Tenant rights?

[KellyPujo]

HI,
I live in an apt. complex that has signs clearly posted no trespassing. We have had many problems with children coming into the complex being destructive and violent to the children that live in the complex. The manager has been notified of the problems and told tenants to call the police. The police were called to investigate the problems. During the investigation, management stated to police that she does not care if the children come over here.
Needless to say, this property is posted as private property and clearly stated in our leases along with signs posted throughout the property no trespassing/no loitering. The police then came to talk to the parents for a follow up and told us that we can not do anything about the un-supervised children that are terrorizing our children and our personal property.
What rights do we really have in this situation? Do the concerned parents of the scared children really have to wait for physical harm to be done to their child in order for justice to be served? What can we do?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The easiest solution seems to be:

1) Obtain the statement, if possible, that the management company stated that it has no intentions of keeping trespassers off the property.

2) Send a letter, certified return receipt, to the management company detailing what you've just mentioned here and your problems with their behavior. Mention that they are in material breach of your lease agreement. Try to get it signed by other tenants.

3) If that doesn't work, I might think of abating a small portion of the rent attributable to the lack of security, e.g. 10%. I'd give them prior warning of this several days before trying it. If there is one thing the company understands, it's money. They'll have a heck of a time convincing the judge that they have a right to it after taking all of the above steps. My guess? You'll get what you want far earlier.