Hi all,
My landlord is being an ass! I wondered if anyone has dealt with anything similar. I know that landlord/tenant laws very depending on where you are, but for the record, I am in Brooklyn.
I moved into this place in April. It is a GREAT find for Brooklyn. Good neighborhood, first floor, lots of space, very reasonable price, and the best part is a massive (for NYC) backyard with a great big concrete patio, a garden, and a giant, generous fig tree. I do NOT want to give this place up.
When we signed the lease, I briefly mentioned to him that I brew beer, and he raised no objections. He thought it was interesting and told me he wanted to try some of my beers.
Fast forward 4 months. We have been bugging him some time to fix several minor outstanding issues with the place, and I guess it got to be too much for him, as he called me up today and told me I was asking for too much and that he would be happy to let me out of the lease. I told him I certainly did not want to leave, and then he drops this bomb:
"I told you a while back not to brew your beer as it is an insurance liability"
He proceeds to claim it is some kind of fire hazard (I guess he means the propane tank, which I only use for the boil, on bare concrete, with nothing combustible within 10 feet) and says that lease allows only residential activities (I think he is assuming I sell it, though I made it clear I do not). He also claims he had heard nothing of this before we signed, which was completely untrue. I tried to convince him that brewing is no different from cooking, asking if I also need special permission to make waffles, but he wasn't really buying it. He has some major trust issues, and generally doesn't believe anything I tell him if he perceives any chance of negative impact or financial loss on his end.
As far as I know he can't kick me out for this, and he can't really do anything to make me stop brewing.
Has anyone dealt with a situation like this?
My landlord is being an ass! I wondered if anyone has dealt with anything similar. I know that landlord/tenant laws very depending on where you are, but for the record, I am in Brooklyn.
I moved into this place in April. It is a GREAT find for Brooklyn. Good neighborhood, first floor, lots of space, very reasonable price, and the best part is a massive (for NYC) backyard with a great big concrete patio, a garden, and a giant, generous fig tree. I do NOT want to give this place up.
When we signed the lease, I briefly mentioned to him that I brew beer, and he raised no objections. He thought it was interesting and told me he wanted to try some of my beers.
Fast forward 4 months. We have been bugging him some time to fix several minor outstanding issues with the place, and I guess it got to be too much for him, as he called me up today and told me I was asking for too much and that he would be happy to let me out of the lease. I told him I certainly did not want to leave, and then he drops this bomb:
"I told you a while back not to brew your beer as it is an insurance liability"
He proceeds to claim it is some kind of fire hazard (I guess he means the propane tank, which I only use for the boil, on bare concrete, with nothing combustible within 10 feet) and says that lease allows only residential activities (I think he is assuming I sell it, though I made it clear I do not). He also claims he had heard nothing of this before we signed, which was completely untrue. I tried to convince him that brewing is no different from cooking, asking if I also need special permission to make waffles, but he wasn't really buying it. He has some major trust issues, and generally doesn't believe anything I tell him if he perceives any chance of negative impact or financial loss on his end.
As far as I know he can't kick me out for this, and he can't really do anything to make me stop brewing.
Has anyone dealt with a situation like this?