Q: A couple of weeks ago, my apartment manager announced a nonemergency bathroom remodeling project, calling it "exciting news" that will allow tenants to stay in a "guest suite."
In truth, it is anything but what they claim. To accommodate their vanity project, they seek to bully tenants out of their apartments and/or bathrooms for a week.
They suggest that I must agree to cooperate even though my bathroom is unblemished, and even after they examined my apartment twice in the past month, once with a city official, and never told me about a problem. They offer no compensation for the tremendous inconvenience to tenants.
Indeed, they never even acknowledge there will be an inconvenience. They failed to mention the loud and monthslong construction noise that will ensue, causing major disruptions inside the building. Indeed, they have sent no communication about the project to the non-remodeling tenants, so they have no idea what's coming.
Seeking to confront this problem directly with its creator, I have sent multiple emails to the property manager, regional portfolio manager, the vice president of the management company and to its president and chief executive officer. None of them have responded to my emails. I have already refused to participate but many tenants, including myself, work from home and are deeply concerned that the noise will interfere with our jobs.
Do I have a legal right to refuse to consent to the remodeling? Do I have a legal right to demand compensation for the months of, in their own words "disruption to my life," especially my job?
A: Your apartment manager has a legal duty to provide a rental unit that is fit for the use intended, in reasonable repair, and in compliance with safety and health codes.
Most often, when remodeling is undertaken, the remodeling is necessary due to roof leaks or mold or some other health or safety issue. In those types of cases, your apartment manager may need to make the repairs as soon as possible and would need to provide suitable alternative living arrangements for any tenant affected by the necessary repairs. Oftentimes the landlord wants to make improvements in anticipation of a sale or to justify increased rental costs. Courts will often approve of these business purposes.
However, your landlord still has to comply with the duty to provide a unit that is fit for the use intended, in reasonable repair and in compliance with safety and health codes. Most often, landlords will reduce rent, or provide an alternative unit to make up for the inconvenience and other issues related to construction in a tenant's unit.
There is no hard and fast rule as to what a landlord must do when they are making improvements in a tenant's unit in order to maintain compliance with their duties under the lease. Your landlord did inform the affected tenants of the renovations and provided alternative housing in the form of a guest suite, but it sounds like you believe your landlord may not be doing enough to compensate you for the inconvenience. Obviously, construction is going to be noisy and, absent canceling the project, there may be no way to meet their duties under the lease and satisfy those tenants who work from home.
The landlord does have an argument that the large numbers of people working from home is relatively new, and may not be considered a protected right. Landlords do have the right to make improvements to their property, but they need to accommodate their tenants if the construction is going on in their tenants' units since otherwise it would be a lease violation due to the landlord not providing what their lease promised. Some of the tenants in your building may want the bathroom renovation, will agree to the construction while their lease is running and will find a quiet place to work during the day.
Tenants always have the right to file a rent escrow action to request compensation or a rent reduction due to noise disruption or inconvenience caused by the construction. Those forms are available at the county courthouse where you live.
You will have to write or email the landlord your concerns 14 days before you can file such an action, although it sounds as if you have already written them so that email may suffice. In that action, you can also request rent abatement for the time you were or will be unable to enjoy your apartment because of the construction noise and you can also request that your lease be canceled.
If management gets back to you and agrees on a rent reduction or some other compromise, then you don't need to file an action, but you should make sure to get that agreement in writing and signed by both parties. If you aren't able to settle before you go to court, then both sides have strong arguments, which makes it difficult to predict how a court would rule.
Kelly Klein is a Minneapolis attorney. Participation in this column does not create an attorney/client relationship with Klein. Do not rely on advice in this column for legal opinions. Consult an attorney regarding your particular issues. E-mail renting questions to kklein@kleinpa.com. Information provided by readers is not confidential.
