Guns and Apartments

[JimB]

as mentioned, unless your asked, or they prohibit it, there's no need

to mention that your a firearms. On the other hand, if the building is

"owner occupied" and your hauling a large safe into the building

you may be asked what it is....

depends on the situation.

JimB

 

[pernox]

I'm a landlord, and the only things I want to know my tenants have are fire extinguishers (that I provide) I also don't want them to have water beds or kitchen washing machines (the kind that hook up to the sink.) Other than that, it's none of my business. If you've got a landlord that wants to know what kind of stuff you have, you have a bad landlord. No need for you to disclose any of your property, unless you're tight with the guy, he lives there, and you want him to try and save your stuff if there's a fire/etc.

 

[drgrant]

The only reason to ever disclose is if you need permission to drill holes or whatever for a safe.

Even then if you really wanted to you could make up some story about how you are inheriting a collection of coins and
stamps and that is why you have to install the safe.

-Mike

 

[Lip]

I had a recent flood due to the Land lord not cleaning out the roof drain. Thank god none of my firearms were damaged. He walked by both cabinets without knowing their contents.

 

[IrradiatedBacon]

As almost everyone else has said, I wouldn't even worry about it. I had a small safe bolted onto the wall in my place, I never told my landlord what it was for. I would however take a little extra care to hide it from some basic snooping, but as others above have mentioned, 9+ hours... your safe is getting opened or ripped off the wall.

I'm in the process of moving this weekend and spent a little time today patching up the screw holes and putting some paint on there. There are some leases where they don't allow you to hang anything on the wall or what not, mine didn't have anything in there. If you develop a decent relationship with your landlord, there might also be some wiggle room (get any changes in writing though).

 

[Lip]

As almost everyone else has said, I wouldn't even worry about it. I had a small safe bolted onto the wall in my place, I never told my landlord what it was for. I would however take a little extra care to hide it from some basic snooping, but as others above have mentioned, 9+ hours... your safe is getting opened or ripped off the wall.

I'm in the process of moving this weekend and spent a little time today patching up the screw holes and putting some paint on there. There are some leases where they don't allow you to hang anything on the wall or what not, mine didn't have anything in there. If you develop a decent relationship with your landlord, there might also be some wiggle room (get any changes in writing though).

Since I repair everything I get a free ride so to speak, plus the rent is ridiculously cheap who am I to complain. except for the occasional sheet rocking (blows).

 

[MST_2009]

Don't tell nobody nuthin'. They ain't gotta know.

 

[neEEGuru]

In general, it's best the landlord knows as little as possible about you and stays out of your life as much as possible. This usually goes for direct neighbors also.

 

[joe847]

I am a landlord and I wouldn't care if my tenants parked a 155 howitzer in the garage. I might ask to fire it is all. Honestly I do not care one bit what my tenants keep in my house. As long as the house looks pretty much the same when they move out as it diid when they moved in I am happy. Any landlord that cares what you have in their house or apartment is probably not going to be pleasant to rent from.

 

[dcmdon]

As a landlord and a shooter I'll tell you this.

If the landlord has something in the lease about gun ownership, then either address it with him or move on.

If there's nothing in the lease, then you aren't under any obligation either way to him. Keep your mouth shut and store them responsibly.

 

[dreadedtrash]

I have lived in my apartment for about 4 years with my landlord living below me the whole time. I recently got my LTC. I have become fairly close with him over the years. I think he was more excited that I got my LTC than I was. The day I picked up my first gun he had to be one of the first to see it. However before I went for my LTC firearms had come up in conversation before and I knew that he wouldnt care (he is a Vietnam vet). At one point he told me that everyone should have a loaded gun in their nightstand just incase someone breaks in. Needless to say I wasnt worried about him knowing but now I owe him a trip or two to the range I guess.

 

[In God We Trust]

Never rent an apartment that is in an owner occupied dwelling. They look at you more of a guest than a tenant when they live downstairs. WHen I used to rent, that was the first question I would ask. They always got pissy when I asked and I assumed many other people asked the same question.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

No need to tell about your lawful activities. A rational landlord would realize that someone with an LTC is probably a much better statistical risk in terms of being a "no problem" tenant that a random person - but not all are rational. It gets really interesting if a gun owning applicant is in a protected housing class - black, muslim, gay, etc. - a landlord who tries denying such a person housing is risking a mighty expensive interaction with the MCAD.

Landlords like to bluff tenants. I've seen landlord notices declaring "fines" for certain prohibited activities that would never hold up in court. For example, you can deduct for damage to the apartment, but you can't impose a $500 fine for unauthorized painting unless you can convince the court that you were really damaged to that extent (for example, having to have it repainted because it was painted a bizarre color).

 

[dcmdon]

$500 for unauthorized (bizarre) painting is cheap.

My lease says that my bill rate is $85/hr for any work I do to make things right. That way I'm not screwing myself by doing things myself vs. paying someone else.
I had to repaint a small bathroom after a tenant painted it purple. Between the two coats of Kilz primer and 2 coats of linen white, repainting the trim, and the time spent getting the purple spatters off of the hardwood floor, they were into me for close to $1000.

Don

p.s. my lease is very tight, but says nothing about guns, and never will.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

$500 for unauthorized (bizarre) painting is cheap.

It's cheap if the landlord has to re-paint or repair a botched paint job. It's unwarranted if the tenant repaints in a neutral color comparable to the original and does a good job - and, being MA, a landlord will probably need a more solid case than "my policy establishes a minimum fine of $X" in order for a court to allow the $ to be withheld from the deposit.

Actual damages, when proven, will probably be held up by the court. "Fines" established as part of a landlord's private justice system are on shakey ground., especially when the landlord uses the term "fine" to describe potential holdbacks from the deposit.

In reality, what this landlord was trying to accomplish is reasonable - making sure any painting done by tenants does not devalue the unit. It's just a bit silly trying to declare a "private fine system" rather than simply say "actual cost of professional repainting if required".

>I had to repaint a small bathroom after a tenant painted it purple.

One thing about tenants who use a bizarre color and promise to repaint it before vacating - they never do. I ended up with bright red radiators in a unit I once owned - fortunately, they didn't do the walls as well.

 

[dcmdon]

I agree with you as far as "fines" are concerned. In my case it was the cost to make me "whole", not a fine.

 

[neEEGuru]

I am a landlord and I wouldn't care if my tenants parked a 155 howitzer in the garage. I might ask to fire it is all. Honestly I do not care one bit what my tenants keep in my house. As long as the house looks pretty much the same when they move out as it diid when they moved in I am happy. Any landlord that cares what you have in their house or apartment is probably not going to be pleasant to rent from.

THIS THIS THIS!!! That's how I feel about things, and any good landlord is going to feel the same way. When you get someone that is way into your business, checks up on you, cares about every little thing you do, etc... almost guaranteed a bad experience!

Never rent an apartment that is in an owner occupied dwelling. They look at you more of a guest than a tenant when they live downstairs. WHen I used to rent, that was the first question I would ask. They always got pissy when I asked and I assumed many other people asked the same question.

THIS also!

Don't burn it down, pay your rent, leave it in similar condition when you leave. All that matters.

 

[Bill Nance]

OP: I'm guessing you are a new gun owner and all the insane nonsense you had to go through to get a LTC seems so "Normal" to you that you feel a need to disclose that you're an evil person just looking to go postal?

I can't imagine why you would ever disclose anything that you owned to a landlord unless it affected the neighbors or involved putting in a fixture.

Most places in the U.S., it's assumed that you may own guns. No one asks, no one cares. In Mass. you would be well advised to just keep your mouth shut. Why on earth would the landlord need to know?