Can My Property Manager Change the Terms of My Lease?


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I recently started renting a 5 bedroom duplex house with a very long driveway to the back where the garage is. I’ve been renting for 2 months and have been parking the 5 vehicle’s that I own in my part of the gated property all along the side of the driveway. The manager didn’t like how the cars looked in the driveway and gave me an eviction notice. I have to move all of my car’s out of the driveway and I am only allowed to park one there. Can she enforce this new rule on me if it wasn’t in the initial contract?

That’s an interesting question, though in the long run it doesn’t matter. Assuming you are correct that the contract doesn’t address this (and you would need to look at it carefully-for example, is there a local ordinance about parking, and a “comply with all laws” clause in the contract?), the question then is how your landlord can change the agreement.

If you have a lease for a term, then the landlord ought to be stuck with it until the term is over. But if you’re month-to-month, your landlord can usually change terms on 30 days’ notice. Yes, technically she should have given you a notice first.

The reason it doesn’t matter in the long run is: do you want to live with a landlord like this? My advice would be to use whatever leverage you can to get some moving expenses, and be well rid of this jerk.