Landlord Issue: Front Door Buzzer

[Temporary_User]

I rent in an apartment that has a front door buzzer that has to be setup through ones cell or home phone. To do this a separate company has be to involved in the setup process. This costs $75. My landlord states that is a fee I have to pay, while I figure it is a security issue and a basic feature of an apartment so they should have to pay the setup fee.
Anyone have any links or knowledge on the matter? (I already tried googleing, but perhaps I just do not know the correct keywords)

[puffnstuff]

No useful input but do not google images for 'back door buzzer'

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

I rent in an apartment that has a front door buzzer that has to be setup through ones cell or home phone. To do this a separate company has be to involved in the setup process. This costs $75. My landlord states that is a fee I have to pay, while I figure it is a security issue and a basic feature of an apartment so they should have to pay the setup fee.
Anyone have any links or knowledge on the matter? (I already tried googleing, but perhaps I just do not know the correct keywords)

Is there anything about it in the small print of your lease?

[Table 5]

I hate those stupid buzzers that go right to your phone.....the old intercom ones were so much more user friendly, especially when they had the video. Since we have no land-line, now if I leave the apartment, my wife can't buzz anybody up (or even know someone wants to be buzzed up).

Oh and our "lack of management" company took 4 weeks to set up our front door. No charge, but still extremely annoying.

[photon]

I don't think it's something that you'll be able to find a law about; it's a fee he gets charged so him passing it on is something that's between you and him; if his policy is to pass that on then you have to decide if that's worth getting that place over.

In one of my units we not only have that, but they charge a fee to move in too; the security guard to watch the open door, blocking off the elevator, and disabling the alarms.

I let the tenant know they pay those directly to the condo corp and give them the forms.

I've had tenants that don't want their buzzer set up so I don't really see it as a requirement, so if they want it they can pay. I've never had anyone object either.

[afc wimbledon]

Just get your friends to use the vietnamese method, pull up out front at 3am and lean on the car horn.

[Smartcar]

It's not covered in the Residential Tenancies Act http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/R17P1.pdf so it's likely a contractual matter between you and your landlord. They should have mentioned it when you moved in, though. If you don't have a lot of visitors you could probably do without.

[BlackArcher101]

I believe it varies and there is no set law on it.

In my condo rental, the landlord doesn't get involved in things like that. I go directly to the building/condo management co. and have them change it, with no fee attached. Same goes for gym passes or other things that people living in the building receive from the management co. The landlord only cares about suite maintenance and door/mailbox locks (to which there is then a fee).

I did have the landlord involved in trying to get me new building keys and they wanted me to pay a replacement key fee. In the end, I went directly to the building management co. and go the key for free. In that case, the landlord was tacking their own fees onto it for the "service".