New Apartment Complex Owners vs DirecTV

6476 Views 34 Replies 15 Participants Last post by AquiringSat, Mar 28, 2012

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2012

ha, as luck would have it, I specifically chose this apartment complex because they were totally cool with their residents having DirecTV. And Now, after only being here 3 months, the complex gets sold to new owners. And here's what I found on my door right now...

"Residents' satellite dishes will be removed by our vendor's services, they cannot be remounted on the roofs. Please be aware on your Apartment Lease Contract Addendum for satellite dish or antenna, states that you may not damage or alter leased premises and may not drill holes through outside walls, door jams, window sills, etc."

I went to the leasing office, and they weren't very cooperative, but then I called the fine folks at DirecTV :sure: and they said that they would be out on Monday morning and relocate the dish for free (still within my 90 days)

I have at least 8 other neighbors with DirecTV dishes on the roof, so I'm not the only one having this problem, but is there any kind of protection for us under the law if they can't agree on a spot to mount these dishes??

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evan_s

· #2 · Mar 24, 2012

OTARD is the relevant law about sat dishes but you may not like it. OTARD says you have the right to use an antenna or sat dish but it limits this to area's that are your exclusive access like a balcony or fenced yard. It does not guarantee you the right to mount it on the roof or to drill holes etc. If you don't have LoS from an exclusive access area or don't have any exclusive access area you are SOL as far as OTARD goes.

Now there might be more general laws that would grandfather you in and prevent them from making you remove the sat dish or at the very least let you get out of your lease with out paying penalties because they are changing the terms of the lease.

Edit added links

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/over-air-reception-devices-rule

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=192544

wahooq

· #3 · Mar 24, 2012

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/installing-consumer-owned-antennas-and-satellite-dishes

wahooq

· #4 · Mar 24, 2012

my wife works for an apartment management company ...she says you cant be made to move your dish till your lease is up. But looks like you will have to eventually so if its covered then go ahead and get 'er done

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 24, 2012

I don't care where the dish is, as long as I still have TV, I'll be happy. Thanks for the info!

evan_s

· #6 · Mar 24, 2012

wahooq said:
my wife works for an apartment management company ...she says you cant be made to move your dish till your lease is up. But looks like you will have to eventually so if its covered then go ahead and get 'er done

I doubt that it is that simple. I'd expect it to depend on the situation, was the lease addendum already in place and just not enforced or is it a new one they are adding? There might also be state or local laws that affect the situation.

Ultimately, if you can get it mounted someplace that won't annoy the new owners that is probably the best option. If you did fight and win you still end up loosing as you are now a "problem tenant". Check out the other thread I linked to see what I mean.

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 24, 2012

Yup, the lease addendum was already in place. I signed it when I moved in in December. As did everyone else when they moved in. The old owner had DirecTV, so he knew our situation. The new guys? Not so much. The little guy snapped his fingers at me! LOL, I've never had that happen before !rolling

trh

· #8 · Mar 24, 2012

Where is your dish installed right now? Where is DirecTV relocating it to?

Do you have a balcony/exclusive use area where you can use the non-penetrating mount to install the dish? You can also get flat coax to fit through windows/sliding glass doors so you don't have to drill holes.

From what you've posted, it looks like your new management isn't violating OTARD so you'll have to comply.

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 24, 2012

All the dishes are on the roof. I have 1 slimline, and there are 9 others that belong to other people. I'm pretty sure if it was only 1, this wouldn't have been such a big deal. I do have a balcony. When DirecTV gets here on Monday, I'm just going to let them and the leasing office figure it out. Because, Honestly, I don't give a Rat's Butt where they put it!

trh

· #10 · Mar 24, 2012

But from what you've posted, the non-pen mount is the only way the complex will allow you to install a dish. And I don't think that is a normal install. Not sure whether the installer will have it on his truck. And does your balcony have LOS required for your dish?

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 24, 2012

The balcony faces the west, and has a decent view of the south. if they could get a LOS i've got an old table they could bolt the dish to. It sounds ghetto

but I think it would look ok, but there are trees and power lines to work around. I guess we'll see what happens on Monday. I am glad that there is some kind of protection for us though. I don't think I could go back to cable after having DirecTV.

Edmund

· #12 · Mar 24, 2012

In Az, you need to be facing east, with a decent view south.

Hope it works out.

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 24, 2012

Ok, I've been talking with the neighbors. Is it technically possible for us to all feed off of 1 dish?? I have an HR 34 (5 tuners) + at least 12 more tuners with the other guys. I think if we asked the new owner, he might let us keep 1 dish.

samrs

· #14 · Mar 24, 2012

Anything is possible, getting someone to pay for it is the problem.

One dish a SWM16 and depending on the equipment your neighbors have another switch maybe plus labor. None of witch would be included on the work order to relocate your dish. The tech should ask to see a copy of your lease and look for a line of site based on those constraints. If he finds one he relocates your dish, if not he notes your account(NLOS landlord restrictions) and leaves.

The easy solution, if your landlord agrees to one dish, would be to have a local contractor come out an give a price. Pool your resources and go from there.

evan_s

· #15 · Mar 24, 2012

The tricky part is a normal install shouldn't do a shared dish because there are lots of potential for problems. How do you keep track of tuners? Who pays for a service call if something breaks? What do they do if you get a service call but they need access to the other guys stuff and they aren't around for the service call?

The Merg

· #16 · Mar 24, 2012

AquiringSat said:
Yup, the lease addendum was already in place. I signed it when I moved in in December. As did everyone else when they moved in. The old owner had DirecTV, so he knew our situation. The new guys? Not so much. The little guy snapped his fingers at me! LOL, I've never had that happen before !rolling

So you have a lease addendum that allows you to have the dish on the roof? And they are removing the dish? That would put them in violation of the lease. You could argue that, but when your lease is up you can't be certain as to what they'll do.

- Merg

trh

· #17 · Mar 24, 2012

The Merg said:
So you have a lease addendum that allows you to have the dish on the roof? And they are removing the dish? That would put them in violation of the lease. You could argue that, but when your lease is up you can't be certain as to what they'll do.

- Merg

The way I understood it, the Lease addendum he signed prohibited where he installed the dish, but the owner then was allowing the tenants to make those installations. From his first post:

Please be aware on your Apartment Lease Contract Addendum for satellite dish or antenna, states that you may not damage or alter leased premises and may not drill holes through outside walls, door jams, window sills, etc."

markfp

· #18 · Mar 24, 2012

Just goes to prove that whatever a landlord or building manager says should be in writing either in the original lease or as an addendum. I'm not slamming landlords, I'm one, and having it in writing saves problems on both sides.

AquiringSat

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 24, 2012

Yeah, the shared dish option is pretty much out... and apparently they have us on this "Addendum" issue. We're trying to convince them now to just grandfather us in, and not allow new people to put up dishes, but I personally think that's a losing battle. I walked around today, and I don't see any way that this can make everyone involved happy. Most people don't want their dishes blocking their balcony views, and with all the little short trees around, anything lower than the roof is going to have LOS problems. Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as optimistic as I was yesterday. But, we'll see what happens on Monday

trh

· #20 · Mar 24, 2012

When your installer comes out on Monday, have him verify whether you have LOS from your balcony. The non pen mount is probably the best way to install your dish on your balcony (forget bolting it to an old table).

I wish you luck.

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