🚀 go-pugleaf

Donald L. Nash (D.Nash@utexas.edu) wrote:
: In article <Alex_Currier-0603951622000001@slip-2-73.ots.utexas.edu>,
: Alex_Currier@attpls.net (Alex Currier) wrote:

: >That is pure bullshit. Nowhere in the Constitution does it specify that
: >you have to be a PROPERTY OWNER to have rights. You are absolutely wrong. 
: >
: >[...]
: >
: >And that's what we have a problem with. The leases should be rewritten
: >because they strip a persons basic rights (rights guaranteed by the
: >Constitution) to privacy and are therefore unfair.

: The rights guaranteed by the Constitution (in particular, protection from
: illegal search and seizure guaranteed by the 4th Amendment and the
: unmentioned right to privacy which is read into the Constitution by virtue
: of the 4th and 9th Amendments), are protections against the actions of
: government toward the citizens, not against the actions of citizens toward
: each other.  Your constitutional rights are not being trampled here
: because it isn't the government entering your apartment without your
: permission.  The landlord owns the land, so he gets to say under what
: conditions the renter may use the land.  If one of those conditions is
: that the landlord or his agents may enter any of the units without
: permission of the renters, so be it.  It's his land, so he can do with it
: what he wants within the limits of the law, and right now there is no law
: prohibiting such clauses in lease contracts.  You may not like that, but
: that's the way it is.

: For the record, I think that entry-without-renter's-permission stuff is a
: pretty lousy policy and I don't blame anyone for not liking it.  But
: claims of denial of Constitutional rights don't hold water.  You'd be
: better off going to the legislature and getting some laws passed that do a
: better job of protecting the interests of the renter.  Or maybe you could
: go after the landlords on an anti-trust basis.  I'm no lawyer and I don't
: know much about anti-trust law, but from what I've heard here about that
: TAA standard lease (which isn't much, and I've never rented anything that
: used one), it sounds to me like some kind of collusion among the landlords
: to suppress competition in this area.  "Let's all adopt a lease contract
: that lets us enter rented units without permission of the renter.  It is
: in our best interest to do so, and if we all do it then they'll have no
: where else to turn."  I'm probably just blowing smoke here, but if they
: tried to fix prices the same way then they really would be in hot water if
: someone could prove it in court.

:                                 ++Don Nash

: Internet: D.Nash@utexas.edu     The University of Texas System
: THEnet:   THENIC::DON           Office of Telcommunication Services

Don, your entire post is exactly what I was thinking.  You (plural) may 
have a better shot taking the TAA to court in an anti-trust case as TAA 
is pretty much a monopoly in Texas.

-- 
                                       | Computers are stupid.
 Send all rants, raves and replies to  | They're like my dog.
         altonp@netcom.com             | They do what I tell them.
                                       | Therefore, computers are not children