THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9511300306
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: LANDLORDS & TENANTS
SOURCE: BY WILLIAM MAZEL, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
When my wife and I moved into our current apartment, the powder room needed new fixtures in order to be more attractive. We asked the landlord to install the fixtures but the landlord refused to do so. Therefore, we went out and bought a new basin and commode and installed them, took the old commode and basin and put them in the garage.
We also wanted to make some other additions and changes and we always asked the landlord first if he would do it and when he said that he would not, we then went ahead and did it ourselves. One of the fixtures we installed was a ceiling fan in the master bedroom.
We are getting ready to move and the landlord informs us that we cannot remove the ceiling fan and cannot put the old bathroom fixtures back in the bathroom and take our new fixtures with us. Since we paid for them, why can't we remove the fixtures?
First of all, let's consider the ceiling fan in your bedroom. There was no ceiling fan there when you moved in. In order to install the ceiling fan it was necessary for you to use the existing electrical wires which were attached to the ceiling light, you had to take out the ceiling light and you put the fan back in, you had to firmly affix it to the ceiling.
The method of affixing the ceiling fan to the ceiling indicates that you intended that to become part of the premises. I imagine that you never gave a second through to its becoming part of the premises and would not remain your property. You just simply put it there and now that you are leaving, you would like to take it with you.
If there is nothing in your lease pertaining to whether or not additional fixtures in the premises remain the property of the tenant or become the property of the landlord, you would have to go by either the state statutes or the common law.
We would have to examine your intentions when the fixtures were attached. If you told your landlord you wanted to replace the old fixtures and the landlord agreed to let you take the new fixtures with you when you moved out, then you would retain ownership of the fixtures and could take them with you when you left. You would have to replace the old ones that you originally removed.
If you did not obtain the agreement of your landlord, then other factors would have to be considered. One of those factors would be what did you do with the old fixtures. Here, you are in good luck because you simply stored them in the garage and you can restore the premises to the same condition it was in when you moved ion.
Also, you would have to consider the method of affixing the fixtures and the customs of the community.
As far as the method of affixing the bathroom fixtures, usually they are not nailed to the floor. They are probably bolted to the floor and bolted to the side walls. The pipes can be easily unscrewed and, therefore, I think that the method of affixing the bathroom fixtures along with your storage of the old fixtures indicates that you intended to retain ownership of the new fixtures.
As far as the custom of the community is concerned, there probably is no firm custom dealing with the bathroom fixtures.
However, when you start to deal with the ceiling fan, you have several things working against your right to retain the ownership of the fan: (1) the method of affixing it probably indicates that you had to put holes or bolts in the ceiling to hold the fan (2) you had to firmly affix it to the ceiling so that it would not fall when the fan was turned on and (3) generally, in the community, when you put such things as ceiling fans up, it is believed to be your intent to use the fans and not take the fans when you move.
Normally, items affixed with screws are not considered to be a permanent part of the property. On the other hand, items fastened with bolts, cement glue or nails are considered to be permanently affixed (in the case of the bathroom fixtures, this probably would be an exception because, I assume, that the bolts are already in the floor. Thus, they became part of the property.)
Your great mistake made in this case was that when you decided to replace the fixtures that you did not reach a firm agreement with your landlord as to your right to take the fixtures with you when you when you left.
It is mandatory that if a tenant wants to remove the installed fixtures at the end of the lease, there be a clause in the lease allowing such action. by CNB