Landlord's Response To Domestic Violence?

I don't think you can just evict someone because someone else alleges that something domestic is going on. It is the same with criminal activity. Unless there is very specific wording in the lease or rental agreement you would be on very shakey legal ground if you tried to kick someone out on hearsay. I am not saying that domestic abuse isn't a terrible thing, but the bottom line is just because you are a landlord that does not mean you are a police force. Short of actually witnessing some sort of event, there really is no grounds to get involved. As far as criminal activity is concerned if it is not happening at the address and there are no police reports you have no grounds for eviction. For example if your tenant gets busted for something illegal and it is NOT your address you cannot evict them even if you think they might be doing that activity at your property. People have rights and guess what, even if you are a convicted felon they have the right to live someplace- so make sure if you do not want convicted felons living on the property you have that outlined in detail on the rental agreement least you find yourself sued for discrimination.

I think that owners sometimes forget that tenants have rights. I know in multi dwellings people like to use the "peaceful enjoyment" verbiage that is in many of the rental agreements, but that in itself is very vague and very hard to prove in certain situations that are not just an ordinance violation like noise. People have been trying for years to make that a catch all phrase for any sort of condition they just don't like. Another case of the classic - someone needs to DO something. If the one tenant has such a problem with whats the neighbor is doing they are the ones that should be DO-ING something about it. Not you, unless they are behind on the rent, then in that case evict.

 

Not to mention if you were to go to the persons' house they may have a gun and shoot you. So it is better to just talk to the cops and let them handle getting their hands dirty.

 

Okay let's start with the obvious issue if the tenant that hears the issue is my tenant I would of course tell them to contact the police. that's a fantastic landlord I think that I would go through the process of asking them to other record or myself with contact the police to make sure that the person next door was okay. in any case you want to ignore domestic violence. What the repercussions of it it goes any further and is turned into murder and the tenant lives in your unit that's next door to that type of issue. Consider your future tenants if they decide to go through the process of taking a look at the history of the actual apartment or location and they find out the door. Would you want them to sign the lease in to find this out later? Would you want them to be neighbors to the people who are currently fighting or beating each other up? And I treat my tenant said that would myself. I would contact the police make sure the proper law enforcement were advised of it and I had a chance to speak to the homeowner if the homeowners are the ones who are getting into fights I'm still call them. And having someone stay at a property and they feel as though there personal safety or someone else is in question.

 

You've reminded me of a story where two brothers were fighting in the house and it was getting out of control, so this guy goes to intervene, story shortened, he got shot, died on the spot,...i really hate meddling as much as i may want to help, in the later end that helping out may cost your life

 

Talk about a tricky situation. Domestic violence isn't as easy to resolve as some people may think. It becomes more complicated when the victim refuse to press charges or do anything to protect themselves from their abuser. You can't force someone to do something they don't want to do. And this is the tragic side of domestic violence when the victim willingly accept such treatment, mostly due to fear. My guess is if the abuse becomes so loud that other tenants are hearing this commotion, then the landlord must step in with the authorities to resolve the situation. The best bet if no resolution is reach, the tenants must move out.

 

If I heard someone getting beat up by their partner I would make the call to the police myself and have them sort it out. If the victim will not do it herself then you can make the call based on what you see or hear. It might be hard for a landlord to make a decision if he or she has no proof of what is occurring, especially if the landlord does not live on site. At least if you call the police, there would be a police record and you may just save the victims life.

 

I completely agree with you and the aspects of the landlord not being present for the actual acts of domestic violence. I think it's up to the tenant to make it very clear to the landlord the times and perhaps the number of instances and which they heard any commotion associated with domestic violence. It is indeed a good idea to call the cops and make sure you have a police record to show that there was some type of action behind ensuring that everyone including your return it is safe.

 

It really depends on what is stipulated on the rental agreement. If it says anything about domestic abuse or officers being called to the property grounds for eviction, then you have the right to exercise that right.

 

You've reminded me of a time when guys {actually ladies} in my apartment area were fighting...a tiny slender guy went in to try and calm the storm...thank God it wasn't on the upper floor but to tell the truth he was thrown out of the door like a raggedy doll like a few meters from the door by a lady...boy wasn't i stunned, i guess he had to go to hospital get treated for the cuts he got from that brawl because after being thrown like that, the lady was hurtling furniture at him, it took the intervention of some strong guys to hold her down...and she's not even that built...lesson learnt...i never meddle in people's affairs...

 

I'd call the cops first rather than tell the landlord. Even if the incident occurred in the landlord's property, the incident is something that needs the expertise of the police force. For example, I tell the landlord first, and he confronts the tenant. My conscience will gnaw me if something happens to the landlord. I'd rather that the cops deal with domestic violence. That's their job, and they are trained to handle it. The landlord can do whatever he think is appropriate after the police investigation.