn't charge us for the carpet because they were going to have to pull it up anyways. we got our entire deposit back, which i did not expect after all my bitching about the smoke.

10/20/2009 8:08:16 PM

Check if it is actually in the lease and not an addendum to the lease. Since you are adding the pet on it may be considered an addendum/amendment to the lease and thus you would be subject to the current fee.

10/20/2009 8:34:33 PM

my lease says nothing abotu leaving early but it does say when the lease is up. whats the basic policy for leaving before the lease is up? just paying 1 extra month and a maintenence fee?

10/20/2009 11:30:42 PM

^ legally you're responsible for whatever term lease you signed for.

10/21/2009 12:42:56 AM

^^ loss of deposit is usually at least one of them, but talk to the company, tell them why, and if it is a good reason they will sometimes make exceptions

10/21/2009 1:13:10 AM

^x5
I found Sumter Square to be pretty good about the moving out process after living there a number of years too.

In this situation I'd just straight up go talk to the apartment manager and say, look, the contract I signed originally said this, but if I'm going to have to deal with what basically amounts surprise rent increases then I wont be renewing my lease.

Although where I live now is great because 2 of the apartment managers/employees used to work at the same vet clinic I did, and most of the maintenance staff I know a little too from the Zombie movie they created & had played at the Carolina Theater in Durham. I mean when your apartment managers & their spouses & kids came to your wedding reception, you can expect pretty good service & responsiveness from them. Although it is a little freaky when the maintenance people come by for something and you don't realize they are there right away, and then you see someone who you've seen as a zombie/murderer/psycho in a movie standing behind the door leading to your hot water heater. But I like the place where I live now so much, and have done so many recommendations, that it really is a 2 way street. They aren't allowed to do monetary adjustments for referrals like lowering your rent for a month or giving cash back due to either town or state rules or something, but they do other things like give you a ceiling fan or upgrade other appliance stuff. I've gotten so many people to move in they just did some work in the kitchen, and 3 or 4 rooms are slated for getting ceiling fans =p

In general it's good to let them know your apartment complex know you have pets of any kind, so they don't accidentally let them out when doing maintenance.

10/21/2009 1:53:52 AM

that's how the ashborough was, they offered a ceiling fan, doorbell, or fancy kitchen sink

10/21/2009 2:29:49 AM