Apartment Woes....

Seems like all i do is bitch and complain on here. Haha. Anyways, my fiancee calls me up really pissed. Apparently her apartment complex in Lubbock is cleaning out all the empty apartments. Her roommates had graduated and moved out so she is the only one in a 4 bed flat. Whoever had cleaned the empty rooms had apparently left the door unlocked and left wide open when she got back. She normally doesn't leave stuff laying out but she had left her purse just sitting out on the kitchen table. She would have put everything away and locked up her bedroom door, but the apartment complex had failed to notify her that they were going to be in the apartment to begin with. Nothing was stolen, but Lubbock has a high crime rate and things have been stolen at my apartment complex in broad daylight. What if someone was in the apartment when she had gotten back? Of course she called her office to complain, but as usual they blew her off. The lady said that the cleaners leave the doors open until they are finished with a particular building. (WTF?!?!) This isn't no f'in hotel, people actually live there. If I was still in Lubbock I would personally go down to the office myself and raise hell. This isn't the first time she has had a security problem with them, and since nothing was actually stolen there is very little that we can do legally. I'm not a veteran with dealing with apartment managers. I would tell her to move somewhere else but she is still locked in her lease. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

PS: If you move to Lubbock, don't live at University Pointe.

 

Don't know about Texas, but in Florida they by law have to give you at least a 24 hour notice they'll be entering your apartment. Exceptions being emergencies like fire, flood, etc.

If the laws are the same there maybe she could move out, if they give her lip about breaking the lease she could tell the courts they did too.

My father owns a bunch of apartment buildings and a few condos up north, you wouldn't believe how the courts like to side with the tenants!

 

I'll look into that...Thanks a bunch.

 

I think it's the same in Texas?

 

lie and say a bunch o shit was stolen-they already acknowledged the open doorswhat doofuses! I'd teach em a lesson on respect-they have one coming(

 

I've been doing some research on Tenant Right's in Texas. Here is some of the things that I dug up.

Now, while the law gives exclusive possessory rights to a tenant (except for exceptions in the lease), many landlords do not recognize this right. Landlords also put many exceptions in the lease agreement that swallow the rule. (See the reasons in the TAA lease below.) Even if the landlord has a good reason to enter, the landlord should give a tenant advanced notice where possible. Thirty-eight states have statutes to protect tenants from improper invasions of privacy -- but Texas is not one of them.

However, Her lease states that they can enter the apartment to do repairs, etc..but they must provide prior tenant notification. Which they never did.

B. Does my landlord have to provide security?

The only security required by law is locks on doors and windows, lights in common areas, and fences and latches at pools. Generally, every exterior door must have both a keyed and keyless bolting device as well as a door view, and all windows and sliding glass doors must have a latch, pin lock, or security bar. The law requires these devices to be installed at the landlord’s expense. The landlord is responsible for repairs or replacement of these devices during the term of the lease. The tenant must notify the landlord of the need for repair or replacement, and the landlord has a reasonable time to comply, which is usually considered to be one week. If the landlord does not provide the required amount of security, the tenant may: (1) install the security device and deduct the costs from the next month’s rent; (2) terminate the lease if the landlord does not comply within three days (the time is extended to seven days if the lease has a provision stating the tenant’s security device rights) after being given a written request by the tenant; or (3) file suit against the landlord and try to obtain a judgment for a court order directing the landlord to install a security device, and recover actual damages, court costs, and possibly attorney’s fees.

There are two instances in which a landlord must provide security measures in addition to those listed above. First, a landlord is responsible if he acts negligently. Negligence generally means not acting as a reasonable person would. For example, if your landlord is aware that there have been shady characters loitering around the complex and fails to provide additional security measures or report it to the police, he may be acting negligently and, as a result, be liable for civil damages. Second, the landlord may have incurred an obligation to provide security under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act if he or she made any false statements about the state of the complex’s security. This law would allow you to recover damages if you were injured as a result of the landlord’s failure to provide the promised security.

The word negligence sums it up quite nicely.

 

i agree with uncle frank on this one..............they cant deny anything with what they already acknowledged!! sometimes.....ya gotta be this way!!