My landlord is trying to not only ban e-cigs but even owning a mod!!!
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The problem is that the OP isn't vaping in his own home.
By virtue of his accepting government assisted housing
he is vaping in the government's home.
If the OP was renting his home w/o government assistance
the terms of his lease would govern whether
he could or not vape in his home.
I own my home. If the government tells me that I can't vape in my own home
I would laugh heartily. But I don't have a contract with the gub'min
As it is I figure sometime soon the gub'min will tell me
that I can't smoke or vape in my own front porch like they already tell me when I can
use the water I pay for to water my plants. But that's outside.
I really don't understand why the OP has an issue.
One should read the fine print in any lease or contract.
My best suggestion is to hire an attorney or seek free legal aid.
But I'm willing to bet my Vamo there's not going to be a pleasant remedy for him.
So the next best thing is to make like in a college dorm and use stealth and towels under the door
Regards,
Hazy
I would think the govt pays the "landlord" rent, so technically it isn't a government building.
If that's the case, then the terms of the lease would have to restrict e cigs.
I would suggest consulting an attorney.
If that's the case, then the terms of the lease would have to restrict e cigs.
I would suggest consulting an attorney.
Well unless you sign a contract where you agree to a fine if caught, like you stated above, then they can't fine you. You can take them to court for that and I would tell them that if they threatened you with a fine.
Just start vaping privately more. It's sad that it came to this with your Landlord but it is what it is. I certainly wouldn't hide anything in my own apartment though. They can't prove that you used it to create smoke if they are just sitting there. Just say you collect knick nacks or something. They can't prove you use them to create vapor.
Please please please don't let him fine you unless you not only verbally agreed but signed off on the new rule. If he says you owe him 100 bucks just laugh and tell him to take you to court so the judge can laugh at him. I could get a first year law student from my local college to win that case with their eyes closed.
Just start vaping privately more. It's sad that it came to this with your Landlord but it is what it is. I certainly wouldn't hide anything in my own apartment though. They can't prove that you used it to create smoke if they are just sitting there. Just say you collect knick nacks or something. They can't prove you use them to create vapor.
Please please please don't let him fine you unless you not only verbally agreed but signed off on the new rule. If he says you owe him 100 bucks just laugh and tell him to take you to court so the judge can laugh at him. I could get a first year law student from my local college to win that case with their eyes closed.
Based off of my knowledge in the field of legalities, there is a sure-fire way to find out if you're going to have a problem or not with the landlord in court... Go to an attorney's office(including public defender ones and such), and get a free(A LOT do free ones) consultation of the matter, and when you explain it to the attorney. Then after the explanation and you two get facts ironed out and are on the same page, ask him/her if he/she will take it on contingency. If they say yes? Then you -have- a winning case more than likely. As contingency means for those whom do not know, the attorney will -not- get paid unless -you- win. Meaning if they sign on to the case as your attorney, and you lose the case? They get nothing, zilch, nada. So they wasted a lot of time, and potential income taking your case...
So there fore unless your case is really good? Most attorney's will NOT take it on contingency. So make sure to ask that to see how strong-your- case would be!
So there fore unless your case is really good? Most attorney's will NOT take it on contingency. So make sure to ask that to see how strong-your- case would be!
Wow! sounds as if this upcoming meeting is something
1) you'll want to attend
2) having done your homework first and arriving well "armed" with the facts and laws which govern the situation.
While each US State does have its own "landlord-Tenant" act or code, they do share many commonalities, as well as
yes federal guidelines concerning the rights to Fair housing, etc.
I believe in the State of IL, you'll be dealing with 765 ILCS 705/ Landlord and Tenant Act
http://http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2201&ChapterID=62
Noodle around the Internet and find one of the better "plain language" guides to the code.
http://http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-landlord-tenant-laws-illinois.html
or a similar source that works for you.
As for what role Government subsidy for rent has to play in this, - may have something to do with HUD housing guidelines.
http://http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/illinois/renting/tenantrights
but again...you'll probably either want to do your homework- or have a representative do the same on your behalf.
What Im hearing is more akin to "house rules" which are often found spelled out by home owner associations, Condo associations, or "room rentals" ( a whole different ball of wax). Sometimes housing projects do have legally binding CC&Rs. (Covenants, Codes and Restrictions) which you'll be required to "abide by" to live in the covered housing. It may be verbiage whether these are deemed "rules" but they're certainly legally binding, most often also recorded in the courts for the local county as public record.
I read someone suggesting not to sign anything.
You'll want to sure anything put before you is a "standardized form" thats being presented.
Each State also has its own Board of Realtors in the USA-
If in IL, the IL Association of Realtors should
help you find your local "board" who with a phone call or email will share with you the approved SOP (Standard of Practice) Landlord Tenant Rental Agreement for your review how ever many pages, front and back- get a copy and read it through.
They're written in Plain english, even when the laws themselves (ie the Landlord tenant code) may not be.
While they're not obligated to share other similar standard forms with the public- a rental agreement is the one exception.
Once you've done your homework, (or your representative) you'll be knowledgeable in understanding your rights.
Most all 50 states have Landlord Tenant Codes which do more to protect the Tenant than visa vie.
Beyond what protects you through Federal Fair Housing rights; The applicable state codes and standards of practice;
-if you are being asked to agree in writing to something which is not in agreement with governing laws for your area
then the chances are it wouldnt prevail in court.
However, the point is you may not wish to be the "test case". Then again, perhaps you do.?
Please do not agree in writing to something you question the legality of at any level. (county, state, federal).
Ive sadly seen cases where it was deemed both parties "agreed in writing" to terms, therefore they were being upheld as contractually binding agreements between parties.
Someone who for example rents rooms or represents a condominium owners association may be worrying about
issues such as insurance. They may or may NOT be allowed to impose these concerns on you a tenant.
These are where "house rules" are upheld. More commonly they're for swimming pool safety (minors supervision for example) but this could be a tactic used against renters also...something about fire insurance
to say you cannot burn incense or candles in your home.
This is where your local "legal aid" society may be willing to assist.
All the best, please keep us up to date, This is a hot issue; many here will be interested in watching.
Cheers.
1) you'll want to attend
2) having done your homework first and arriving well "armed" with the facts and laws which govern the situation.
While each US State does have its own "landlord-Tenant" act or code, they do share many commonalities, as well as
yes federal guidelines concerning the rights to Fair housing, etc.
I believe in the State of IL, you'll be dealing with 765 ILCS 705/ Landlord and Tenant Act
http://http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2201&ChapterID=62
Noodle around the Internet and find one of the better "plain language" guides to the code.
http://http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-landlord-tenant-laws-illinois.html
or a similar source that works for you.
As for what role Government subsidy for rent has to play in this, - may have something to do with HUD housing guidelines.
http://http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/illinois/renting/tenantrights
but again...you'll probably either want to do your homework- or have a representative do the same on your behalf.
What Im hearing is more akin to "house rules" which are often found spelled out by home owner associations, Condo associations, or "room rentals" ( a whole different ball of wax). Sometimes housing projects do have legally binding CC&Rs. (Covenants, Codes and Restrictions) which you'll be required to "abide by" to live in the covered housing. It may be verbiage whether these are deemed "rules" but they're certainly legally binding, most often also recorded in the courts for the local county as public record.
I read someone suggesting not to sign anything.
You'll want to sure anything put before you is a "standardized form" thats being presented.
Each State also has its own Board of Realtors in the USA-
If in IL, the IL Association of Realtors should
help you find your local "board" who with a phone call or email will share with you the approved SOP (Standard of Practice) Landlord Tenant Rental Agreement for your review how ever many pages, front and back- get a copy and read it through.
They're written in Plain english, even when the laws themselves (ie the Landlord tenant code) may not be.
While they're not obligated to share other similar standard forms with the public- a rental agreement is the one exception.
Once you've done your homework, (or your representative) you'll be knowledgeable in understanding your rights.
Most all 50 states have Landlord Tenant Codes which do more to protect the Tenant than visa vie.
Beyond what protects you through Federal Fair Housing rights; The applicable state codes and standards of practice;
-if you are being asked to agree in writing to something which is not in agreement with governing laws for your area
then the chances are it wouldnt prevail in court.
However, the point is you may not wish to be the "test case". Then again, perhaps you do.?
Please do not agree in writing to something you question the legality of at any level. (county, state, federal).
Ive sadly seen cases where it was deemed both parties "agreed in writing" to terms, therefore they were being upheld as contractually binding agreements between parties.
Someone who for example rents rooms or represents a condominium owners association may be worrying about
issues such as insurance. They may or may NOT be allowed to impose these concerns on you a tenant.
These are where "house rules" are upheld. More commonly they're for swimming pool safety (minors supervision for example) but this could be a tactic used against renters also...something about fire insurance
to say you cannot burn incense or candles in your home.
This is where your local "legal aid" society may be willing to assist.
All the best, please keep us up to date, This is a hot issue; many here will be interested in watching.
Cheers.
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No kidding.
Also, do not quote me on this as fact as I am not familiar with ANY law besides NC Law, and even some of -our- laws I am sorta fuzzy on... But, as far as I am aware in any circumstance, unless the item is illegal by nature(Keyword item, objects of a physical nature, not including pets), then it is illegal for a landlord to ban it. Especially if more or less in your renters agreement it did not say 'By agreeing to live here, you are bound to not be in possession of the following items', and even then you can have that dismissed in a court if it's outrageously ridiculous. And mind you unless the -actual- item or -specific- class of item is stated, it can't count. EG, he said electronic 'smoking' devices. That does NOT cover Mods, E-Cigs, etc as your device does not emit smoke, but water vapor/steam. He cannot say, put in 'cigarettes', and try and say it classifies E-Cigs as while they both share the name, the definition under the law of 'cigarette' and 'electronic cigarette' are too different to be grouped together. Mods, vape devices, etc are not illegal here, not even ....s and hookahs and such. You can buy them but must only use tobacco or other -legal- products with them. If you say, purchased one, and your landlord (again here in NC at least) found out you smoked your tobacco with the .... and told you that you needed to get rid of it, or be evicted then you would more or less have a 90% chance of winning against the landlord in court.
Not to mention, as with what I said earlier? As far as I can see in IL, mods, e-cigs, vape-systems etc are -not- illegal, and would fall (at least in NC law system) under the premise of what I mentioned with being unable to ban it. As it would be just as restricting to one's life style, and/or ridiculous as banning, say, a car because it puts out emissions.(Hell I'd bring up that cars put out more harmful stuff than your mod!) Or banning a computer because you could do nefarious things on it, so on so forth.
However I most -certainly- would look through IL Law, and preferably as Ipster said, the 'common language' versions and not Legal-ese for goodness sake. And if you find or really think that the landlord would be against the law(and I think also he already is for banning medical 'herb' as well, as since it's medical, that'd be like telling me I can't have my insulin because needles), then talk to an attorney for a free consultant, and find out if he/she would take it on contingency.
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Quick addition: I went over 765 ILCS 705 Landlord and Tenant Act a few times. Your landlord could not cite that and get you evicted, but at the same time you really couldn't use it to your defense, either. More or less the LaTA defines that the landlord can NOT make any agreement, implied or otherwise, that he/she is exempt from Liability to property damage or personal injury from his/her own negligence, or from his/her workers. Except in the case of Subsection B where it does NOT apply to non-residential properties in which a landlord can infact do that.
Section 3 is just about reference to the Code of Civil Procedures regarding rental payments
5 is long story short, about eviction process and procedure if the renter is convicted of a Class X Felony(And Vaping isn't one!)
Section 10 basically says if the Landlord is a Child Sex Offender, and the renter doesn't tell the landlord whom lives in the same building they are renting that they have children(Which is usually on any rental agreement anyway...), that the renter cannot terminate the lease based on the fact they learned the Landlord was a C.S.O.
15 just concerns lock changes and that whole deal
and finally, 16 concerns lease terminations for Service Members called into Service or to another stationing position in terms greater than 30 or 90 days depending on the situation.
Section 3 is just about reference to the Code of Civil Procedures regarding rental payments
5 is long story short, about eviction process and procedure if the renter is convicted of a Class X Felony(And Vaping isn't one!)
Section 10 basically says if the Landlord is a Child Sex Offender, and the renter doesn't tell the landlord whom lives in the same building they are renting that they have children(Which is usually on any rental agreement anyway...), that the renter cannot terminate the lease based on the fact they learned the Landlord was a C.S.O.
15 just concerns lock changes and that whole deal
and finally, 16 concerns lease terminations for Service Members called into Service or to another stationing position in terms greater than 30 or 90 days depending on the situation.
Lots of good advice here but the best is to seek counsel from legal aid or an attorney.
Second best is to visit the LCHA office and seek clarification from them.
One aspect of my profession involves arranging and/or performing service and assessments to housing authorities all over the US and while there may be exceptions, in my experience, they require the property management to give residents 24 to 48 hours notice before entering the dwelling, except in legitimate emergencies.
Good luck.
Second best is to visit the LCHA office and seek clarification from them.
One aspect of my profession involves arranging and/or performing service and assessments to housing authorities all over the US and while there may be exceptions, in my experience, they require the property management to give residents 24 to 48 hours notice before entering the dwelling, except in legitimate emergencies.
Good luck.
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Great advice here ... however, myself, I would still skip the meeting.
I would continue to vape (even right out front of the building where people can see me) ... if they tried to get me to sign something, that's when I would have a lawyer look at it.
I really think the landlord is targeting smoking ... however, if they wanted to continue further ... they could talk to my lawyer.
Sent via iPhone
I would continue to vape (even right out front of the building where people can see me) ... if they tried to get me to sign something, that's when I would have a lawyer look at it.
I really think the landlord is targeting smoking ... however, if they wanted to continue further ... they could talk to my lawyer.
Sent via iPhone
I would go with option 2 and make sure to point out that there isn't a risk of fire or property damage because of it. Remind them that no smell is left behind nor does it leave a yellow stain like smoke does. I would also fight the fact that you're not allowed to own one because they are not illegal and they can't stop you from doing anything(legal or not) outside of your apartment.
I'd tread lightly on the "no risk to property damage concept"; even though the majority of exploding battery/mod occurrences can typically be related to user error, the possibility, however unlikely, does exist.
I currently live in Government Housing in Illinois and recently we got a notice stating that effective in June no tenant will be allowed to smoke any substance that creates smoke. Be that cigarettes, {other stuff}, or any smoking device. And it specifically called out e-cigs.
If they suspect vaping or see a box mod I will be first warned, then fined $100, and then a third strike is possible eviction.
And to top it all of they expect all tenants to show up to a mandatory meeting to discuss this BS policy.
Not really sure what to do here. Theses are my options.
1. Ignore the rules and hide my vaping
2. Voice my opinions on vaping at the meeting.
If I do 1; I got the possiblity of eviction.
I'm pretty sure if I choose 2, they are not going to give a .... about my information.
Do I have any rights here being that I am living in Gov't Housing(assisted living)? I do pay rent after all.
Total ignorance is running this country and I am a fed up citizen!!!
both
voice your opinions at the meeting
and vape in your room (no one will ever know as it doesn't stink) just don't vape in the hallway
Au contraire! Ever see a raw egg still in shell "cooked" in a microwave? Somebody could be seriously hurt or at least scared enough it might raise their heart rate to an elevated level leading to who knows what!
BAN THE MICROWAVES NOW!
LOL! This is shocking news! We need microwave reform NOW. Think of the children!
I wonder if these new restrictions include room humidifiers, aerosol products, tea kettles and candles as well? Under their conveniently vague descriptions of what's prohibited, all of these items could be included. No boiling water either!
Seriously consider NOT drawing attention to yourself!!!!! If you do, then your a target and that will bring nothing but trouble. Seriously, his mind is made up. Here's what I would do. STAY SILENT and hide my vape stuff and continue to vape inside. It's not like anyone will smell it like smoking. I don't think talking to this man will do anything but expose you as a vapor. Be careful, lay low, stay unnoticed. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. It's not fair and seems like it's against your rights. However he does own the building and can do whatever the heck he wants. Sadly the laws, government, and higher ups will ALL be on his side and in his favor . So look out for yourself. Stay quiet, and stealth vape. Don't let him catch you or EVER see you doing it! I wish you the best. I'm just being realastic here. Best to fly under the radar with this. Trying to argue your point will only end badly in my opinion and experience. Keep us posted please! !
Give an inch and they'll take a mile. You can hide in the attic if you like but then things will never change and you will always be hiding.
^^Agree^^
with the caveat that it is not our life, if it was, I would have no problem with trying. Only the OP can figure out how far he wants to stick his neck out for the benefit of others that come behind him.
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