Landlady Issues- need advice

By Tenant

I’ve been living in my 2 bedroom apartment for 15 months.  I have signed a lease to go through the end of December, 2009.  About 2 weeks ago, my landlady sent a letter to me and my boyfriend (who doesn’t live with me… we’re not sure how she got his name and address) saying there have been multiple complaints against him damaging property and disturbing other tenants here.  She has had it out for him ever since we started dating in August- she used to tell him he wasn’t allowed to dump dirty water down the sewer drain in the parking lot (where else would it go?), and she accused him of blocking the fire lane in the parking lot (when her husband’s friends park there for hours on end and she’s OK with that), and is now saying he’s too loud going in and out of my apartment.  She cited a sentence in the lease that says any guest staying in the apartment for 14 days or more has to get written consent from the landlady.  She says that because he’s been here more than 14 days in a calendar year, he has to fill out an application to live here and my rent will go up $500 per month.  I asked her husband about it when I moved in because i had a friend who used to visit me for 2 or 3 days, once a month, so that would be more than 14 days in a calendar year, and he said no, that meant "14 days in a row" that a guest is staying with me.  My boyfriend has his own apartment that he is living in about 20 mniutes away, and he’s only here to visit late Fri night through dinner on Sunday.  (definitely not more than 48 hours at a time)  I tried to get ahold of her to ask her some questions about this and she is so passive aggressive that she won’t answer the phone when I’m trying to call and only calls back when I tell her I won’t be around.  (I live across the hall from her so I know when she’s there, which is when I typically call)  The last time she called, she told me that she’s just looking out for the other residents here, and he is prohibited from setting foot on this property until he gets the approval from her… and that I better watch out because the property owners wanted to evict me for his behavior.  I understand that I can be evicted because of my guest’s behavior, that’s not the issue.  It’s the fact that she twists words and interprets things differently than any other landlord I’ve dealt with.

 I have done what I can to talk civilly to her about this, but now she won’t return my phone calls.  Her husband told me to talk to "headquarters" (the property owners) about it, but they won’t return my calls or letters either.  (I sent them 2 letters and left a message on their machine)  I think she’s twisting the words in the lease agreement to suit her needs because she doesn’t like him, but am not sure what else to do about this.  I dont’ want to spend the next 10 months either working or at my boyfriend’s apartment.  He lives in low income housing and it’s a very small, cramped area.  I pay $540 a month, which is a lot to spend if all I’m doing is sleeping here now.  I was thinking of telling my landlady to put an ad in the paper to rent out my apartment, and when she finds someone she should let me know and I’ll move out.  That way I have a place to stay for now, but I’m not locked in for another 10 god-awful months.  Is that an option or is it a stupid idea?  Any other thoughts about what I could do?

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