Landlord harassment
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Landlord harassment is the willing creation, by a
landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...
or their agents, of conditions that are uncomfortable for one or more tenants in order to induce willing abandonment of a rental contract. This is illegal in many jurisdictions, either under general harassment laws or specific protections, as well as under the terms of rental contracts or tenancy agreements. This kind of activity can be more common in regions where
rent control Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: * Price con ...
laws apply to tenancies, with rent-controlled prices not extending to the subsequent tenancy, thus allowing landlords to set higher prices when the current tenant leaves. Harassment of tenants may include practices such as withholding maintenance, assault, verbal harassment, or written harassment. One example is sexual harassment, also known as "sex for rent". This practice involves landlords letting properties, rooms, or other accommodations to people in return for sexual favours. This issue has been raised by both UK media and MPs, with the then
Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice, also referred to as the justice secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the Un ...
,
David Lidington Sir David Roy Lidington (born 30 June 1956) is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aylesbury from 1992 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister fo ...
, suggesting that such arrangements are in breach of the
Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeur ...
, stating "... an offense is committed when a person offers accommodation in return for sex, as they are inciting/causing another person to have sex with them in return for 'payment'".


Types

Methods employed in cases of landlord harassment include but are not limited to the following: * Withholding maintenance on the
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
, such as
garbage collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclabl ...
,
landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...
, or repair of broken fixtures * Verbal and written complaints imagined or exaggerated, of tenant's supposed improper conduct (see
eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...
) * Deliberate defacing of the rented facilities or the property of the tenant * Creating a
nuisance Nuisance (from archaic ''nocence'', through Fr. ''noisance'', ''nuisance'', from Lat. ''nocere'', "to hurt") is a common law tort. It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public (also "common") ...
for the tenant (for example, by generating loud noise) *
Intimidation Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...
and
threat A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for co ...
s of physical or financial injury directed at the tenant *
Physical assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
or other direct
criminal activity In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
directed against the tenant * Attempt to enter apartment or housing without cause, or without emergency need to check on-premises or on tenant activity * Claiming emergency when no emergency exists to enter the apartment, housing, dwelling etc., without proper notice. * Not letting tenant peace on property via repeated attempts to enter a dwelling. * Harassment about rent not paid, or not paid in full. * Disconnecting water supply or electricity, without proper notice *Sexual harassment including "sex for rent" *Harassment with the intention to evict a tenant "Retaliatory eviction"


Protections

At
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
tenants were entitled to the "quiet enjoyment" of leased premises. American common law has also adopted the "warranty of habitability" which ensures that residential premises remain in repair. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, the Human Rights Act may provide a basis to establish what is fair and reasonable between tenant and landlord. The
right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
to
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
and family life, and the right to enjoy one's possessions, are enshrined in this law. The right to an effective remedy and the right to express oneself freely should give the tenant the confidence to seek timely and reasonable resolution should they be suffering or under
duress Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
. Although
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
legislation is generally only enforceable against
public bodies A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in so ...
, it provides a framework of reasonability. Depending on the specific circumstances, United Kingdom legislation such as the Public Order Act 1986 and the
Fraud Act 2006 The Fraud Act 2006 (c 35) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which affects England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It was given royal assent on 8 November 2006, and came into effect on 15 January 2007. Purpose The Act gives a sta ...
may provide specific remedies. Both common law and public order legislation make it an offence for persons to behave wrongfully in a dwelling e.g.
breach of the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...
. Fraud legislation makes it an offence for a person to make a wrongful or forced gain (monetary or other) personally or for the body they represent. Many local jurisdictions have very specific landlord-tenant legislation that sets out the duties of the landlord, a breach of which may be considered "harassment". For example, in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, Civil Code Section 1954, limits the landlord's right of entry, in
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, there is an extensive "Owner-Resident Relations Act" and in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, a Certification Of No Harassment (COHN) is required to make any occupancy alterations.


Reasonable entry by the landlord

The conduct of business inside or at a dwelling must depend upon the reasonableness and willingness of the parties. If a landlord desires to inspect the dwelling at reasonable intervals and at reasonable times, it is advisable to have this in a proper contract. In any case, the purpose of the inspection must be clear, and the conduct of the inspection must be properly regulated. The purpose of any inspection is to ensure the integrity and good maintenance of the property, and the adherence to the agreement that exists between landlord and tenant. Entry into a dwelling does not give the landlord the right to gather information on, or to investigate, or interfere with, the privacy of the tenant. Any installation of surveillance equipment, such as video cameras, must be reported to the residents and/or landlords; this surveillance is only permitted in common areas, meaning video cameras are not permitted in rooms with added expectations of privacy such as bedrooms and bathrooms. Short term occupancy, such as residing in an AirBNB, is also protected from voyeurism/surveillance under the same expectations: hosts/landlords must warn guests/renters of video cameras and these devices are limited to common areas. If the tenant is not comfortable dealing with the landlord or agent, then the tenant may wish to appoint a representative or friend. In either case, a simple and sensible record should be made. Commercial landlords can not harass their tenant by interfering with the entryway of a commercial building in any manner including creating real or metaphorical barriers. An example of a real barrier would be boarding up the store while an example of a metaphorical barrier would be failing to remove snow from the sidewalks. The time taken to carry out the task should be reasonable. The tenant may not wish to conduct business inside a dwelling, and can reasonably ask the landlord to meet or transact business at an alternate place or address. For example, the landlord (or agent) may attend to the premises to carry out an inspection which will normally take only a matter of minutes. The parties may then agree to exchange a simple written
statement of facts Statement of Facts (SoF) is a report listing all events during a ship's stay in port in chronological order and is used for the calculation of the lay time. The Statement of Facts has usually a standardised form. It is written by the port agent o ...
, and then meet at a neutral place to discuss the matter or remedy.


Frequency of landlord visits

Unless carrying out repairs, replacements and other work, the landlord is to limit the timing and frequency of entries to the minimum possible


Landlord entering the unit

Once an individual has rented an apartment, they have legal possession of it for the duration of their tenancy. The landlord must give the tenant reasonable notice before he can enter the tenant's private home. Originally, in an agricultural society, the law expected the landlord to rent the property to a tenant and then leave the tenant alone. It gave the landlord no right of access, but also no responsibility for repairs. The modern
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
tenancy, especially in a multi-unit
building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fu ...
with many building-wide systems, has forced that law to change. The landlord now has an
obligation An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether legal or moral. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. Obligation exists when the ...
to make repairs and gets a right of access for that purpose. But that does not supersede the tenant's rights to privacy and to "quiet enjoyment" of the premises. One of the most common landlord-tenant disputes involves access for making repairs. Various countries have regulations that make reference to codes or hazards. These codes and hazards vary depending on the jurisdiction of the state or country. For a landlord to discharge their legal duty to check and maintain the rental property the tenant is required to allow the landlord "reasonable access" at reasonable times to carry out the repairs. What is "reasonable", however, is the subject of frequent disputes. A tenant may insist on giving the landlord access only by appointment, but they must be reasonable about scheduling appointments. To give an extreme example, since the landlord usually must schedule tradespeople during the normal working day, it is not reasonable for the tenant to insist that the
plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.
can only come in on Sunday evening. Plumbers, carpenters, painters, and other tradesmen sometimes operate on unpredictable or busy schedules, so if they fail to keep appointments, tenants are encouraged to document the missed appointment in writing to the landlord, in a letter or e-mail, and keep a copy. Because some landlords may use lack of access as an excuse, tenants are also encouraged to keep scheduled appointments and maintain a well-written record of their efforts to allow the landlord access to their property to make the desired repairs. Many leases give the landlord certain entry rights. For example, under
Massachusetts General Laws The Massachusetts General Laws is a codification of many of the statutes of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth's laws are promulgated by an elected bicameral ("two-chamber") legislative body, the Massachusetts General Court. ...
, ch.186, §15B, a rental agreement may only provide for the following rights to access: * to inspect the premises; * to make repairs; * to show the premises to a prospective tenant, purchaser,
mortgagee A mortgage is a legal instrument of the common law which is used to create a security interest in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a mortgage loan. ''Hypothec'' is the corresponding term in civil law jurisdicti ...
, or its agent. The right of the landlord to enter if the tenant appears to have abandoned the premises sometimes causes a problem when tenants are moving out. The tenant may have moved out most of their furniture and intend to return to pick up the last few things and clean up the apartment before turning in the keys. If the landlord believes the tenant has
vacated A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...
the premises, however, he or she may come in ahead of the tenant, remove the remaining property, and attempt to charge the tenant for the "mess" they left. To avoid this situation, tenants are encouraged to be clear with landlords about plans to vacate and to do so in writing. In one documented case a tenant came back from his
vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...
and found someone else living in his apartment, with his furniture stored in the cellar. He wasn't behind on his
rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
, but he had been away for a while, and the landlord concluded that he had abandoned the apartment. To preclude any perception of abandonment, a tenant who is going out of town may benefit from informing his or her landlord of the trip, preferably in writing. If the tenant is away for an extended time, does not pay the rent, and does not respond to inquiries from the landlord, a
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...
may find the landlord justified in concluding that the tenant has abandoned the property.


Retaliation

Retaliation has been a problem and some governments have introduced specific legislation to tackle this. In England & Wales Retaliatory eviction legislation has been introduced under the
Deregulation Act 2015 The Deregulation Act 2015 (c. 20) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It is An Act to make provision for the reduction of burdens resulting from legislation for businesses or other organisations or for individuals; make provision for th ...
under section 33. A landlord cannot try to evict a tenant, raise the rent, or change the terms of the tenancy because the tenant has complained in writing to the landlord, or to any government agency, regarding conditions. The landlord also cannot retaliate in this fashion because a tenant has organized or joined a tenant union, or engaged in certain other protected activities. Within six months after a tenant has engaged in any of these protected activities, any act by the landlord of raising the rent, attempting eviction (except for non-payment), or making any change in any of the terms of tenancy is presumed to be retaliation. This means that in any court proceeding, the burden will be on the landlord to prove that he or she is not retaliating against the tenant. In order to defeat a retaliation claim, a landlord must convince the court that he or she took the action for reasons independent of the tenant's protected action and that he or she would have done the same thing at the same time even if the tenant hadn't engaged in the protected activity. If the landlord waits until six months after protected actions, retaliation may still be found, but the burden of proof is on the tenant. If a landlord is found to be retaliating, he or she will not be able to evict the tenant, who may also be awarded
damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
from the landlord of one to three months' rent plus attorney's fees. The landlord also cannot willfully deprive the tenant of
heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
,
hot water Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated t ...
,
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
,
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...
,
lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...
,
water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
, or
refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
service. Nor can the landlord lock out the tenant or remove him/her from their apartment without going through the proper court procedure. The tenant can ask the court to issue a restraining order,
file File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to ''remove'' fine amounts of material from a workpiece **Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gent ...
a
criminal complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
against the landlord, or sue him/her for money damages and attorney's fees. Because of these options for recourse, it may be to the tenant's advantage to complain about code violations in writing before the landlord issues a notice of eviction or a rent increase. If a tenant in England & Wales attempts to claim retaliation but did not complain about the breach until after receiving notice from the landlord, the tenant will be found to have no valid claim under the Retaliatory eviction legislation


Consumer protection law

Consumer protection laws Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
provide protection against landlord harassment in some states. One such statute is Chapter 93A of the Massachusetts General Laws, commonly called the "Consumer Protection Law". Like the Federal Trade Commission Act on which it is based, and similar "baby FTC" laws in other states, it prohibits the use of any unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the conduct of any trade or business. Housing rental is generally considered to be a trade or business, and the
Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder ...
has issued
regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
s which define unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the rental housing field. Practices defined as unfair include failure by the landlord to disclose, to a tenant or prospective tenant, any fact of the disclosure of which may have influenced the latter not to enter into the transaction. Also defined as an unfair practice is any violation of any law meant to protect consumers and any act which is oppressive or otherwise unconscionable in any respect. While the Consumer Protection Law provides some protections for tenants. If a landlord is the owner-occupant of a two-family or three-family house and owns no other rental property, he or she is not considered to be engaged in a trade or business, and is not subject to this law. The 2016 New York commercial ordinance prevents a landlord from taking actions that will cause a commercial tenant to vacate their property or to surrender any rights.


See also

*
Arizona Tenants Advocates Arizona Tenants Advocates (ATA) is a non-profit renters' union and tenants' rights organization located in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in 2001 by Kenneth A. Volk, a prominent Arizona tenants' rights advocate. Current activity ATA as it exi ...
*
Landlord–tenant law Landlord–tenant law is the field of law that deals with the rights and duties of landlords and tenants. In common law legal systems such as Irish law, landlord–tenant law includes elements of the common law of real property and contract. ...
*
Rent regulation Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: *Price cont ...
*
Right to housing The right to housing (occasionally right to shelter) is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International ...


References


External links


Housing and Anti-Social Behaviour: The Way Ahead
a summary of research initiatives and legal steps regarding housing problems (United Kingdom)
Are you being harassed by your landlord?
at Salford City Council website (United Kingdom)
Landlord Harassment
prevention laws in California and the San Francisco Bay Area (United States of America)
How to deal with landlord Tenant harassment
, Guide 2021 Guide from the British Landlords Association {{abuse Abuse Landlord–tenant law * Harassment