“Where you work” is not a protected characteristic in the US. Plenty of places where a landlord could throw this clause into the lease, and if they can prove you violated it, they can start eviction proceedings.
It would be very difficult to prove, and the ensuing legal battle may cost more than the “additional maintenance” that may be required, but in theory these bastards can do pretty much whatever they want.
I guess it depends on what freedoms you associate with being a domicile. Plenty of leases have specific restrictions in the agreement that are enforceable as long as they don’t explicitly conflict with local laws. No smoking, no pets, etc are all valid and enforceable clauses to put in a lease. I’ve signed leases saying “guests can’t stay longer than 24 hours” without batting an eye.
Requiring a tenant to be out of the house 8 hours per day is odd and difficult to prove, but if you sign a lease that says it, I don’t see how you wouldn’t be accountable to it.
A property owner can put whatever TF restrictions they want in the lease—and they often do! But just because it’s in a contract doesn’t mean it’s legal (e.g. contract to kill).
Let’s say a property owner finds out their tenant is working from home. They claim a violation of the lease and start eviction proceedings. That’s dumb AF.
This would only ever be used as an excuse for a tenant they don’t like.
If it came before a judge, even they would be like, “WTF?” And would probably not demand an explanation, but instead would point to mountains of case law that say a property owner can’t dictate what people can and can’t do within a rental property as long as those activities don’t impact the property (e.g. the value).
That’s when the property owner would have to explain how Joe Schmoe working from home is somehow worse than retiree Judy Anywoman who stays at home all day every day.
Oh yeah, as I said, it’s a very difficult thing to prove and absolutely not worth the money wasted trying to enforce it. But there’s no rule saying dogs can’t play basketball. If a landlord wants to put it in, and a tenant knowingly signs it, the tenant needs to be prepared for the possibility of this turning into a huge pain in the ass.
Where i live, you can say no pets, but that is not enforceable, they can deny you on the application, but you can get a pet the minute you move in and the landlords cant evict you for it
This does depend on where you live. I have had pets in every “no pets” lease I’ve ever had because in my area its unenforceable and not an envictable offence unless under very specific circumstances, usually the landlord would have to be living in the same building and have an allergy to pets to be able to enforce a no pets rule.
Theres lots of bullshit landlords will put in a lease because they think whatever they write is law but there are often certain standards that apply regardless of what the lease says.
No businesses from home is a relatively common condition in a lease and co-op ownership contract, especially if the business involves people constantly visiting the home or turns the mailroom into a warehouse.
It is the equivalent of a lease banning a person from setting up an Airbnb in the unit they rented.
They cannot enforce no working from home. God damn those parasites are so fucking out of touch
“Where you work” is not a protected characteristic in the US. Plenty of places where a landlord could throw this clause into the lease, and if they can prove you violated it, they can start eviction proceedings.
It would be very difficult to prove, and the ensuing legal battle may cost more than the “additional maintenance” that may be required, but in theory these bastards can do pretty much whatever they want.
I know, the where you work isn’t protected, but bring a rental has the implicit use of being a domicile, with all the freedoms associated with it
I guess it depends on what freedoms you associate with being a domicile. Plenty of leases have specific restrictions in the agreement that are enforceable as long as they don’t explicitly conflict with local laws. No smoking, no pets, etc are all valid and enforceable clauses to put in a lease. I’ve signed leases saying “guests can’t stay longer than 24 hours” without batting an eye.
Requiring a tenant to be out of the house 8 hours per day is odd and difficult to prove, but if you sign a lease that says it, I don’t see how you wouldn’t be accountable to it.
Ooh, I actually know a little bit about this!
A property owner can put whatever TF restrictions they want in the lease—and they often do! But just because it’s in a contract doesn’t mean it’s legal (e.g. contract to kill).
Let’s say a property owner finds out their tenant is working from home. They claim a violation of the lease and start eviction proceedings. That’s dumb AF.
Oh yeah, as I said, it’s a very difficult thing to prove and absolutely not worth the money wasted trying to enforce it. But there’s no rule saying dogs can’t play basketball. If a landlord wants to put it in, and a tenant knowingly signs it, the tenant needs to be prepared for the possibility of this turning into a huge pain in the ass.
Yeah, yeah, we all know the Air Bud clause.
Where i live, you can say no pets, but that is not enforceable, they can deny you on the application, but you can get a pet the minute you move in and the landlords cant evict you for it
This does depend on where you live. I have had pets in every “no pets” lease I’ve ever had because in my area its unenforceable and not an envictable offence unless under very specific circumstances, usually the landlord would have to be living in the same building and have an allergy to pets to be able to enforce a no pets rule.
Theres lots of bullshit landlords will put in a lease because they think whatever they write is law but there are often certain standards that apply regardless of what the lease says.
Agreed, I said exactly as much:
Depending on the jurisdiction.
No businesses from home is a relatively common condition in a lease and co-op ownership contract, especially if the business involves people constantly visiting the home or turns the mailroom into a warehouse.
It is the equivalent of a lease banning a person from setting up an Airbnb in the unit they rented.
Working from home and operating a business out of your home are VASTLY different things.
It depends. If you’re an independent contractor working for a company, you could be considered to be operating a business from your home.
The line has gotten blurry, especially after COVID.