Question About Renting

[stimrob]

I rent an apartment. My lease does not restrict firearms in any way.

My purely theoretical question is:
If my landlord were to notice my firearms, or me carrying and suddenly decides that he doesn't like guns and doesn't want them on his property, what can he do about it?


I read here: http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...nsylvania.html (READ FIRST: Where you CAN and CANNOT Carry weapons in the State of Pennsylvania)

And I see the section "Private Properties, land owner and tenant rights prevail above all:" , but doesn't quite address my situation, or at least I don't see how it does.

Do I just tell him to pound sand?
Do I have to find a new apartment because his right as a property owner trumps and rights I have as a citizen and tenant?


I'm still finding my way around the laws, be gentle

[bac0nfat]

I would think that if it's not mentioned in the lease, there is not much he could do about it. The lease is a contract between two (or more) parties, and neither of those parties can change the terms of that contract without consent of the other.

Either way, I would keep a low profile.

IANAL

[LorDiego01]

Originally Posted by stimrob

I rent an apartment. My lease does not restrict firearms in any way.

My purely theoretical question is:
If my landlord were to notice my firearms, or me carrying and suddenly decides that he doesn't like guns and doesn't want them on his property, what can he do about it?)

Your landlord will most likely not care so long as you pay your rent on time, every time; and you don't trash the place.

If he does throw a fit about this, the worst he can do, is just not renew your lease. That is his right as the owner and there is nothing you can do about it. If you are on a month-to-month deal, he can ask you to vacate you in 30 days, and again, nothing you can do about that. But he can't just go back and change/add terms to the lease willy-nilly. So don't worry.

What you need to do, is find your "Landlord & Tenants Guide for PA", and go from there. You've got quite a bit of rights as a tenant, you essentially "own" the place for the duration of your lease.

I'm a landlord, and let me tell you, a tenant that takes care of the property, pays on time and doesn't cause problems with the neighbors is so hard to find that once you do, you'll do just about anything to keep them. Even if it does mean ignoring your fear of inanimate objects.

[stimrob]

Good to know. I am on a month-to-month lease now, so that's part of why I asked.

We always pay on time, don't cause a commotion and get along with others.

The other tenants in the building don't pay on time and frequently get the utilities shut off on them, so hopefully he won't notice or care about little ol' me.

[LorDiego01]

Originally Posted by stimrob

Good to know. I am on a month-to-month lease now, so that's part of why I asked.

We always pay on time, don't cause a commotion and get along with others.

The other tenants in the building don't pay on time and frequently get the utilities shut off on them, so hopefully he won't notice or care about little ol' me.

You really should get a lease if you are planning on staying there for at least one year. You have a lot more protection as a tenant with a lease than with a month-to-month. You may even be able to negotiate a little lower rent with a lease.

[Pistol Packin Preacher]

LorDiego01 made a good point.

Most landlords biggest concern is being paid on time and is their proerty being taken care of.

How long have you been there? The longer the better. He will know you better and feel more comfortable and it would be harder to release a good tenant.

Does your landlord ever speak of hunting/firearms? This is also a good sign since he is more comfortable with firearms.

Are you on a month-to-month lease or a year lease? Most likely he could not drop you if it is a year lease but could do something if it is a month (Open) lease.

Does the landlord live near you? If not he has little chance of seeing the firearms. If he does live near you, the potential increases.

How well do you know the landlord? If you guys talk occasionally he will be more comfortable with you and not have any reservations about it. If you guys only meet once or twice a year, he will not know the quality of a person you are.

Have you been a good tenant? Again, hard to get rid of these.

Those are some questions you may want to answer for yourself.

Over all, the lay low with the firearm may be a good idea.

Gives him less to think about.

If you are good friends, then it can be mentioned.

But I vote for the lay low option.

Just some thoughts from a one time landlord and one time renter.

God bless!!

PPP

[stimrob]

We will probably be moving around June one way or another. Just waiting for the better half to finish graduate school.

If we end up staying I will probably negotiate another lease (there are some other things that need to be addressed before we sign again), but in all likelihood we will move to a pet friendly unit or try to find a house , because we really want a dog.

We've been there for almost two years. I've talked to the landlord a bit last year, he knows us and knows what we're up to in a general sense. I asked this because he is there frequently (multiple times a week) hanging out with his friend next door, or working in the basement.



Thanks for everyone's advice. I'll just make sure I recon the area before I start lugging out ammo boxes and gun cases lol

[exceltoexcel]

They cannot throw you out with just 30 days notice. Pa law dictates 60 days + whatever protion is left for the month you just paid. Typically it comes to 3 months and just so you know you cannot just up and leave either on a month to month you must give two full months notice as well.

That is PA law.

Also it ain't so easy to evict someone. If he started today and you've been paying rent he'd probably never get you out but if he did it would take longer than June if you keep paying.

Don't worry about your guns, if it ain't in the original lease you signed or whatever agreement you had in the past he cannot ban them.

[GunLawyer001]

A lot of leases contain a clause that binds you to "such other rules as the landlord may from time to time announce", or words to that effect. So a "no guns" clause could be added.

On a month-to-month lease, he could just not renew, no reason, he just doesn't want to rent to you.

I'd keep a low profile, avoid conflict.

[GrumpyBear]

Originally Posted by GunLawyer001

A lot of leases contain a clause that binds you to "such other rules as the landlord may from time to time announce", or words to that effect. So a "no guns" clause could be added.

On a month-to-month lease, he could just not renew, no reason, he just doesn't want to rent to you.

I'd keep a low profile, avoid conflict.

Really good advice from our resident expert.+ Rep sent.