Articles: House Or Apartment

Dear Consumer Ed:  Can an apartment complex force tenants to pay for “valet” trash pickup in front of their apartment door versus letting us just take care of it and throw it away in the dumpster for free?

Dear Consumer Ed:  Since my original apartment lease expired, I am on a month-to-month lease. Can my landlord increase the rent by $150/month with only eight days’ notice?

Dear Consumer Ed:  Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, my landlord has been forcing residents to pay their rent online, which incurs an $18 to $30 fee. Is this legal?

Dear Consumer Ed:  Is it legal for pharmacies and doctors’ offices to require me to provide them with my date of birth? I’m told they can’t look up my file without it, but it seems like I’m giving out my DOB on a daily basis and I worry about identity theft. 

Dear Consumer Ed:  My family and I have been living in an extended-stay motel for the past six months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic I lost my job, and my husband’s work hours were cut in half. We have not been able to pay our motel bill for the last two weeks. The manager is now threatening to kick us out if we cannot pay by the end of the week. Is this allowed? Do we have to move out immediately? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  I believe that my homeowners association is misusing homeowners dues. What can I do to figure out how this money is actually being spent? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  How do I obtain the name of a property owner?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I just found out that there is a judgment lien against my house.  How does this affect my house?  How long will the lien be there?  What can I do to get rid of the lien? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  Our apartment lease is up at the end of this month, but our landlord is requiring that we leave the utilities on for five days after our lease expires for the move-out inspection. Can they require us to pay for utilities almost a week beyond the end of our lease?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I told my mortgage lender that I would prefer to pay my property taxes in full each year instead of having a portion rolled into my monthly mortgage payments and held in escrow. Are they allowed to charge me a fee if I do that?