Eviction? Legal help?

[LIL EVO]

So this is a bunch of bullshit. I accidentally ran my car too long in the garage a week ago. Apparently someone in the unit got sick. They came and did an "inspection" of the garage and then left this letter.

letter (http://www.lilevo.com/nabr/bull.jpg)

The cause of the fumes was from the vehicle running, not any of the listed items.

Basically if my entire garage isn't void of all "engine parts, machinery, and solvents" (which is a hell of a lot of shit) in 7 days we're getting booted.

What can I do at this point? The lease says nothing about having car parts, tools, etc in the garage.

[Heat Seeker WS6]

Try Dept of Housing & Urban Devopment?

[pOrk]

Contact that number and explain that the fumes are not from the solvents themselves, but from the car left running. Engine parts? That is pathetic, I would get a copy of the lease you signed and comb through it to make sure they are making some of that up.

[Yooformula]

it states that items can only be used by the lessee for personal use. if your parts are personal use then they dont have anything in the lease for that I saw. The odor part should only warrant a warning. Did the odor trigger the carbon monoxide detector? if so, did they call the cops? where is the report? otherwise what proof is it that it came from you?

[Prince Valiant]

Basically, it looks like this:

Cause for the inspection: Violation of rule #3, you caused an odor that was objectionable to one of the residents.

Reason for the threat of eviction: The material you enumerated (engine, solvent, etc) is not covered by the standard fire policy in wisconsin....IE, if a fire started, and was found to be caused or contributed by these items, it would not be insured/reimbursed for losses, and the leasor does not want to assume the risk, and thus, the eviction notice.

About the only thing you can do is comply...maybe it would only constitute the solvents primarily, so not as bad.

But after you comply, then start to look for a place that more suits your needs for space and storage. You could probably easily negotiate your way out of a lease in this situation, as in: If they don't agree to let you out of the lease with no penalties, force them to evict you...far more costly than eating rent cost for a month.

[jbiscuit]

the problem with leases is that if you read the small print, most say they can terminate the lease at any time. I'd find out what sort of termination they are talking about here....are you being booted scott free? If that's the case, just go to a different apartment community. Sh1t there were a bunch of times I wished I could get out of my lease at apartments....

Apartment communities have an appointed "peace maker." In your case, its the person that wrote this letter. Some old bag complained....this same old bag probably has lived there since the apartment was built, pays her rent 6 months early etc etc. Usually there aren't "rules" against having a shortblock on your garage floor. If you want to fight it I would fight it. First step being that you'd have to contact the issuer of the letter and explain that you aren't in violation of any rules. The smell that made other residents "ill" was caused by your poorly running car which you were in the process of fixing...aplogize for the smell and tell them that you'd like to personally apologize to the resident you upset. Maybe that would smooth things over. If they still say you need to have your stuff out, then I would suggest getting a lawyer. You have certain rights for your space that you rent...UNLESS it says you can't store this or do that within that space....follow me? If it doesn't say anything about it, you have grounds to fight them making you remove your items.

J

[Yooformula]

I wouldnt admit to causing any smell without proof. My last apartment had a similar incident and the old bag actually called the fire department and police dept. they had to reset her alarm and tested the co2 levels and then issued me a notice. I actuallly had Scott represent me and ended up with a clean break from my apartment complex with nothing on my credit report either.

[SSDude]

the problem with leases is that if you read the small print, most say they can terminate the lease at any time. I'd find out what sort of termination they are talking about here....are you being booted scott free? If that's the case, just go to a different apartment community. Sh1t there were a bunch of times I wished I could get out of my lease at apartments....

Apartment communities have an appointed "peace maker." In your case, its the person that wrote this letter. Some old bag complained....this same old bag probably has lived there since the apartment was built, pays her rent 6 months early etc etc. Usually there aren't "rules" against having a shortblock on your garage floor. If you want to fight it I would fight it. First step being that you'd have to contact the issuer of the letter and explain that you aren't in violation of any rules. The smell that made other residents "ill" was caused by your poorly running car which you were in the process of fixing...aplogize for the smell and tell them that you'd like to personally apologize to the resident you upset. Maybe that would smooth things over. If they still say you need to have your stuff out, then I would suggest getting a lawyer. You have certain rights for your space that you rent...UNLESS it says you can't store this or do that within that space....follow me? If it doesn't say anything about it, you have grounds to fight them making you remove your items.

J

I would agree with Jay. You should first try working with the contact person who wrote the letter and try to reach a compromise. They have a good point about the solvents and their insurance even though in most cases they never know when a renter may have a can of starting fliud or degreaser. Half of the stuff people store under the kitchen sink is just as flammable. You could make the point that there isn't much difference in keeping a few engine parts or a fishing pole in your garage space.
If there not willing to be reasonable it may be time for a new casa

As far as the objectionable odor blame it on the beer and wings you had the day before at BW3:rolf

[fireguyrick]

First off, did they give you 24hrs notice to inspect your garage? The only other time they can enter without that notice is if they have reason to believe that their property is at risk, and even then they have to attempt to contact you.

Second, how long is your lease?

Rick

[Crawlin]

Usually there aren't "rules" against having a shortblock on your garage floor.


AHHHHH shit..... hahahah uh oh....

[Al]

Lil Evo:
do any of the parts you have actually smell or have potential to smell bad?
If you have solvent cans and stuff, just put those in your appartment for the time being or get a small storage cabinet.

------
Here is something I am wondering about; related, but off topic:

The people who live below me like to cook using curry extensively (from India). After calling the office almost daily for 6 months, they did something with the bathroom fan, which is how the smell was getting up into our appartment. But what they did had no effect on the smell.

Give another two months of bad smell and lots of calls, they finally fixed it. Unfortunately, they must have fudged something else because curry smell was replaced with a poo smell.

I'd say we have been complaining about it for over a year now. We also managed to find Mr. Mandel's phone number and have called him personally on a few occasions.

[DirtyMax]

You can put whatever you want in your garage as long as it's legal.

If nothing smells strongly, then tell them to sit on their thumb.

I have studied landlord-tenant laws heavily and this sounds like you are being bullied.

Technicnally if the place wasn't smelling heavily or else, on fire, I believe they had no right to go in there in the first place.

Hard to believe with as hard as apartments are to rent nowadays that they would be so quick to start shit with good tenants...

I'd just explain to them that you had your car running and the fumes is what caused the odor. They are welcome to come back and re-inspect the garage and they will find that the storage of your personal belongings isn't causing the problem.

[Teufelhunden]

Here is something I am wondering about; related, but off topic: You seem to do this alot...:chair:

[Al]

You seem to do this alot...:chair:

Don't hate me, it's ADD's fault! :goof

[Prince Valiant]

One thing is that the reason they are so quick to pull the trigger on a eviction notice is this: The resident that complained about getting sick may be seeking damages/finacial restitution...IE, she wants the good life because she had to breath exhaust fumes for a little bit, maybe even getting a little nauseated. Them evicting you makes them look responsible, and thus insulated from damages.

The ironic thing is this: If she IS threatening action for getting a little sick from car fumes (a very temporary phenomenon, unless of course you died), who does she seek to sue when she drinks herself sick?

[LIL EVO]

Contact that number and explain that the fumes are not from the solvents themselves, but from the car left running. Engine parts? That is pathetic, I would get a copy of the lease you signed and comb through it to make sure they are making some of that up.

Told them it was from a car running the day after it happened. After I told them that, the next day there was a 24 hour notice of inspection on the door.

[LIL EVO]

it states that items can only be used by the lessee for personal use. if your parts are personal use then they dont have anything in the lease for that I saw. The odor part should only warrant a warning. Did the odor trigger the carbon monoxide detector? if so, did they call the cops? where is the report? otherwise what proof is it that it came from you?


There aren't any carbon monoxide detectors unless someone bought one and put it in. I think they heard a car running/music coming from the garage as this was happening. They pounded on the door a bunch and called, but we didn't answer the door or phone at that time. I didn't do this so they wouldn't catch me red handed with anything.

[LIL EVO]

I would agree with Jay. You should first try working with the contact person who wrote the letter and try to reach a compromise. They have a good point about the solvents and their insurance even though in most cases they never know when a renter may have a can of starting fliud or degreaser. Half of the stuff people store under the kitchen sink is just as flammable. You could make the point that there isn't much difference in keeping a few engine parts or a fishing pole in your garage space.
If there not willing to be reasonable it may be time for a new casa

As far as the objectionable odor blame it on the beer and wings you had the day before at BW3:rolf


I am curious to get their insurance/wisconsin fire blah blah paperwork.

I'm not moving 2000lbs of parts and "machinery" if I dont have to. I don't have anywhere to go with it all anyways.

[Reverend Cooper]

just tell them to **** off and look for a new place by the time they evict you it will be 6 months down the road

[SSDude]

Try to get them to meet in the middle. You get rid of any highly flammable solvents (hide them better) and they leave the car parts alone. Car parts by them selves are not a fire hazard. You should be able to store anything you want in your garage space be it your beer can collection or car parts.
The bag who complained probably smokes and puts on her hair spray at the same time now theres a fire hazard:thumbsup

[LIL EVO]

Well the shit really hit the fan now. Fire truck, two cop cars, brigade of 6 fireman ravaging through my garage, throwing shit outside, stepping on shit.

Cops unlocked the door and walked in. Apparantly there are still "fumes" making people sick.

After a 30 minute bullshit session, the firemen removed my oxygen cylinder, acetalyne cylinder, two basically empty gas tanks, and three empty gas cans.

PD said they were writing a report and the pewaukee inspector was going to be contacting me tomorrow.


Stay tuned for video/pics

[wikked]

http://www.wikked.com/ruhroh.jpg

[LIL EVO]

Crime scene video (http://www.lilevo.com/evicted.wmv)

[danwaite]

What a pile of shit, sorry to hear they are being a bunch a pricks toward you, I'd get a lawer and see what you can do as far as them going through your stuff like that breaking anything (if they did) and proove that the odor is coming from there. Sounds like some old lady upstairs doesn't like you.

[LIL EVO]

Funny part was, they asked ME what I thought the odor was.. They didn't even ******* know. I don't even know what to do now. Probably going to get handed $100's in fines

[Al]

A few questions:

-Is your garage attached to the main building?

-Is the garage open between individual stalls?

-Does the building have natural gas heat/stoves or all electric?

Can you be charged if they do not find the source of the fumes? It would be a hard case without any solid evidence.

Anatomy and physiology lesson: The sense of smell is linked directly to memory. Acetylene contains ethyl mercaptan, which gives it that nasty smell like propane and natural gas. If the smell was related to the tanks, the smell would be very distinctive and recognizable.

[SMOKDU]

if this was the case why would you not get sick. you are the closest to it. id call the pd and say you smell shit coming from the basement like that gas leak you smelled . than the building inspector will come out and trust me im sure the have some shit that does not pass code. then they will get the big bill.

[LIL EVO]

A few questions:

-Is your garage attached to the main building?

-Is the garage open between individual stalls?

-Does the building have natural gas heat/stoves or all electric?

Can you be charged if they do not find the source of the fumes? It would be a hard case without any solid evidence.

Anatomy and physiology lesson: The sense of smell is linked directly to memory. Acetylene contains ethyl mercaptan, which gives it that nasty smell like propane and natural gas. If the smell was related to the tanks, the smell would be very distinctive and recognizable.

It's a huge unit, all garages are ground level, attached to each other. 2nd floor is living room/kitchen, if you walk out the back of the 2nd floor, it's now a ground level. Technically the garage is then a basement. 3rd floor is bedrooms.

There is a "fire door" between the garage and the washer/dryer/furnace. Fumes could potentially leak between garage units here and get sucked up into everyone elses vents.

Each unit has gas furnaces, electric stoves. The fumes were definately not from the oxy/acetalene tanks. I haven't used that in a very long time.

They were more focused on the "code violations" than the actual odor when they were here. Some of the violations I caught..

1.) Door between garage and washer/dryer/furnace was "propped open" from a garden hose
2.) Too many flammables (3 empty gas cans, 2 nearly empty junk gas tanks)
3.) gas cylinder storage (oxy/acet)
4.) short pieces of 2x4's stacked on top of the gas water heater
5.) fire detector in washer/dryer room not hooked up (oops my bad)
6.) mapp, propane, and two cans of laquer/varnish stored in the washer room

[ThatWhiteCivic]

Sounds like you have a bunch of pu$$Y neighbors :loser weaksauce

[Greg@GLD]

When you live in a "shared community" this is the risk you take. I'm sure I'll get bad rep for not jumping on the "you poor thing" bandwagon, but... there's two sides to this. Perhaps your issue goes way beyond these "violations". Are your car or cars "loud?" Do you start them up early in the morning or come home late at night in summer? Do you have buddies that come over with loud exhaust? DO you play loud music in your garage when you work in there?
Your issue may be that your presence there irritates someone or more than one person and now yes, "they are indeed out to get you"

The classic way to get back at an "undesireable renter" is to break out the lease and enforce it to the letter.

Looking at it from both angles, when you pay rent to live somewhere and then someone else that lives there does things that deteriorate the quality of life for others, that sucks too. What might be a better thing for you to do is to either try to find a house to rent or get a rented garage where you can keep all your stuff. I've been on both side of this issue before. When I was younger I had old musclecars with loud exhaust and lived in apartments, and I recall people getting pissy and angry because of my cars, and my friend's cars and I remember thinking "what the **** is your problem? I pay rent here too!" On the flip side, we have lived in houses now for the last 20 years or so, with the exception being when our current house was being built, we had sold our last house and had to live in an apartment for awhile while our home was under construction. And I had forgotten how it can kind of suck to be a renter and put up with inconsiderate neighbors. Pickup trucks with glasspacks or Harleys that they just love to hear the sound of at 6:00AM or 3:00AM, people who leave junk all over or make oil and grease messes and don't clean it up, etc, etc.
I just kept my sanity and kept my mouth shut because I knew it was temporary.

Not saying you are a "bad neighbor" just trying to present a different point of view. When you live in shared communities, people cop attitudes for sure and can get pissy and upset about the stupidest things.

It sounds like there's more to this than just the issues presented. You just may not be seeing them.

If it matters any, I hope you get it worked out, but I speak from experience when I say- If someone is out to get you, it can end up where the only answer is going to be to get the hell out of there...

[LIL EVO]

Haven't had any other issues or noises. This has been a very modified car-free tenure.

[wikked]

Are your car or cars "loud?" Do you start them up early in the morning or come home late at night in summer? Do you have buddies that come over with loud exhaust? DO you play loud music in your garage when you work in there?


Cars aren't loud at all, I warm my car up in the morning but it has stock exhaust. Maybe 1 or 2 loud exhausts since summer have been over.
Music is on in garage, but it can't be heard outside of garage, walls are pretty thick :)

There is a guy with a Harley that revs it up in his garage now & then, some guy with a muscle car that you can hear a block away, always revs it by his garage. There's people going like 30mph in the parking lot almost sideswiping me as I'm backing out of the garage (10mph posted speed limit & emphasized in lease). One guy leaves his garage door open all day (not allowed), blah blah etc. I've seen so many violations.

I'm pretty sure our one neighbor has lived there forever (like someone stated earlier) she knows everyone in the place, knows the landlady etc. and I'm sure she's the one that got "sick".

It was the fumes though, they were pretty bad in the garage, but they weren't /that/ bad coming thru the vents, and ours would be the worse obviously. I was totally fine.

Firemen said "we could smell them down the block!" :rolleyes: yea ok. You couldn't smell them 5ft from the garage.
They did have a few valid points, but they were really overexaggerating for the most part. "i'm really surprised this place didn't go up in flames". Raised the garage door manually because they didn't want a possible spark to blow the place up :rolleyes:
I think they just wanted to be serious & hammer home their point, but at the same time they were cracking jokes most of the time.
*shrug*

House FTW.

[Crawlin]

i guess the big question would be....

after ALL this BS...

would you really WANT to rent from them again?

I love my place. I told them right off the bat I have a toy that's gonna get worked on. Like i said, i only got yelled at for the carpet for the stairs between the garages was dirty and could be plainly seen that i was the offender(led right to my door, hah) she complained to me and i said i'd now walk up in the grass around the building and that I had already purchased a steam cleaner for the living area anyways, so i'd do the stairs for her.

but yeah, i'd stop the wasting time so to speak, and start looking. You really don't want to, but i couldn't imagine paying rent to these people now. Will make your life living hell even if you win a "case" so to speak

[LIL EVO]

I'm already close to finding a house. I just need to make things work here long enough for that to happen. I'm going to talk to them and tell them I can get rid of the solvents by Monday but not the other stuff.

[DirtyMax]

House FTW.


Bingo! :thumbsup

[Greg@GLD]

Yea, that's going to be much better for you guys, no question. Good luck!!

[Prince Valiant]

I am curious to get their insurance/wisconsin fire blah blah paperwork.

Standard Fire Insurance Policy (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/1973/73Stat0203.pdf) for the state of Wisconsin.

On the last page, it spells out that insurance doesn't have to cover fires caused by "engines, solvents, etc"

[Prescott]

I hope everything works out. i remember living in an apartment and doing a complete engine rebuild in my bedroom. Did most of the dirty stuff at work but assembled it at the foot of my bed. The next place I rented was a crappy duplex in cudahy. I didn't care cuz it had a garage. I gotta way with murder but hey it's cudahy not pewaukee.

If this would've happened a little earlier, U could've moved in the townhouse I have in muskego. I just rented it out last week. Dude on the other side paints for don's auto body.

LMK if you need a place to store some of your shat "temporarily".
I could find some room.

[LIL EVO]

Standard Fire Insurance Policy (http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/1973/73Stat0203.pdf) for the state of Wisconsin.

On the last page, it spells out that insurance doesn't have to cover fires caused by "engines, solvents, etc"

Um yeah, there's about 100x greater chance of the engine inside my car, inside the garage, of catching fire and blowing up than engine parts stored in the garage. Oh wait, there's a FULL gas tank in my car which is parked in the garage. Oh the irony.

I'm printing this, and talking to the lady. All solvents and flammables have been removed. The end.

[LIL EVO]

I couldn't find the clause you were talking about.. cut and paste?

[pOrk]

^ Me either

[Prince Valiant]

I couldn't find the clause you were talking about.. cut and paste?
Sorry, I thought that it might be the copy of the "standard policy" which would ennumerate the exclusions...the last page (203.28) goes over what may be included into a policy...but this is just the policy stating what may be included if the consumer wants.

You'll probably have to go to your leasee and ask for a copy of the fire insurance policy and look in the section for "Exclusions"