contracts to use when contracting with apartment building and tenants February 7, 2018

KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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contracts to use when contracting with apartment building and tenants
February 7, 2018
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contracts to use when contracting with apartment building and tenants
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Ken,
    I just read your latest news letter about contracts dealing with rental situations. I use your All in One contracts and have a few systems which fit the scenario that the landlord paid for the installation, pays the monitoring (he includes that in the rent), and the tenant uses the system. I want to make sure I do this correctly and have a few more questions.

• Should I use two separate contracts, one for the tenant and one for the landlord?

• Can I send the contracts to each party? Or, is it advisable to personally visit each party for signature? (3 day rule)

• Is there a commercial arrangement in renting out a home? I originally used a Residential contract with the landlord, who has exclusive control to the basement, accessed via an exterior door which the tenant cannot access and he stores personal property there.

• If the tenant refuses to sign my contract, I assume my option is to advise the landlord the monitoring service will be discontinued. Am I breaching his contract under that scenario? How do I write this up to make the continuation of service contingent on both parties signing?

    Thanks.
Rick
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Response
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    It's not uncommon to get a deal where the owner wants an alarm system that protects not only its property but the occupants of the premises.  Landlord and the tenants.  Home Owners Association and the unit owners.  Assisted living facility and residents.  Nursing home and patients.  
    Who signs what?
    All the examples require a Residential All in One.  Because the owner is asking for the install and paying for the install and the monitoring, for sure you need the owner's signature on the contract.  That contract can be a Commercial All in One, but you may as well use the Residential All in One because all of the actual end users need to sign their own Residential All in One.  Is there any way that it's not necessary to get every end user to sign a contract?  Yes, if you can get the owner to include your contract form or language in the owners agreement with the end user.  So it would be in the lease, the HOA, the assisted living or nursing home admission papers........ not going to happen.  You will need to get a contract signed by each end user.  This is especially so where the end user gets to pick a password and gets to turn the system on and off, as in an intrusion alarm.  But even the nursing home patient - they want to be able to pull the cord - they need to sign a contract.  Think that's burdensome?  Try and get TV in your hospital without signing a contract.  
    Though the owner is paying you, it's the tenant, patient, end user who is going to sue you if the system doesn't work.  You need the contractual protection, and that means you need a contract.  The end user's contract will state that the owner is paying for the basic service, the end user paying for anything else they want. 
    If the premises is a residence you should use the 3 day notice of cancellation.  By the way, the nursing home patient may actually need a PERS agreement for the pull cord, not the Residential All in One.  But with the tenant, HOA unti owner and the assisted living resident, unless you are meeting them at their premises you don't need the Notice of Cancellation.  They aren't paying for the service anyway, so they won't be canceling.  A buyer of your contracts may want to see the cancellation notice, so you might want to include it with the contract even if I am right and you don't need to. [I may not be the attorney representing the buyer].  
    I've recently dealt with the issue of subscribers who refuse or fail to sign specific paragraphs that call for their signature.  if you are in a state that requires the signature [there aren't many] then the provision won't be enforced if not signed.  Also, if the subscriber refuses to sign the provision and let's you know in writing they won't approve the provision, that's the same as crossing it out.  No service for that subscriber.  The provisions that call for a signature are the ones you need; don't leave without the signature and if you do, take your alarm system and services with you.  
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THE ALARM EXCHANGE

Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com