Overhaulin'

Can an apartment complex make you sell your car?

In our lease agreement it has rules on cars. We have done what the office has asked us by painting the truck, fixing the tail lights, and cleaning the bed of the truck out. All that has cost us at least $300. Now they are saying we must remove our truck from the property because it is "ugly" and has rust on it. Now keep in mind the truck is a 1987 Dodge D100. It's old. Any car that is that old and well used is going to have rust. Yet there are 19 other cars (I counted) with visible damage that are not getting in trouble. They will not let us out of the lease and we can not afford to pay a storage fee somewhere when my husband takes the truck to work daily. I am just wondering if there is any legal action we can take against the complex.

Public Comments

1. only an attorney can aswer this.
2. I have no idea as to what State or county or where you are and it makes a difference. Look up LEGAL AID, see if you can get an initial consultation with a lawyer to find out if you have a case, it matters what was written into the lease & what sort of power the "landlord" has over what goes on at the property. its really not simple at all because the LAW has become a mess of different precedents & opinions. its a sick sad world! Please read my question:
3. I think "ugly" is too broad of a term to be enforceable. Read your lease and see what the terms of the agreement are. They may be able to restrict vehicles that are broken down, but I really doubt they can do anything about a vehicle that is licensed, and safe to operate by government standards.
4. They can't force you to sell it. They may in certain circumstances ask you to remove it from their property. What exactly does your lease agreement say about parking? You need to have this checked by a professional. Does it say that ugly rusty cars must be moved? Does this apply to all lessees? Or just you? They can't however ask just you to remove your car. That would be discriminatory. They would have to ask everyone to do so. The same rules should apply to all the lessees. You don't need to take any legal action against them. You have done nothing wrong. Just keep your car where it is. Point out that you refuse to remove it because their conduct is discriminatory. The onus is on them to show why you should move your car. They have to show that they have a right to do so in terms of the lease agreement. When they do so then you can challenge them on the basis that it is discriminatory.
5. If we are talking about the US; each state has statutes addressing residential lease agreements But in general a lease term like “ugly” is clearly subjective, as such, highly unlikely a state court judge in a landlord tenant, residential would evict you for a lease violation of having an ugly truck To subjective/personal meaning, courts like objective standards Now if the truck is not legal for street use then the apartment may have a legit issue
6. If your lease has restrictions on "ugly" vehicles, you can CERTAINLY report the other 19 cars and demand that they be treated in the same heavy-handed manner as yours. You will soon need a new place to live.