Can a lease agreement prohibit gun possession?

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http://crime.about.com/od/gunlawsbystate/p/gunlaws_co.htm

It is unlawful to carry a firearm concealed on or about one's person without a permit, except for a person in their dwelling, place of business, or on property owned or controlled by him or her.
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I am not sure what they could do to you... Since it IS your "dwelling" I don't think that the police can arrest you, BUT you did VIOLATE the lease agreement, so my thought is that they can evict you, but you have rights when it comes to eviction... So I GUESS it is a civil matter not a criminal matter.

Maybe a lawyer (in da house) can clear this up a little.
 
Twitch, guns are rather popular here. This ain't San Francisco. I have to call ahead for a reservation, to shoot at the range by my house.

I've never seen a lease agreement that said anything about guns.
 
I've always asked if firearms are allowed for every place I've rented before any papers are signed. In some of them, the answer has been no and as stated you don't have to sign and can take your business and deposit money elsewhere. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this situation. It's best you ask before you sign anything, if having firearms in the rental is not an issue and the money is right, go for it, if not, you have the right to refuse to sign and take your money and business elsewhere. It's inconveient, but beats the alternative of eviction if found out.

I don't know if the clause is enforceable or not, but if you ask and they say no, the issue can be avoided by not renting there in the first place.

Just my opinion
 
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you pay your rent on time and don't bother people, your landlord won't evict you even if he does learn you have guns. He could, but why would he want to?
 
Because he's a bed wetting, pillow biting idiotic liberal and/or doesn't want law suits against him if a shooting does occur on the property.
 
Best thing to do is contact a local attorney. Shouldn't cost that much just to find out. Personally, I think there may be problems since you signed a contract voluntarily. Good luck.
 
There is a rental agency in Pullman WA (WSU is here) that had a similar thing in the lease agreement... I simply crossed out that part of the agreement and asked them if they knew if it was legal or not for them to have that in the agreement, a year later it was time to sign a new lease and guess what... that part of the agreement was removed, turned out a bunch of people did what I did, they simply crossed it out before signing...
 
I've always asked if firearms are allowed for every place I've rented before any papers are signed. In some of them, the answer has been no . . .
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If there's no explicit prohibition in the lease agreement (you DO read these before signing, don't you?) then why draw their attention to it, and possibly create an issue where there is none? :confused:
 
Such as lease provision is not enforceable in Minnesota.
Minn. Stat. sec. 624.714, subdivision 17(e).
 
If you buy a car from ford and sign the warranty with a clause "the owner cannot keep a gun in this car or it voids this warranty" then your screwed. Always read the fine print and don't sign anything with a BS clause like this.

in you current situation? As long as you don't make a deal of it, your landlord will likely never know. Even if he/she does find out, the worst case scenario is that you get evicted.
 
A lease can't prohibit you from owning guns, it can make it a condition that they cannot be brought onto or kept on the property. Violation of this or any clause of the lease leaves you in a breach condition and the landlord has various remedies including eviction.

In the same vein I've had people bring pets in without paying the pet deposit, when I see it they're gone. I'm not an ass, it costs me money to have the place cleaned and treated after a pet owner lives there. I also have to repair the chewed doors and cabinets.

I kind of take offense to all of those that advocate "screw the landlord" - that's me. If it weren't for us, where would renters live. I am expected to live up to the terms of the lease - so should the tenants if they sign the lease. Love the blustering though...
 
My landlord threatened to put such a clause into my lease agreement, but I informed him that I couldn't ethically sign something with that in it. He asked if I'd verbally commit to not have guns in the house, and I told him that "I would not as long as my roommates are uncomfortable with it." Luckily, only one of my roommates is opposed to it now - he's one of those "violence is never the solution" types.
I just don't let him know that there may be firearms there - and if he finds them and decides to evict me, great! I want to get out of the contract early anyways.
 
ArmedBear said:
Twitch, guns are rather popular here. This ain't San Francisco. I have to call ahead for a reservation, to shoot at the range by my house.

I've never seen a lease agreement that said anything about guns.
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Well, other places certainly have it worse than people in San Diego do, but San Diego County isn't exactly at the top of the list regarding CCW's issued. While SD seems to have quite a few ranges (which one do you shoot at?), it's not exactly at the top of the list of most gun friendly areas of California. In the grand scheme of things, compared to freer states and areas, San Diego county is certainly not high on the list of, "places to be" for gun owners (and neither is California, mind you). :)
 
If landlords in the area commonly use these types of clauses and they are not in violation of a state (or other) law (like Minnesota) I would just ignore it.

You are not going to cause any property damage (like a pet can).

The landlord's right to enter the property is already restricted to emergencies without notice and with notice for non-emergency maintenance.
These clauses are the exceptions to the 'peaceable possession and occupancy' that a lease contract grants.

The landlord CANNOT conduct searches of your private possessions, so keep guns locked up and out of sight and you should be fine.

I am a landlord with a couple of single family houses and would never use such a clause, but being in Virginia I am not going to be held liable for the actions of a tenant anyway.
 
For those who promote the "lie and deceit" method (i.e. sign the lease but keep guns anyway) realize that you are setting yourself up for a potential long-term problem.

Future landlords, good ones anyway, will check references for prior tenancy as well as a credit report and possible criminal records check. If you were evicted for lease violations you will not get a recommendation from that landlord. If the police assisted in the eviction it will show up on the police records. And chances are that you, as the evictee and being obstinate about it, will probably end up being stuck with some charge beyond what your security deposit will cover and it will be reported on your credit history. So, no recomendation, a police report, and a non-payment on your credit history. And you think that any future landlord is going to hand over a key? No way, sparky.

In other words it's a stupid, dumb, idiotic suggestion. Especially when there's probably an apartment complex right up the street who's lease agreement doesn't have a firearms clause. Rent there instead.

Brad
 
The landlord CANNOT conduct searches of your private possessions, so keep guns locked up and out of sight and you should be fine.
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That does NOT mean that they or their maintenance types won't go through your stuff when they have the run of the place, though.
 
If you were evicted for lease violations...
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You have to actually get caught.

It is a way to avoid someone going after the landlord if a shooting occurs.
the landlord will point to the lease clause and say he took reasonable steps.

There are a lot of steps in an eviction, and if you are stupid enough to let it get to the point of involving the police you probably deserve the trouble you will have caused yourself.

The landlord will have to serve notice you have violate the lease and you should have plenty of warning if you are dumb enough to get caught.
 
Its not really safe to make sweeping generalizations about evictions and laws regarding leasing - they vary greatly between states. Some require a breach of contract, like you mentioned, for eviction to occur. Others, like mine, allow landlords to evict tenants with little or no reason.
Bottom line is - if your guns are more important to you than a temporary residence, forget about whatever idiotic clause your landlord put in the agreement. Otherwise, don't sign such foolishness, or abide by it.
Whatever choice you make, you have the risk of facing some unfortunate result.
 
you will probably need the gun living in Greeley so move to one of the smaller towns just outside of Greeley. try Windsor ( I lived there for 21 years) , Milliken or Johnstown. don't venture to far into the northside of Greeley around the fairgrounds at night
 
That is very common in large apartment complexes whose key tennents are college students.
 
In MN a landlord cannot prohibit you from having a firearm that you are legally entitled to own, but again, as people more lawyer-iffic than myself have already said, nothing prohibits you from signing away your rights if you are so inclined. Really, your landlord just wants to have an excuse to evict criminals with minimal cause/notice/hassle. Don't attract attention or cause problems and it will be a non-issue.

We are prohibited from having a cat where I live. We deal with this by not allowing the landlord in the house when no-one is there (you should have that right, too) and shutting the cat in a closet for a few minutes when repairs are needed. Don't ask, don't tell. It's worked for five and a half years so far...:neener:
 
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