Landlord added item to lease

[trvolden]

Jurisdiction

Indiana

There is a new fire code in Indiana that says grills cannot be USED within 10 feet of flammable structure. So, our landlord's reaction was to make everyone get rid of their grills. His letter stated that even storing a grill on the property is an "immediate violation of your lease." I have a 1 year lease and this is my fifth year there. Am I required to get rid of my grill?

 

[adjusterjack]

Am I required to get rid of my grill?

Yes.

You are violating code if you keep it within 10' and I can't imagine that keeping it more than 10' away from your apartment wouldn't be in the common areas which is likely prohibited in your lease or in the rules that you agreed to abide by when you signed your lease.

And even if there is some technicality that might remotely allow you to keep it you are likely to face eviction and thousands of dollars in litigation costs to fight the eviction.

Best advice: Sell the grill and use your oven.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

If the statute actually said "use" you might be right if the landlord tried to make an amendment to your lease which was not permissible under those terms. But you haven't provided the actual code or its text. From what I know, @adjusterjack is probably correct in stating that the issue is keeping a grill (typically a gas grill) within 10 feet from the apartment or potentially even on the premises. I'm guessing that the landlord probably believes that keeping grills on the premises may also cause a reasonable danger to other tenants and the property. And in such a case, I'm very sure that the lease would provide for such an amendment barring the storage of your grill. So the bottom line is we can't answer the question with reasonable certainty but we can reasonably believe that either the landlord can do so or it will probably be futile for you to put up a fight.

 

[army judge]

It has long been established that a leasehold is inviolate, with one notable exception.

That exception is if the law changes, it will trump any legal provision of your leasehold.

I suspect that is how your LL is making the current demands.

It might behoove you to calmly discuss the whys and wherefores of his policy.