‘Gears were turning, and I got a trailer’: Complex forces young tenant to pay for parking space she doesn't need, so tenant buys a trailer and rents it out to neighbor instead

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Dec 3, 2023 12:00 PM EST

Going through all the clauses in a lease is one of my least favorite things to do in the world. The dull feel of the paper, the tiny writing, the boring yet difficult-to-read legal stuff… It's too much for me. That is why I always get one of my friends in the legal field to check the documents I sign before I sign them. This young tenant did not bother to read certain clauses in her lease, but it all turned out okay in the end because once she did pay attention, she knew what she had to do. It all began when her apartment complex made her pay for a parking spot she wasn't using. When she explained to the complex that she did not need the spot, they basically told her to go away and read the contract.

She didn't have a choice, and so away she went… to read. Boy, was she glad she did that. As it turned out, there was a way to spin this in her favor. So she went and bought a trailer, and began renting it out to her neighbor. From there, it spiraled into an uncontrollable phenomenon where suddenly EVERYONE was doing what she did… and the complex was losing a lot of money. Scroll down to read what happened next.

Next up, a demanding hotel guest who told off the front desk clerk for not having a Thanksgiving meal, and then threatened to get her fired. You know, Karen on a good day.

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    Cheezburger Image 9844238592
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    Can't remove the charge? Well, I'll just use it then LOC In the early 2000s when I first moved out on my own, I rented from a complex that charged you for assigned parking. It was an upcharge of $25 a month. If you
    via u/eGrant03
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    didn't get assigned parking, you would have to fight for a space on the street. My apartment was in the back of the complex and I was getting over a recent knee and ankle injury, so I opted for paid parking that was relatively close to my front door. My car was a junker, 3 years older than I am, but it ran
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    semi-okay and the heater worked. As a newly minted adult, I was happy to have it. About 3 months into my lease, my car went to the great scrapheap in the sky. I had gotten used to the local transit system and discovered a nearby store would drop off groceries for me. This was long
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    before Walmart and other stores started doing it, so it was cheaper than figuring a month's supplies on the bus. So I opted not to replace the car and utilize the bus pass my work reimbursed me for. I went to my leasing office and told them I no longer needed the space, and would you please remove the extra charge
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    from my bill. The manager at the desk was new and had never been asked that before. She promised to look into it and let me know. I was naive and figured it would be gone come next month. Nope! It was still there. I paid all but the parking space and called up the complex.
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    Same girl. She said she was awaiting word from higher ups and offered me a credit for the charge as a one-time courtesy. I reminded her that I no longer owned a car -- I hadn't just changed my mind. I told her that the space had been empty for close to a month now and that I won't be utilizing it. She said she understood "loud and clear" and
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    would get it sorted by next month. 3 days before rent was due, she finally got back to me. Apparently, it was in my lease and couldn't be removed without breaking the lease and signing a new one. Even if I didn't move out, the lease breaking and initiation fees would be charged to me, and my rent would go up to the
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    new current market value. This would be over a thousand dollars, so not an option for someone freshly on their own. I kept the parking space on the lease. 3 weeks later, I was reviewing my lease to get the phone number for maintenance, and noticed the clause for the parking space.
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    Essentially, I could park "a motorcycle, scooter such as vespa, car, truck, suv, or trailer" in the space. Gears were TURNING! For me to be in compliance, I had to have wheels on anything parked in my space. So I went to my local version of Craigslist and found a wheeled container similar to a
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    shipping container. It wasn't cheap but it was worth every cent. The complex offered storage sheds at an upcharge too. Being fresh out of High School, I didn't have much to store. My neighbor though, did. I threw a lock on the unit and offered it to my neighbor for half the cost of a shed; $35 a month. He was able to
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    move his stuff out of his storage unit where he was paying over $100 a month, and the container was available 24-7-365. He was happy for the arrangement and paid several months in advance. The complex put several tow stickers for "out of compliance" on
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    the trailer, but I called the Tow Company and faxed them a copy of the lease where it says trailers are allowed. The container was registered with the county as a utility trailer, so there's nothing they could do. They tried to fine me for improper parking, but again, I had proof I was within my rights. They
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    even offered to remove the charge for parking on my lease if I would relocate the container. With what my neighbor was paying, I could cover my water bill every month, so I declined. I stayed 18 months, and sold the trailer to my neighbor when I moved out. He had to rent a car to
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    relocate it to his assigned space, but he said it was worth the couple hundred he paid. He ended up saving over $1000 a year renting from me. Other neighbors even started bringing in their own containers too, even if it meant getting a second space. Sheds were being vacated at such a large
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    volume, the complex tried to give them away at 6 months free. Few took them up on it. The complex amended the new leases to exclude trailers, but could do nothing about those that already had them in the spot. Instead of moving out and giving notice, renters would reassigned their lease to new
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    people so they could be grandfathered into the trailer clause. I drove by the facility 2 years or so after I moved out, going to a friends for Thanksgiving. The complex had been sold to a new owner and changed their name. But wouldn't you know, there were still about a
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    dozen wheeled shipping containers parked in the lot. EDIT as there's some confusion and people are fighting: The trailer was small. Think of 4 dog kennels in a 2x2 configuration. You could fit a table and chairs in there but you'd scape the ceiling. It was in
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    rough shape. This was back when the dollar store (not Dollar Tree) sold spray paint, and I took care of repainting it myself. I negotiated drop off to the complex from the seller, and with the spray paint and delivery, I think I was out like $700. Keep in mind, this is not the massive
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    40 foot trailer picture I posted a few times as a reference. It's that style of trailer. Registering the trailer was super- dooper cheap; like around $30 and possibly even less. When I sold it to my neighbor, I got $300 or so for it. I took a loss, but without a car, I didn't want it and he approached
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    me first when he found out I was moving. There were a number of colleges and universities near where I rented. Most leases banned subleasing, but lease change overs were commonplace. You go to the complex and tell management, "I'm done renting here, but instead of
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    breaking the lease, my friend is going to do the rest of my term." You usually didn't get the deposit back as it stayed with the new renter, but you didn't an exorbitant pay a lease break fine. It also kept the apartment seamlessly occupied, without tenant gaps, which most places needed. If they sold the
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    trailer to the next guy or to their neighbor, I am uncertain. I wasn't privy to those decisions. All I know is 2 years later, they were no longer "XYZ Complex," but under a different name and a dozen or so trailers still remained. As for the 18 months I stayed, 1 year in a lease, 6 months at month-
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    to-month. In my state, addendums to leases require you to enter into a new leasing term and that was not gonna happen. IDR if they charged a month-to-month fee if I didn't renew my lease as it was close to 20 years ago. I've been month to month for 3 years at the place I have been living for 4. Some places
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    charge one, some don't. Rent can still go up, but changes to the lease that are "substantial" cannot take place unless I sign a new lease agreement. I have had to look up laws and advocate for myself a lot because of BS like this. The tow company was mom and pop. They were not pl and I
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    knew that multiple illegal tows could get their license pulled. The minute that first tow sign went up, I was practically shoving my paperwork down their face. No way that could play the ignorance card after that. They still exist to this day and now have multiple locations. In fact, they are the assigned tower for my
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    current complex too, ironically. Finally, storage sheds or units are required by my state to be month to month. It's a state law that goes back to at least the 1980s, and I have had to memorize a lot of laws regarding storage for my job. So, the apartment couldn't force anyone to keep their sheds, so my
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    neighbor cancelled at the end of his next month. Great guy. Lived in a 3 bed with a set of twins -- 1 boy, 1 girl.
    via u/eGrant03

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trailers apartment lease apartment complex neighbors parking space sheds malicious compliance wheels storage neighborhood tenant cars gears rent payback complex apartment
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