Tenant Question: Is this reasonable to complain about?

[humbleMouse]

Hey everybody,  I love the real estate forum here and would like some input from a few landlords about my situation. 

On the 1st I moved into a 1 bedroom in a triplex in a desirable location (uptown minneapolis).  When I was in lease negotiations with the landlord last month, he offered to rent me the small 1-car garage behind the tri-plex for an extra $50/month. 

I thought it would be nice to have a garage to put my bikes in and maybe use it for my car as on street parking is terrible in this high-density neighborhood. 

Upon moving in, I went into the garage and saw that there is a bunch of crap in the garage.  Two lawn mowers, a bunch of garden stuff, random crap people must have been storing, subwoofer box, some tools, paint, ect. ect. ect.  There is some space to store some of my things, but not enough room for me to park my reasonably sized toyota camry. 

This makes me upset because why would I pay $50/month to basically share a storage space?  And not even a very secure one at that, because I am sure other people have the code for the combination lock on the door.  So I have to trust other people not to take my things I put in there.  Not to mention liability, because if someone takes something or breaks something in the garage and I am technically leasing it, then it's on me. 


How should I approach the landlord about this?  I want to send him an email like "Hey, I don't want to pay $50/month for a garage that is shared."  Is this a reasonable thing to say?  Should I have been more clear during the negotiation process that I want an empty garage I could park my car in with my own lock on it? (not a shitty walmart combination lock that other people know the code to)

edit:

I just read the lease again and there is no mention of the garage in the lease.  The $50 extra was just rolled into the rent price.  I do however have it documented in my email chain with him that I want the garage for an extra $50 a month, so nobody can claim my rent price is that high without the garage included. 

However, like I said, nothing in the lease about shared/nonshared garage and nothing in the chain of emails saying shared/nonshared garage.

[CowboyAndIndian]

One thing you did not mention is if the garage is included in the lease document. That should clearly spell out if it is a shared space or exclusively for you.

If the garage is not in the lease and you have a gentleman's agreement (aka on a handshake), you should
 send an email and ask him to clear out the garage for your use.

If he mentions that it is shared, tell him that that was not your understanding and back out of the $50 payment.

[AH013]

100% what Cowboy said.

If it's not spelled out, act as if he simply forgot he's storing shit in there and you're ready to start paying him when it's empty.  If he's like "no, it's a shared deal" back out.  Quick look at Craigslist and you should be able to find month-to-month parking in the area for around $40-85, so his $50 price really should be for exclusive use.

[humbleMouse]

One thing you did not mention is if the garage is included in the lease document. That should clearly spell out if it is a shared space or exclusively for you.

If the garage is not in the lease and you have a gentleman's agreement (aka on a handshake), you should
 send an email and ask him to clear out the garage for your use.

If he mentions that it is shared, tell him that that was not your understanding and back out of the $50 payment.

I just read the lease again and there is no mention of the garage in the lease.  The $50 extra was just rolled into the rent price.  I do however have it documented in my email chain with him that I want the garage for an extra $50 a month, so nobody can claim my rent price is that high without the garage included. 

However, like I said, nothing in the lease about shared/nonshared garage and nothing in the chain of emails saying shared/nonshared garage. 

[CowboyAndIndian]

What rent does your lease say? Does it include the $50 for the garage or not?

Theoretically, the lease is the final doc. If it says $50 more and does not talk about a garage, the landlord is going to win if you take him to court (not a lawyer, so take with a pinch of salt).

Anyway, go ahead and talk to him. Say that you need the garage to park your car and when can he clear it out.

He may just have made a honest mistake(s) in not adding it to the lease. He may not have checked if the previous tenant cleared out the garage.

[humbleMouse]

What rent does your lease say? Does it include the $50 for the garage or not?

Theoretically, the lease is the final doc. If it says $50 more and does not talk about a garage, the landlord is going to win if you take him to court (not a lawyer, so take with a pinch of salt).

Anyway, go ahead and talk to him. Say that you need the garage to park your car and when can he clear it out.

He may just have made a honest mistake(s) in not adding it to the lease. He may not have checked if the previous tenant cleared out the garage.

The lease doesn't even mention the garage, so yes I am sure you are right about the court thing.  I don't think anybody would go to court over $50/month though.  I am going to talk to him and try to figure it out, he seems like a reasonable enough guy.  I am not normally a person to complain about much and it sucks I have to take the time to do this but ce la vie!!!

[CashFlowDiaries]

Yes just send him the email.  Landlords get requests all the time.  Your email will not be out of the ordinary.  He will either work with you or he wont but at the end of the day, since its not on the lease you can stop paying that legally.   Not recommending you go legal or anything but just send him the email and see what he says.

[MayDay]

Just fyi, regarding garage security, a friend in S. Mpls (yes I know this is a huge area) has had multiple break-ins in her garage.  My understanding is that they are fairly common in S. Mpls.  So although you are right to find the shared garage totally unacceptable, you might still be cautious of storing anything valuable in the garage. 

[Bearded Man]

I'm posting largely because I'm a landlord and I think he should only charge you for that if it is exclusive space for your use. Perhaps it is some of his crap and he just forgot? Email him and find out. Since it is not spelled out in the lease, you should easily be able to cut the payment.

[MgoSam]

Sometimes landlords will play games with you, so while it may be an innocent mistake, it may be the landlord's way of trying to get a little extra money. Sometimes they'll find people that won't complain or say anything, but will just pay.

Btw, if you ever are looking to move to Roseville, just let me know. I currently have two bedrooms available for rent.