Landlord question

[Kavvy]

Hey all,

We rent, and the condo board is requiring home owners to be home from 9 am to 5 pm on a Wednesday to do a fire alarm inspection. As we both work full time jobs, this is impossible for us.

Our landlord has made it clear they feel it is our responsibility, we feel it is theirs.

Wondering what peoples thoughts are on this. Our lease states the below and our Landlord's interpretation is that this means we are responsible to be home for these hours:

Tenants agree to fully comply with the rules and regulations set forth by Management or the condominium association and the bylaws of which form part of this rental contract

To show we are trying to work this through, we have:

• contacted the property management company - they will not take a key from us. They will not let us sign a waiver removing them damages if they take a key from us
• don't know neighbors - units on either side are empty and for sale, across the hall was evicted a while back and we don't know the new people
• haven't got a hold of the condo board to see their thoughts. They stopped taking keys from units a while back and we can only work through the property management company to speak to them

We may actually be looking for a cheaper lease as the Landlord raised it 2 years ago and we haven't received any discounts in this downturn. It is sort of awkward to bring up now.

What are people's thoughts? Am I in the wrong?

Thanks for any comments!

Also -

We are on a 2 month rolling lease - but you need to notify by the end of said month or that month doesn't count - so I am getting prepared on Aug 31 to give notification as I am annoyed and feel we are paying too much.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

My quick take is if the notice actually says "home owner", you ain't it. If it says resident, or some such thing, much more problematic.

Seriously though, required to be home all day on Wednesday? That is really stupid.

[topfiverecords]

Technically you're not the homeowner just a tenant in someone's unit so it's not really your problem. Seems like an odd request though. Every building I've lived in, they'd knock at each unit. If someone wasn't home, they'd use a master key to open the unit to check the alarm (and you'd be told by 24hr notice this would be the case).

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

My quick take is if the notice actually says "home owner", you ain't it. If it says resident, or some such thing, much more problematic.

Seriously though, required to be home all day on Wednesday? That is really stupid.

The notice state the below and was sent to my landlord not myself.

Dear Residents,
Please be advised that access will be required to your unit to undertake the annual firesafety systems inspection on:
xxx xx, 2016
between the hours of
9:00AM and 5:00PM
If you cannot be home to provide access, please make arrangements with a friend or neighbour.
If access is not provided on the aforementioned date and a return appointment for the inspection is necessary for your Unit, all costs incurred will be charged back to the unit owner including the cost of a locksmith, should one be required to gain access to your unit.

[topfiverecords]

Locksmith? Leave your unit unlocked then.

[OMG!WTF!]

It's definitely the landlord's responsibility to test fire alarms in any property. That would fall under routine maintenance so I assume it's their responsibility to be there. Ultimately it won't effect you at all if no one is there and the management company fines them. They might try to take it off of your damage deposit but I don't think that would fly at all.

[Travis Munroe]

That is pretty crazy.... I have never heard of such strict rules.
Management companies almost always accept keys with a waiver to go in.
Is it possible to give them to someone else in the building?

Must be a Monday.... the home alone scene both with the black and white movie as well as the dancing in the shower comes to mind as alternative options.

[calgarygeologist]

In my opinion, as a landlord, I wouldn't require my tenants to ensure that they are present for the inspection. I would, however, ask them if they can comply with the inspection request. If they agree to the request it would be great and they would assume the risk of any costs incurred if for some reason they weren't around at the right time. If they didn't agree to the request I would make arrangements to be there myself or to have someone else there to take care of things.

[photon]

Yup as a landlord I'd do the same; I'd ask politely if the tenant could be there, if they can't I'd arrange to be there or have someone else be there.

But I have a key with my condo's management for these kinds of situations and I just make sure and give advance notice and they can let themselves in, kind of weird that they wont' do that.

[rbochan]

Burn it to the ground.
That;s a good test of the fire alarms.

[GP_Matt]

If you are the owner this is a really crappy situation.
I am sure the tenant doesn't want you sitting in their unit all day waiting for the inspection but you have to be there from 9-5. Do you just sit in the hallway and wait for 8 hours?

[calumniate]

Yeah who the heck do they think they are.. Telus?

[Kavvy]

Thanks all for the input and Minny for the PM!

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

If you are the owner this is a really crappy situation.
I am sure the tenant doesn't want you sitting in their unit all day waiting for the inspection but you have to be there from 9-5. Do you just sit in the hallway and wait for 8 hours?

It's bad for both. I am no expert but in my uneducated opinion I vote fail on the property management company/condo board.

[socktape]

In our building the board gets a volunteer on the floor/building that will take a key during these types of inspections and then give them back after they are done. They send out a note with the notice of inspection that indicates who is the volunteer. Surprised they couldn't organize something like that.

[BlackArcher101]

Was in the same exact situation last time I rented. I ended up calling the inspection company (Fahrenheit 451 in my case) and they not only agreed asking everyone to stay home is a bad idea (turns out it was the boards easy way out), they then did a "inspection" over the phone in lieu of doing it themselves. Have you heard the alarm within the past year? If so, passed!

Another time I couldn't answer that I have, so they actually set a time for the guy to be there, as he was in the building pretty much all day for 5 days. Then they actually tested with a quick blast of fake smoke.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by calumniate

Yeah who the heck do they think they are.. Telus?

Plaza Cable.

[Peanut]

If it was me, I'd blow off the inspection (maybe leave your place unlocked the day of as someone suggested up thread) and give notice to move out. The rental market is in your favour now, and it sounds like your landlord is over-charging you AND isn't very accommodating.

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by Peanut

If it was me, I'd blow off the inspection (maybe leave your place unlocked the day of as someone suggested up thread) and give notice to move out. The rental market is in your favour now, and it sounds like your landlord is over-charging you AND isn't very accommodating.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Haha I was just agreeing with these parts of the OP:

Originally Posted by Kavvy

We may actually be looking for a cheaper lease as the Landlord raised it 2 years ago and we haven't received any discounts in this downturn. It is sort of awkward to bring up now.

What are people's thoughts? Am I in the wrong?

Thanks for any comments!

Also -

We are on a 2 month rolling lease - but you need to notify by the end of said month or that month doesn't count - so I am getting prepared on Aug 31 to give notification as I am annoyed and feel we are paying too much.

[Manhattanboy]

There is no doubt it is your responsibility as per the provision of the lease you signed.