My landlord told me to stop brewing!

[midfielder5]

Get renter's insurance, if you don't have it already, and you really should

and try to make sure it covers any "damage" your brewing might cause- maybe that will appease him.

 

[BrokenBrew]

The property is an apartment complex with brobably about 50-60 apartments.

He is not technically the landlord come to think of it, he is the property manager. He is at least in his 70s.

I always pay rent on time.

Thanks for the info. Being an apartment complex with an on-site manager makes it easier and harder.

Easier:
- The laws in CA favor tenants. Heavily. Damn liberals. It'd be difficult to evict someone like you.
- Vacancies are up. If you're paying in full on time and have had no problems it's unlikely they'll push it.
- What you're doing is no more hazardous than making soup. I doubt a judge would see different.

Harder:
- They guy's just doing his job. He's told not to let anyone do anything that could 'blow up', and he doesn't really have a personal stake on keeping you in the apt.
- He's old. Damn old people. Joking aside, as people get older they get less flexible and what they think is what's true - dadgummit!

Here's what I would do. First, ignore him, and see if he brings it up again. There's a good likelihood he won't.

If he mentions it again, talk to the guy. Ask him why he thinks it's dangerous and why you're going to blow the place up. If you can nicely get him to see that what you're doing is pretty much like making soup, then you won't have any more hassles. Hell, bring him some homebrew as a peace offering.

If the old fart won't budge, do what most of the people here have said. If he comes into the apartment without giving you notice then write a certified letter asking that he give you 24 hours notice, and requiring your presence. Make sure on that day to not be brewing, and have your carboys in a locked cabinet or a box. Landlords are NOT allowed to go through your stuff.

Remember that CA laws are in your favor, both for homebrewing and tenant/landlord laws. The problem you might face is a day in court, but if you have the time, you can easily defend yourself, and it's likely you'd win.

Last, please keep in mind that I'm not an attorney so take what I've said with a grain of salt. Take a look at this: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf. It outlines CA laws.

Best of luck. Feel free to PM me anytime if you want.

Scott

 

[demonrichie]

check your local tenant landlord act. almost anywhere you are unless you risk real damage to the place or persons, doing sumtin illegal or makin too much noise(which homebrewing does none of these in most cases) then he is just harassing you. if this is the case make sure your point is proven and if he tries something you can take him to court

 

[badhabit]

I agree with the previouse post. Convert him! If that doesn't work....

 

[McCuckerson]

here it takes three months to evict someone who hasn't paid rent.

Seriously, whose ass is that?

 

[Rustysocket]

Oh yeah, the reason he knew I was home brewing is because I walked through the common area with a new carboy I had just purchased and he asked me what it's for.

Tell him it holds water.

 

[velosim]

Thanks for the info. Being an apartment complex with an on-site manager makes it easier and harder.

Easier:
- The laws in CA favor tenants. Heavily. Damn liberals. It'd be difficult to evict someone like you.
- Vacancies are up. If you're paying in full on time and have had no problems it's unlikely they'll push it.
- What you're doing is no more hazardous than making soup. I doubt a judge would see different.

Harder:
- They guy's just doing his job. He's told not to let anyone do anything that could 'blow up', and he doesn't really have a personal stake on keeping you in the apt.
- He's old. Damn old people. Joking aside, as people get older they get less flexible and what they think is what's true - dadgummit!

Here's what I would do. First, ignore him, and see if he brings it up again. There's a good likelihood he won't.

If he mentions it again, talk to the guy. Ask him why he thinks it's dangerous and why you're going to blow the place up. If you can nicely get him to see that what you're doing is pretty much like making soup, then you won't have any more hassles. Hell, bring him some homebrew as a peace offering.

If the old fart won't budge, do what most of the people here have said. If he comes into the apartment without giving you notice then write a certified letter asking that he give you 24 hours notice, and requiring your presence. Make sure on that day to not be brewing, and have your carboys in a locked cabinet or a box. Landlords are NOT allowed to go through your stuff.

Remember that CA laws are in your favor, both for homebrewing and tenant/landlord laws. The problem you might face is a day in court, but if you have the time, you can easily defend yourself, and it's likely you'd win.

Last, please keep in mind that I'm not an attorney so take what I've said with a grain of salt. Take a look at this: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf. It outlines CA laws.

Best of luck. Feel free to PM me anytime if you want.

Scott

+1

You will be fine. As most have said, keep brewing knowing you will get notice before anyone comes into your apartment. Also as above, if he mentions it again, educate him and be nice. You will be fine.

 

[springer]

Get renter's insurance, if you don't have it already, and you really should

and try to make sure it covers any "damage" your brewing might cause- maybe that will appease him.

renters ins doesn't cover the dwelling

Seriously, whose ass is that?

cute isn't it .

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Ever find peace with the landlord? Has he hassled you anymore?

 

[munche]

If I were in that situation, I'd pretty much just ignore it and go about my day. He has no way to know if you're brewing, and he'll probably forget about it in a week anyhow. If he asks you about it later, just say you haven't been doing it.

 

[Pommy]

I think that the best way to handle it would be to invite him around for one of your (already brewed) homebrews and just explain the whole process to him, to be fair to the guy it is probably just his ignorance that causes him to see it dangerous and most likely has no understanding of how homebrewing beer differs from either distilling or even operating a meth lab. Just remember that it is always good to get on with the landlord whenever possible and if hes a reasonable enough guy he should at least accept a beer and a chat and maybe a referal to this forum or another site to better understand why it is completely safe for him to allow you to homebrew. Who knows you might end up with a brewing buddy but if the softly softly approach fails feel free to tell him that he is an idiot and doesnt know what he is talking about. :rockin:

PS: I rent and I never even considered what my landlords would think to my brewing tbh. THe live right next door too but the guy used to do a few of the kits so he understands it a lot better, Im just lucky I guess. Good luck sorting out the issue.

 

[Newton]

Yeah I don't understand why people think homebrewing produces explosions. I told buddy that I was brewing some beer and he said he hoped I didn't "blow up my house" Its bizzaire.

I could understand why a landlord wouldn't want you to run a 185,000 btu burner on the deck or something, but if you are stovetop brewing, I don't see how that is any different than cooking a big soup....

 

[Teromous]

To me it looks like you really only have 3 choices.

1. Change his mind.
2. Listen to him, and stop.
3. Don't stop, and he evicts you giving you advance notice.

 

[iron_city_ap]

Next time he stops by, tell him you are watching a 'lost' episode of Matlock on TV, and NO, he can't come in.

 

[TipsyDragon]

Yeah I don't understand why people think homebrewing produces explosions. I told buddy that I was brewing some beer and he said he hoped I didn't "blow up my house" Its bizzaire.

people equate brewing with moonshine. and there are plenty of urban legends of some hillbilly blowing up his still. same with the occasional brewery/distillery burning down. there is also the fact that alcohol is flammable.... in high enough concentrations ..... higher than what you will ever get in any homebrew. allot of people don't realize/know this. also they don't realize/know there is no alcohol in wort.

i suppose you could technically blow up a propane tank. but as a recent episode of Mythbusters showed you have to disable several safety features to do it. your standard working propane tank turns into a flame thrower when over heated. but really by that point you have bigger problems, like a house burning down.

 

[Synovia]

To me it looks like you really only have 3 choices.

1. Change his mind.
2. Listen to him, and stop.
3. Don't stop, and he evicts you giving you advance notice.

Landlords, in most states, can't evict you without going through a ton of crap, including getting a court order.

In fact, if he did evict you over this, you'd have grounds to seek damages for retribution.

 

[Homercidal]

Next time he stops by, tell him you are watching a 'lost' episode of Matlock on TV, and NO, he can't come in.

LOL! You made me choke on my pop tart damn you!

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Next time he stops by, tell him you are watching a 'lost' episode of Matlock on TV, and NO, he can't come in.

MAT-LOCK!!!

 

[Boondoggie]

In fact, if he did evict you over this, you'd have grounds to seek damages for retribution.

Why?

Landlord can tell you not to do otherwise legal things with your apartment, like smoking and owning pets... how is this any different?

 

[BendBrewer]

Why?

Landlord can tell you not to do otherwise legal things with your apartment, like smoking and owning pets... how is this any different?

Yeah, in the lease. They couldn't come to you 6 months into your year long lease and tell you that now you can't have a dog all of a sudden.

Renters have rights too. More than most people think.

 

[remilard]

Yeah, in the lease. They couldn't come to you 6 months into your year long lease and tell you that now you can't have a dog all of a sudden.

Renters have rights too. More than most people think.

More than they should have, whatever happened to adults making contracts without the government limiting their ability to do so?

Either way, the legal advice in this thread is worth exactly what was paid for it.

The two best options, I think, are to continue to brew and be prepared to accept the consequences without crying if they happen or to rent another place where the desires of the landlord and the tenant are better aligned.

A third option is that if it is important to be able to do what you want at home within reason, you could chose to live on property you own.

 

[Rustysocket]

Why?

Landlord can tell you not to do otherwise legal things with your apartment, like smoking and owning pets... how is this any different?

Typically those types of stipulations would be in the lease at the time of signing. They can't just make up rules as you go. Exclusions of that nature(smoking, pets, brewing) would need to be specifically defined in the lease, otherwise it would be interpreted as allowed, not the other way around.

I think evicting someone for "cooking" something that you disagreed with would be a stretch, and if presented properly, could be a form of discrimination. I don't see a judge interpreting it under Hazardous activity, becasue there is plenty of information showing it is not. Unless brewing is Illegal in your state, that's a different issue.

I've been on both sides of Landlord-Tenant laws. If a Landlord wants you gone it can happen, and if a tenant wants to stay it can take a court order and a sherrif to get him out. Iv'e seen it go both ways. Most Landlords are not going to mess with a regularly paying tenant, unless they are causing major problems for other residents. As a landlord it's hard enough keeping your units full with people who are employed, pay the rent, and don't have other issues.

I tend to live by the "It's easier to ask forgiveness, than permission" way of thinking. Fly under the radar, don't make an issue out of brewing and I'll bet it goes away.