Landlord restricts laundry room to 9am-6pm and sells a "$40 VIP pass" for after-hours use, residents refuse to comply: ‘Those hours are exactly when most people in the building are actually at work’

• 01
  
  via A.C.

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• Landlord locked laundry outlets and is now charging for "after-hours" access

  "I am beyond frustrated right now because this feels like such a petty move even for my landlord. We have a shared laundry room in the building that has always been accessible 24/7 which is important because I work late shifts and usually do my washing around 9 or 10 pm. Yesterday I went down there and found out they installed these heavy duty lock boxes over all the power outlets for the washers and dryers.

  There was a printed sign on the door saying that the laundry room is now only "active" from 9 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday to reduce utility strain and noise complaints."

  -QuasarDrifter

• 02
  
  via Osarodion Amenze

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• Let's talk about the "VIP Laundry Pass." Not because it deserves the dignity of being taken seriously, but because it's important to fully understand what's happening here before we get to the good part.

  A landlord decided that the shared laundry room, the one that has always been accessible around the clock, the one that was included in the building when tenants signed their leases, would now be locked behind heavy-duty outlet boxes from 6pm Monday through Friday. The official reason: utility strain and noise complaints. The unofficial result: a building full of working people who can no longer do their laundry during the only hours they're actually home.

  The solution offered? A $40 monthly "VIP Laundry Pass." For forty dollars on top of rent, the maintenance guy will come and unlock the boxes so you can wash your clothes like a normal person. In your own building. That you already pay to live in.

  Our tenant in question,  a late-shift worker who does her laundry at 9 or 10pm because that's when she gets home, did not simply accept this. She went back to her lease. And there it was, in plain language: laundry facilities are provided for resident use. No mention of hours. No mention of additional fees. No mention of a VIP tier system for people who have the audacity to work during the day.

  She called the office. The landlord's response was that since the machines aren't coin-operated, they have the right to regulate electricity usage however they want. Which is a creative interpretation of tenant rights, to say the least.

• 03
  
  via Zhanjiang Chen

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• "If anyone needs to use the machines outside of those hours we have to pay for a "VIP Laundry Pass" which is an extra forty dollars a month on top of our rent just to have the maintenance guy come and unlock the boxes for us. 

  This is absolutely ridiculous because those hours are exactly when most people in the building are actually at work. I checked my lease and it says that "laundry facilities are provided for resident use" but it doesnt specify hours or extra fees for specific times of day."

  -QuasarDrifter5

• 04
  
  via Getty Images

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• Here's the thing about lease agreements: they work both ways. When a landlord includes an amenity in writing, removing access to that amenity — or charging extra for it, isn't just frustrating. It's potentially a breach of contract. And tenants who know their leases are tenants who are very hard to push around.

  She can't wash her scrubs for work without paying a subscription fee. Let that sink in. The laundry room was never a luxury. It was part of the deal. And the best move she made wasn't getting angry, it was getting informed.

  Read your lease. Know what you signed. And never, ever pay for a VIP Laundry Pass.

• 05
  
  via Clara Beatriz

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• "When I called the office the landlord basically told me that since the machines themselves arent coin operated they have the right to regulate the electricity usage however they want. It feels like they are just trying to squeeze more money out of us for a basic amenity that was included when I signed the lease. I literally cannot even wash my scrubs for work now without paying a subscription fee or taking a day off."

  -QuasarDrifter5

• 06
  
  via Blake Cheek

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• 7Glyphmire

  Check your local tenant laws because if laundry is in the lease they cant just lock it behind a paywall now. They are literally trying to charge you twice for the same utility.

• VelcroNova7

  A laundry subscription is actually insane.

• Glad-Bluebird-96

  Google those lock boxes. The keys are universal and you can buy them online, no subscription needed.

• human-in-a-can

  So paying for a VIP pass magically makes the noise complaints invalid?  Sounds like another shi*ty, greedy owner.  If the laundry is listed in the lease, you could argue with them or talk to a lawyer.  

• AurumParallax

  The maintenance guy probably hates this just as much as you do. Imagine having to drive down there just to unlock a box for 5 minutes.

• Menard42

  Unless they were dumb enough to sign up for “time of use” billing, time of day doesn’t matter. In addition, peak hours for electricity usage are between 4-9 pm, so this makes even less sense.clearly just a cash grab that may be illegal.

  Is the maintenance guy supposed to come back and lock it back up when you’re done? How do they know when that is?

• Ok_Childhood_9774

  Energy costs are generally lower at night, at least in my area (US, east coast), so I suspect your landlord just made that 'fact' up. This just seems like a money grab to me.

• Banana_Hammock84

  This is pretty crazy. This will have secondary effects because people will be trying to do the same amount of laundry in less time and will cause tension over the use of the machines.

  You may have a case here since it sounds like there are no mentions of laundry room restrictions or fees in the lease

  None of this is feasible. I would also check with other tenants to see who is actually being bothered by the laundry room noise. Hopefully the maintenance man that is responsible for opening the doors pushes back as well.

• Throwaway472025

  So there's no "utility strain" or noise if you pay money? That tells you it's NOT about utility strain or noise but money.

• jfcreno

  Funny enough, you can often find master keys for various lock types online 🤷

• ohwhoashe

  I’d get a portable washing machine they work well

• Comfortable_Mess152

  I'm not if you can afford it, but Amazon sells amazing portable washing machines that you hook up to your bathtub or sink. I lived in a place where the landlord never cared so people stole things, slept in, and broke our laundry machines. My personal one is my savior. I also had a small drying rack or you can hang your clothes up in the bathroom with the vent on and it works really well.

• BurritoCatsChristma

  I believe what he is doing is illegal but I am going to offer a suggestion about how to get around this. while you figure things out. A portable washing machine, usually about $100 give or take.

  I also wore scrubs for work daily, hospital usage. I purchased a small portable washing machine that fit in my tub, it held about three sets of scrubs and had a spinner to remove excess water. I would wash my scrubs every night when I got out of the shower and then hung them up over night to dry. (Was in a warmer state then). I did this during C*vid due to other people in the complex being a bit paranoid about germs in the shared laundry room. It also saved me the $3.75 per wash load and $2.50 dryer. I knew my scrubs were disinfected and very clean. I would reach out to a tenant board and see if what they are doing is legal, but I think it has to be in an amended rental agreement to be enforced. I would also start looking for another place to live if they are nickel and diming you this way. Check with your HR department if at a big facility, they sometimes have leads on open apartments in the area that prefer medical workers for tenants.

• Negative_Raisin_997

  Electricity costs less during off peak hours! If anything, they should encourage night time laundry.

• WelshLove

  what does your lease say? get legal advice organize all tenants and send legal letter to owner threaten to sue for fair use.

• Responsible_Side8131

  If they wanted to reduce utility strain, the laundry would be closed during the day and open at night

• MrSoftShoe

  Was anyone actually complaining about the noise? I'm guessing the landlord just wanted to justify the service in a way they think the tenant will agree with.

  Do the machines just not make noise if you use the VIP pass?

• trguy20000

  Also check with the code enforcement as I'm sure locking a plug into the wall would be against code.

• AusNorsePagan

  Im guessing this is in the USA. But my question is, why don't people buy their own washing machine and dryer? Have them in their own flat/apartments, like the rest of the world? I don't understand the idea behind relying on laundry equipment hundreds of others use? Ewwwww.

• 45babycakes

  Gather all the residents , map out local laundromat, and have all the residents give business to the laundromat until the landlord realizes he aint getting that extra money Also make reviews on Google or anywhere he/she has his listings for housing.

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