Landlord is imposing a no Internet rule. what to do?

m in Israel

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 5:56 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

I'm not sure its true. I know more than one landlord who had a ton of trouble evicting nonpaying tenants.
Even if he says he wants the place for his son, how will the tenants be kicked out? And who will do it?

That's why it's crucially important for landlords to require a hefty deposit. Just in case.

This is a separate issue -- how to actually get them out. IOW even if they are legally evicted, what do you do to force them to leave. (This is a big problem in the U.S. as well, BTW). I thought you were discussing the legal right to evict them to begin with.

But in any case if the landlord wants them out he can just raise the rent to a very high amount, not to mention all the other little things he can do to make life tough.

Bottom line, I don't think the OP should sign a deal with the hope that it won't be enforced.

shabbatiscoming

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 6:09 am

notshanarishona wrote:

Never heard such a thing. No tv is standard but kosher phone,etc is extreme. R u sure this is a neighborhood u want to move too?

where is it standard for a landlord to tell a tenant no tv. I have NEVER heard such a thing.
op, if you know you will be using any of the things the landlord doesnt want, dont sign such a lease.

cityofgold

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 6:25 am

I have NEVER heard of such a thing either. I've never heard of landlords ruling what their tenants can and can't have besides for pets. But I have heard of one area where there is a Vaad, and apartments have to be approved by the Vaad in order to join the Anglo community/shul there.

It was mostly started to try to control rent, I think--they wanted to stop landlords from raising it. But it's possible it includes more things. If this apartment was in that area and this one was under the vaad I suppose the conditions might not be his. Just a thought.

Although I have to agree...this is bizarre and I wouldn't want a landlord like that. They can make things really difficult.

amother

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 6:54 am

m in Israel wrote:

This is not exactly true. All he needs to do is say he needs it for a relative -- we were told you are allowed to kick out tenants if you need the place for a family member, so people who want to evict a tenant simply use that excuse and avoid the whole process of eviction. This has never happened to me, so maybe it is not true, but I have heard it from more than one source.

That doesn't mean the tenant will just up and leave because the landlord suddenly needs the apartment for someone else. If the tenant refuses to leave, the landlord has to begin the long and arduous process of eviction.

grace413

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 7:10 am

I am prejudiced by own personal experience which included the following:

1. Landlord breaking into apartment at 2 am to scare me into leaving ( I was single, living alone). Same landlord had his friends calling my phone at 15 minute intervals from 1 to 6 am.

2. Other landlord did not pay his arnona for many years. I came home one day to a notice on the door that if the arnona was not paid within 3 days the municipality would break into the apartment and remove everything from the apartment (which of course belonged to me, not to the landlord).

Many landlords are fair but many are not. Many standard leases have clauses enabling the landlord to cancel the lease with 2 months notice. And they have many, many ways of making your life miserable if they want you out, so unfortunately, whether something is legal or not is irrelevant.

I can refuse to rent out my apartment to somebody because I don't like the color of their eyes or any other reason. In case people reading this are not aware most rentals here are apartments owned by individuals who don't currently need it. There is no equivalent of US buildings which exist solely for the purpose of being rented out.

saw50st8

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 7:14 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

Why?
Should saying only 'shomer shabbat' also be illegal?
Or no pets?

I didn't realize saying only shomer shabbat was legal either.

Pets are in a different category to me...I have to think about why.

Tablepoetry

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 7:51 am

saw50st8 wrote:

I didn't realize saying only shomer shabbat was legal either.

Pets are in a different category to me...I have to think about why.

How about no smoking?
Also, I've heard in the US there are cities where 'no large families' is even the law.....they won't let you rent a two bedroom if you've got five kids.

fmt4

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 7:54 am

Pets and smoking can affect the actual apartment and people outside the apt. Internet does not have any effect on anyone who is not using it. That is the difference. Telling someone that they can't use Internet is just being controlling and crazy. Telling someone they can't smoke or have pets is concern for the apt and the people in the vicinity. Even shomer Shabbat makes sense because It could affect other people it they're playing music, driving etc.

champion

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 7:55 am

oy, renting in israel. oy yoy yoy.
I hope I will not be to harsh.
but WELCOME to our holy land.
you will have a hard adjusment. people here are DIFFERENT.
if you want to make it easier for yourself. bare in mind that it does not matter who is right and who is wrong. they are the ones that know the language, feel comfortable, have millions of connections, are part of the culture, basically they are the israelis. you are the americans.
try to find an apt in an american area. don't try to be the smarty pants who will become israeli where everybody else failed.
good luck, you'll need it.
oh, and kol hakavod, hashem should be with you Smile

DrMom

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:01 am

fmt4 wrote:

This.

5*Mom

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:08 am

grace413 wrote:

2. Other landlord did not pay his arnona for many years. I came home one day to a notice on the door that if the arnona was not paid within 3 days the municipality would break into the apartment and remove everything from the apartment (which of course belonged to me, not to the.

The tenant is responsible for paying arnona, not the landlord.

nylon

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:20 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

How about no smoking?
Also, I've heard in the US there are cities where 'no large families' is even the law.....they won't let you rent a two bedroom if you've got five kids.

It isn't a law against large families, though. There are overcrowding laws saying you cannot have more than a certain number of people per bedroom in some municipalities. It is also legal for landlords to have rules like that (e.g. my old landlord had a "no more than 2 people per bedroom"). BUT, the Fair Housing Act also defines family status as a protected class, so you cannot make a rule that would keep families out all together.

ETA: Also the laws are often written not because of large families, but because of extended families who crowd into an apartment or groups of roommates. Large families aren't such a concern in much of the US.

Smokers aren't a protected class. Religion is, so you cannot specify a shomer shabbat tenant in the USA (although people will). (PS this does not apply to roommates, but to landlords)

OP, if the landlord is doing this with Internet, he's going to be a pain to deal with, and I would stay away.

Last edited by nylon on Wed, Jul 30 2014, 9:21 am; edited 1 time in total

saw50st8

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:21 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

How about no smoking?
Also, I've heard in the US there are cities where 'no large families' is even the law.....they won't let you rent a two bedroom if you've got five kids.

I agree with fmt4.

In the US, there are fire code regulations the govern how many people can be/live in a certain space. Its a safety hazard. If the space is large enough, then I think its ok. I'm not an expert in that law :-)

I'm just surprised that landlords are allowed to discriminate for so many reasons.

5*Mom

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 8:30 am

champion wrote:

yeh, but they were probably demanding that she pay the whole debt.
classic

My eyes read faster than my brain. Yes, I've heard of this happening. Important for OP to know about so she can make sure all previous arnona debts have been paid up in full before she signs any lease and make sure to carefully register with the iriyah the start date of her lease with a copy of the lease so she's not held responsible for prior debts. (Of course, even with that, they can and often do show up at your door.)

Tweedy

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 9:08 am

Please don't sign a lease without running it by a lawer that you trust, especially if you are new to Israel! We just signed one and BH friend told me to get advice first as a lot of things seemed very questionable to her. Lawer, cousin of friend said we can NOT sign the contract if we don't want to get into a lot of trouble when leaving the place! We had clause like, it there is a scratch on the door we have to replace it etc. Etc. So be cautious!

Welcome Smile

Tablepoetry

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 9:08 am

5*Mom wrote:

This. Never sign on for arnona OR for electricity until you call the iriya and the electric company to ensure the bill is clean. You don't want to volunteer to pay someone's old bill.