From what you just said, the snowfall must be consistant in your town? only snows during bankers hours?

 

Not to sound like a jerk, but IMO it's a bit naive to think that a nice polite letter from a single student/tenant in a complex that houses 1,200 is going to get any action whatsoever. Can you imagine how many complaints have been sent to management already?

I'm not one that advocates going for the throat at every opportunity, but sometimes harsh language and getting right to the point is the only way to go. Based upon what I know, that's how I'd play it.

 

That wouldn't work where I come from. During almost every snowstorm there is a parking ban - if you park on the street, you get towed. Moreover, it doesn't matter whether or not you stipulate in the lease that you "can't guarantee" snow removal. Unless it is expressly stated in ther lease that it is the tenant's responsibility to remove the snow and ice, then the burden falls on the landlord to get rid of it, regardless. If someone slips, falls down and gets hurt, your (the landlord's) insurance company will pay, nothwistanding the "can't guarantee" clause.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

I hate to break it to you, but as someone who has lived in about 6 different apartment complexes over the last 4.5 years....some places care and some don't. I hate to be so complacent about it, but like some others said, a letter from one person isn't going to do much, especially ranting and raving at them. Diplomacy is always key. I'm the nicest complainer ever when I have to call the customer service phone lines for any business I've had trouble with. My niceness stems from not liking confrontation, but really ends up getting me better results in the long run because I'm not screaming at people.

Kill 'em with kindness!!

 

heres an idea put a plow on your truck and plow it out yourself then send'em a bill.it worked for me when i was married to first wife and lived in an appt.

 

id send the letter certified id tone it down about renewing the lease, Id start some kind of letter writing by tenants maybe post signs in common areas or print small flyers to place under tennants doors and if all else fails id try to find out who has fallen and if they did get h urt try to encourage the people with serious injuries to file legal complaints and you could offer to give statements as to how conditions were in the parking lot..If the insurance companies get enough complaints they will tell your landlord to either make sure they take care of the ice hazzard regularly or find another carrier.. ya know if you know who their carrier is maybe you could send letters and photos of the continuing condition to them and they could maybe get on the landlord too

 

For brevity purposes I didn't quote the exact language from the tenant at will clause but I can assure you that everything we did had the blessing of an attorney. In 70 years the house was in the family, we were never sued, had only one eviction for non payment and very few complaints. Be nice to them and they are nice to you. They took their own trash out, shoveled their own cars if we didn't get to it and didn't nickel and dime us for BS stuff. In Massachusetts the tenant laws for multi-family (3 units or more) are so skewed in favor of the tenant that what we had was the exception, not the rule. We had reasonable rents, screened carefully and had very low turnover because of it.

I am, however, very glad we sold it when we did back in the spring of '05. Probably couldn't give it away in this market.

 

the landlord wont do a thing, In a college town, there's an entire new population of renters every 4 years.... A complaint this year graduates next year

 

I was actually talking about when they plow being consistent, not when it snows. Sometimes they will plow like 2 weeks after it snows, other times they will be there within a day. I just wish they would make it more consistent. I took some pics of what the lot looks like right before they plowed. The ruts that the car is stuck on are still there, the big mounds of snow are gone though.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/110_1086.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/110_1079.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/110_1083.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/110_1073.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/110_1068.jpg

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/110_1085.jpg

 

If they have to hire somone one,.... they won't get there until they can.

If this company has multiple properties...the same reason.


I would think the role of common sense would prevail here and and most of the thinking part .....would be done by the tenants.

The "keep an eye out for the plow" mentality and the subsequent "let your neighbour know the plow is here" so we have to move our vehicles thought may kick in.

I'm sure some guys here on FTE that do snow plow work can chime in with when they can do the work for condo people.

 

So your saying I should stay awake all night long to watch out for their snow plow so I dont get towed? I shouldnt have to stand guard at my apartment place that I pay good money for to make sure I dont get towed.

It shouldn't take a big place like that long to get a plow out there. Its not like its their first snowfall in history.

I think people who plow most likely have a pattern to how they do things and when they do it. I'm guessing they wouldnt make much money by just randomly plowing.

Anyway the main point is that the apartment place is too cheap and would rather sacrafice the safety of its tenants and their property to save money on plowing. Thats the bottom line. I can understand the huge expense with plowing, but dont put the dollar before someones safety.

Here's what annoys me the most about this situation. At the start of the year we were all issued parking permits with a number on them. This number corresponds to my name, apt number, and phone number on a sheet of paper that they have. All they have to do is look at the parking permit hanging on the mirror (and yes, there was no snow on the windshield and they are easy to read), use the wonders of numerical order to find my phone number on a sheet of paper, or apartment number, give me a call, knock on my door, if I dont answer, then tow it, otherwise dont sit there and take advantage of people just to make money. You cant tell me it takes longer to make a phone call than it does to tow a vehicle either. Especially with the modern marvel of computers and radio technology. They could have my phone number dialed by the time the tow truck even gets backed up. I'm sure they get a cut of the tow charges. There were like 4 tow trucks out there just having a hay day.

 

I'm not sure about where you live but I towed for a short time and wasn't allowed to jim the dr. for any reason unless the owner or cops were right there( and I was towing for the city.)
I agree with the others about toning down the language of the letter.I'd use a different approach.Explain to them about the liabilitiy issues , and then register the letter so that they have to sign for it .This usually will get their attention because if later on someone gets hurt they won't have a leg to stand on .Also make sure you have an exact copy or 2. If you don't hear back in a few days post the letter for the neighbours to see. These big outfits don't care about anything but money if they get a bad rep. it could cost $ if they get sued it will cost $$$$ ins. companies don't need very much excuse to boost their rates.

 

Thats what I though. I was reading MN statues and theres one on tampering. Here it is.

609.546 MOTOR VEHICLE TAMPERING.
A person is guilty of a misdemeanor who intentionally:
(1) rides in or on a motor vehicle knowing that the vehicle was taken and is being driven by
another without the owner's permission; or
(2) tampers with or enters into or on a motor vehicle without the owner's permission.

As far as i'm concerned they are guilty of tampering with my motor vehicle.

 

Dont' send that letter please.

Read the Minnesota rental law. Good start
http://tenant.net/Other_Areas/Minnesota/504.html

This law says the Attorney General of Minnesota must inform renters of their rights. So call the Attorney General's office. They have a website explains the rental law in English
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Consumer/h...lt/default.asp

From what I read, It is the landlord's responsibility to keep the building up to code. If it is not their responsibility, it should say so clearly on your lease... something like "tenant is respnosible for snow removal". But in your case it is clearly their responsibility since you must move your cars for them to do the work.

Call your city hall, see if they can inspect the condition of the parking lot and building entrances. From there you can file an official complain, escrow action.

 

I'm not a lawyer or a cop, so take this with a grain of salt.

If you're not parked illegally, and the lease states that you are allowed to park your vehicle on the property, then they have no cause to tow it. Last time I checked, taking someone's car unlawfully was called auto theft. I would contact your local PD and see if they will explain it to the rental office. Also tell the office that if your vehicle shows up missing, you will report it as stolen. I believe it's within your rights to do so, but again, I would check with the PD.

If they are not removing snow adequately, then they are violating the lease. You could take them to court or possibly discount your rent based on this. I would talk to a lawyer about this. The complex has an obligation to provide you with a safe place to live. If they aren't plowing, they aren't holding up their end of the bargain.

However, your letter won't be taken seriously. It's inflammatory. One skill that will come in handy is the ability to be diplomatic. Ask someone who's had an office job for a few years to help you write the letter. Also, don't e-mail it. Certified mail, return receipt requested.

FWIW, I think they're the ones who are in the wrong here.