Ticket for Trash - Who Pays?
I woke this morning to find four garabge bags on my sidewalk put there by an over zealous tenant 12 hours too early and was promptly handed a ticket for $300. They have been tenants for 2 yrs. Who should pay this in your experience?
I woke this morning to find four garabge bags on my sidewalk put there by an over zealous tenant 12 hours too early and was promptly handed a ticket for $300. They have been tenants for 2 yrs. Who should pay this in your experience?
Thank you all for your opinions, gives me some things to consider.
We provide our tenants with current information from the city about garbage pick ups, recycyling etc and have a rider to the lease explaining that they are responsible for any tickets received as a result of their ignoring the rules. Without such an up-front arrangement, the LL is liable. That said, the bigger issue to me is that it’s absurd and punitive towards small property owners for the city to fine so heavily over such a relatively minor infraction.
get a super, you cheap ass landlord. :p
Do You ‘All” realize, that this topic got moore comments than any others?????…..and to You Mr. Landlord,,,it all depends if You pay in any way to your tenants for removing trash,,(I believe it is your responsibility in first place), If u do…ticket goes to them,no questions,,if u dont…ticket is Yours as well…You must pay it anyway..its on Your name….sorry
My landlady has strewn construction garbage all over the front yard and expects me to pick it up and put it on the curb, where the trash collectors wouldn’t accept it anyway.
She got a fine before when someone merely dropped ten advertising business cards all of the front yard. What could be taking the city so long this time?
While I generally don’t agree with anything *rob* has to say, I think there are arguments for paying it.
First, fight the ticket, like everyone else has suggested.
Second, look at your lease and highlight any language about fines, etc.
If the tenants are good people and you want to keep them, and if there’s clear language in your lease, have a little sit-down followed by a letter that restates the chat. Say that you got a fine, and that you want to take this opportunity to refresh everyone’s memory about the lease. Make it clear that the fine is their responsibility, but offer this one time to split the fine because it’s easy to understand that the tenant wouldn’t understand how expensive it is to put the trash out early.
Ideally, everyone will feel relieved, and you will have the opportunity to look like a nice person that your tenant wouldn’t want to screw later. I think that’s valuable–I would pay $150 for that once in a long, productive tenancy.
If they aren’t particularly good tenants, then cut the part about paying half.
If there is no language about the fine, it’s time to make some. Sit down and have a chat followed by a letter, and use it as an opportunity to make the new Trash Policy (and/or Fine Policy) clear. Explain that you got a fine, and that you have to pay it because you didn’t make the policy clear, but that in the future, if there are any fines because of the tenants’ garbage, they are responsible, and it will be taken out of their security deposit if it’s not resolved.
Again, I would focus on being fair-to-big about the whole thing, so that in the future the tenant has not just the policy, but the social pressure of knowing that you shouldered a fine for them.
I forget the wording but it’s part of my lease that the tenant is responsible to reimburse the landlord for any fines caused by the tenant’s act or neglect. Even without that rider, I believe it is implied as the tenant is responsible for damages.
I don’t get it. It appears the tenant thought they were doing a nice thing by putting out the trash. I don’t understand how they put the trash out 12 hours too early if you woke up to find it there. Did they put it out in the morning when the next pick up wasn’t until the following morning? If so, I would explain the rules to them and then ask for half of the fine or permit them to challenge it. I’m just not clear on the facts here.
Here is what you do, post a note in the lobby stating that only 5-6pm on trash days only. In addition, goto 66 john st and explain to the judge it was a new tenant or next door so they can reduced the fine to 75. I did it and it worked!