No more composting for me

[gsdx]

Since I moved here in the early 2000s, I've been composting my green waste. The bin belonged to a neighbour and, when he and his girlfriend moved out, they left the bin. I've been using it regularly since then.

Last year, my former landlord sold the building. The new landlord has been making some changes around the place, putting in new windows and doors, new tile floors in the halls, and so on.

Today he told us that the compost bin was going.

It's gone, and all my compost with it.

If he makes us get rid of our cats, I'll be looking for a new place to live.

 

[Vannie]

That's a shame.

Most owners and landlords are pretty cat friendly these days.Just say NO!

 

[Cormac135]

You should have composted him.

Edit.......the landlord not the cat.

 

[Alistair]

Did he give a reason?

 

[gsdx]

That's a shame.

Most owners and landlords are pretty cat friendly these days.Just say NO!

He's afraid of them.

 

[rareboy]

I believe that under the Landlord Tenant Act you are not entitled to remove any benefit that a tenant has had.

I have run into this a few times.

So if you were previously not forbidden from keeping cats under your old lease, they can't just change it.

 

[gsdx]

^ My previous landlord keeps me apprised of the rules. He sold his restaurant to the new landlord and then sold him the apartment building a few years later.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Did he consider the compost bin unsightly? Is he trying to make the property more upmarket? Was the bin tatty? Is there a spot where you can compost without a bin?

I have an embarrassment of riches for space, and I just dump my leaves and clippings out back about 30 ft. from the back fence (my side of it). It backs up to woods. There is a natural draw there where water runs off from the hill, and there is a deep hole from a missing tree that must have rotted out some time ago, leaving the root gap below. It will take several years to raise the draw with leaves, even with two acres of trees contributing.

I'm also going to raid it often, as the soil on the hill is poor and clay, so I need lots of compost to help lighten it as I add perennial beds.

 

[Dominus]

My husband and I are getting ready to go into the rental property business. We can't decide whether we should allow people to have dogs or not. On the one hand, we love dogs and currently have 3 of them. But on the other, dogs can do real damage to the property and are more of a liability than we think we want to deal with.

Also, I know a lot of renters have pitbulls. I'm not a fan of this breed and I think too many people get this dog for some kind of status symbol. After all, shelters everywhere are overwhelmed with this breed. I'm thinking if we allow our tenants to have dogs, we will have to deal with pits.

 

[gsdx]

Did he consider the compost bin unsightly? Is he trying to make the property more upmarket? Was the bin tatty? Is there a spot where you can compost without a bin?

I didn't talk to him. All I know is that he didn't want it there because we don't have gardens. (We do. Two at the front, one at the back.)

 

[sixthson]

My husband and I are getting ready to go into the rental property business. We can't decide whether we should allow people to have dogs or not. On the one hand, we love dogs and currently have 3 of them. But on the other, dogs can do real damage to the property and are more of a liability than we think we want to deal with.

Also, I know a lot of renters have pitbulls. I'm not a fan of this breed and I think too many people get this dog for some kind of status symbol. After all, shelters everywhere are overwhelmed with this breed. I'm thinking if we allow our tenants to have dogs, we will have to deal with pits.

What landlords do here is to charge a separate damage deposit for the pet (more for dogs than cats) and a monthly surcharge on the rent. It's not unusual to limit the size of the dog by weight or breed. You could ban pit bulls.
Also, if your rentals are houses with a yard, dogs can destroy a yard, too.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I didn't talk to him. All I know is that he didn't want it there because we don't have gardens. (We do. Two at the front, one at the back.)

Is it not worth making an appeal to him?

 

[NotHardUp1]

My husband and I are getting ready to go into the rental property business. We can't decide whether we should allow people to have dogs or not. On the one hand, we love dogs and currently have 3 of them. But on the other, dogs can do real damage to the property and are more of a liability than we think we want to deal with.

Also, I know a lot of renters have pitbulls. I'm not a fan of this breed and I think too many people get this dog for some kind of status symbol. After all, shelters everywhere are overwhelmed with this breed. I'm thinking if we allow our tenants to have dogs, we will have to deal with pits.

What Sixthson said is dead on. As a landlord, you'll grow into your level of comfort for risk.

I will say that you will find that new pet owners are a greater risk. Young folks particularly get a dog, find it is more work than planned, avoid the back yard if they fail to clean up often after it, walk the dog less in winter, and then may rationalize away the damage done to landscape if they never cared about landscape anyway.

My guess is you will be very specific in the lease, with clauses that describe limitations specifically, require express approval by the landlord for any animal kept by the tenant on the property, which includes cages insects and fish and reptiles.

I also appeal on behalf of pet owners everywhere for you to not charge additional rent. People should not be penalized for having a pet, not beyond the understandable cleaning fee for carpets. A pet deposit should be just that, a risk mitigation, not a punishment.

You can be a good guy landlord while never surrendering your rights to protect your investment. You might also want to insert language that asserts your right to periodic checks on the property for the expressed purpose of inspecting conditions in regard to damage by the pet as well as ensuring animals are safe and not abused. Owners might chafe at the implications, but you as a landlord are liable for your property and having a pet is a privilege when renting, not a right. They should be willing to understand that you have a need to establish responsibility, as deposits often cannot cover the cost of actual damages.

Oh, and watch lots and lots of Judge Judy.

 

[gsdx]

^ Nope. His biggest problem is that this is his first income property. He doesn't know how to be a landlord. He wants things his way. End of story.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Well, it's your situation, so you know it best. Bossy landlords can be a pain and control freaks.

 

[gsdx]

^ He doesn't come around very often, especially inside the apartment. He's afraid of my cats.

 

[peeonme]

You might be 'grandfathered' in at least until the end of your lease. Check the laws and see.

 

[Kahaih]

Truthfully, I'm surprised the city doesn't have an ordinance against them - particularly in small shared spaces.

 

[gsdx]

Truthfully, I'm surprised the city doesn't have an ordinance against them - particularly in small shared spaces.

Composting is encouraged here and it's very common.

My next-door neighbour in the apartment beside me used it and there is another bin on another neighbour's property out back about 20 metres away from where mine was. I just have a new landlord who doesn't want one on his property.

 

[Kahaih]

Maybe one of your neighbours would be happy to receive your kitchen waste. Might even share the composted material.