FAQs For
Tenants

How do I become a tenant?
If you are interested in renting one of Bayside Management's (known as BSM) vacant units, the first step is for all applicants 18 or older who will occupy the unit to fill out a detailed application, and follow the steps outlined in the application, including payment of an application fee for each adult occupant. BSM has criteria based on income, credit, previous rental history and public records. Once your tenancy has been approved, you will be asked to remit a deposit to hold the unit, and all occupants 18 and older will be asked to sign a lease and remit money for rent and security deposit. No unit will be held until a non-refundable cash deposit is remitted.

Please read the lease and any attached documents very carefully, because they are legally binding. If you violate the lease in any way, you may wind up losing the right to live in your apartment. Rent collections are strictly enforced, as are noise rules and pet policies. If you plan to get a pet, be sure you find out whether or not a pet will be allowed before signing the lease. If there is anything in the lease, House Rules, or in the unit itself, with which you may have issues, be sure to discuss this with your property manager before you move in.

Will BSM refuse to rent to me if my ethnic background is different from others in the building?
BSM strictly follows Fair Housing and does not discriminate based on racial or ethnic background, religious beliefs, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, age or other categories specified in Fair Housing regulations. We welcome your interest in any of our vacancies.

How do I pay the rent?
Please look for instructions on your lease agreement. BSM accepts payment by mail or in our office.

How do I get help for a maintenance problem?
You may go to our web site and email a Maintenance Request to your property manager or you may call them. If you have an after-hours emergency, when you call BSM, you will able to leave a detailed message, please speak clearly stating the nature of the emergency, your property address and a number in which to reach you. Please call BSM rather than repairing a maintenance problem yourself. Except for specific circumstances provided for by law, you will not be allowed to deduct costs of repair from your rent. If there is a problem which was caused by you or your guests, such as in inappropriate item flushed down the toilet, you will be charged for the repair.

What is considered an emergency?
An emergency is defined as a maintenance problem that will cause a safety hazard to residents, or an imminent damage to property, so that fixing it cannot wait until the next business day. A few examples would be an overflowing toilet, a broken pipe, or sudden electrical short. If there is a gas leak, call PG&E or the fire department in your area first, and if there is a power or water outage, call the PG&E or the water company in your area first to see if there is a general power ore water outage in the area.

Will BSM notify me when a repair person is coming to my home?
BSM will give you at least a 24 hour notice to enter, unless you agree to allow BSM's vendor to enter your home on an as-available basis. There is no requirement for you to be present, but you must provide access to your home, with proper notice, for purposes of repairs. There is no requirement for BSM to give you notice if there is a suspected emergency, such as a burst pipe.

What happens if I don't pay my rent?
If your rent is not received when it is due, generally by the first of each month, you will be first given a courtesy phone call. If we don't hear back from the courtesy phone call you will be served a legal notice to pay your rent or leave the apartment or house. If rent is not received by the time the notice expires, and you do not leave, you will be subject to eviction proceedings. If you plan to be out of town when rent is due, you still need to make sure before you leave that your rent is paid. Being out of town does not excuse you from paying the rent. Rent must be paid regardless of any personal circumstances or problems you may have. This is part of your lease agreement, which is a legal document voluntarily signed by you. If your rent is late you will be subject to late fees, and if your check bounces, you will be subject to a bounced check fee. If there are any problems you wish to discuss in regard to your rent, you may contact your property manager.

I want to share the unit with a roommate. How does rent payment work? Can we each be responsible for half the rent?
In a roommate situation, both roommates are entirely responsible for the rent. BSM prefers one payment for the entire rent per unit. You must work it out between yourselves as to how you get the rent payment to BSM; for example, there are times when one roommate may pay more rent than another, if that roommate occupies a room that is significantly larger, but that must be worked out between roommates and is not handled by BSM. It is not BSM's responsibility to intercede if one of you pays and the other doesn't. This will simply be considered nonpayment of rent, and both your names may appear on a three day notice and any possible eviction. All of BSM's leases state each named party on the lease is jointly and severably responsible for the rent payment. The security deposit only is refunded when the entire unit is vacant, and no partial refund is given when one roommate moves out. If one roommate wants to leave and someone else wants to live in the unit, that person needs to apply as a tenant and be approved. If you and your roommate do not get along, BSM is not obliged to get your roommate to leave.

When I move out, how can I get my security deposit back? Can I use my security deposit for my last month of rent?
Security deposits are not to be used instead of payment of rent, since the purpose of a security deposit is to pay for any damage caused by the tenant or their guests. If you do not pay any rent, including the last month you are in the unit, you may be subject to eviction proceedings. You are entitled to an accounting of your security deposit as well as the appropriate refund, within 21 days of your moving out of the unit.

I received a job transfer to another state, and need to leave before the end of my lease. What are my obligations?
Inform BSM in writing as soon as you know about your transfer, and give an exact date you will be vacating the unit. You will still owe rent until the end of your lease term, or until a new tenant is found, plus costs of advertising. However, the owner is obliged to make efforts to rent the unit as well. It would be to your benefit to keep your unit as presentable as possible, and cooperate fully with BSM's showing the unit, so a new tenant can be found as soon as possible. You may even want to advertise the unit on your own, and introduce any interested parties to BSM. This will help lower any costs you will have to bear.

I want to have an additional person move in. What should I do?
Any persons not on the lease may only occupy the unit only with the written permission of BSM, and that person needs to be approved as a tenant by BSM. You may be charged more rent if that person is in addition to, rather than instead of, a present resident. If an additional person is found to live in your unit, without permission of BSM, you may be subject to eviction and/or increase of rent.

My neighbor plays loud music late at night. What do you suggest?
As a first step, if your neighbor is violating House Rules, we always suggest first talking to your neighbor in a friendly tone of voice. For instance, you may want to let him/her know that they may be unaware of the fact that it is late at night, their music can be heard in your unit, and is preventing you from sleeping. If you have already tried this, and the behavior continues, please inform your resident manager and/or property manager and BSM will contact the tenant. If the behavior continues even after BSM has made a direct request to your neighbor, please inform us, and further steps may need to be taken. If there is a loud party late at night and you feel you have no choice, by all means contact the Police Department.

I want to change the color of the paint in my unit and make other changes. May I do this?
As part of the lease agreement, renovations made by a tenant are only permissible with written approval by BSM. You may, of course, hang paintings of your choice on the wall, provided you repair the holes upon vacating the unit. This rule against renovation without permission applies to all renovations, including changing your carpeting or other flooring, installation of built in appliances, etc. Please do not affix a satellite dish or other antenna to the roof, without acquiring permission first, as you will be charged for any damages to the roofing.

What happens when I lose my keys?
If it is during normal business hours you can come into our offices and, upon verifying identification, receive another set of keys for $10 per key. If it is after hours, you can call the emergency line and we will attempt to send a maintenance person to let you into your unit, however there is no guarantee we'll have a maintenance person available. Your best bet is to call a locksmith company for them to come out and open the lock. There is a charge for after hours lock outs.

Can I get reimbursed for repairs I make on my own?
You can only get reimbursed for repairs that were initially approved by the staff at BSM.

How long are your leases?
All leases are for a minimum of one year unless otherwise noted.

Do you accept Pets?
Not unless otherwise noted

Can I smoke in my apartment?
All of the BSM properties are smoke free, we do not allow smoking anywhere on the premises.

What do I do if a roommate leaves but I am staying?
Contact the leasing or property management departments at least 30 days before he/she leaves. Your new roommate must come in to our offices and fill out our rental application to determine whether he/she is a qualified candidate for the rental. The new tenant will be placed on the lease. According to your specific lease, there might be a fee involved. If you are not planning on adding a new roommate, you are responsible for the entire amount of rent.

What happens to my deposit if a roommate leaves but I stay?
Your deposit is a joint deposit that remains with the unit until it is vacated. It is the responsibility of the new tenant or remaining tenant to give back the portion of the deposit to the vacating tenant. If you contact our property management department they can give guidance as to what deductions may apply. We only issue deposit refund checks when all the tenants are moving out.

I've had a tough time finding a rental because I smoke. I found a great place but was told it was a smoke-free building, inside and out. Don't I have a right to smoke wherever I want?
The right to smoke depends on when and where you want to light up. Smoking has become a huge source of conflict, especially in light of health concerns regarding secondhand smoke. In some cities, both residential and commercial buildings have been deemed nonsmoking in the common areas, the units themselves and everywhere in between. The only exception to the no-smoking-allowed rule being enforced may be when a pre-existing lease is silent on the subject, leaving the lessee undisturbed until the lease period runs out. Because those who smoke aren't considered a protected class, discrimination laws don't' apply. As a result, disallowing smoking has become more commonplace. Besides rental properties and other private spaces, smoking bans in public and private places are more commonplace. If a landlord receives written complaints from two different people about a tenant smoking, the tenant may be subject to eviction at the discretion of the landlord.

We recently moved out of a house that we lived in for two-and-a-half years. The property manager told us that because of the use of a store-bought steam vacuum cleaner to clean up where a pet had an accident, the carpet in the entire house has to be replaced at a cost exceeding our security deposit. Is he able to do this?
You're responsible for any damage done to the rental property by pets, guests, children or you in excess of normal wear and tear. A tenant must return a unit in the same condition in which it was received, less normal wear and tear. In most cases, a security deposit can be used for three things: to remedy defaults in payment of rent, for cleaning and to repair damages beyond normal wear and tear. Even if a pre-move-out inspection isn't legally required in your area, it would have been helpful if your landlord had done one with you. At that time, you could have been given a list of any cleaning or repairs necessary in order for your security deposit to be returned. If you were notified that the pet damage had to be remedied, and you couldn't properly clean the carpets, then the manager could have the carpet professionally cleaned and deduct those cleaning costs from your security deposit. If your dog caused so much damage that the carpets couldn't be cleaned, you would be responsible for the replacement cost of the carpet. However, your landlord should prorate the cost of deduction for the replacement carpet, based on the age of the carpet. In other words, if carpet in a rental unit has a useful life of 7 years, and the carpets were three and a half years old, your landlord should deduct only 50 percent of the cost of the replacement carpet from your security deposit and mail you an accounting and receipts as legally required after you vacated the rental unit.

How can I find the best property for me?
The best way to begin your rental search is to visit our website and search for currently available properties. This site is updated regularly and includes all pictures and details of the property. Once you have located the property(s) that you are most interested in, we would suggest that you drive by to make sure that you like the location, curb appeal, neighborhood, commute, etc.

Do I need renter's insurance?
Renter's insurance is required. The Landlord's policy does not provide coverage to tenants for damage to personal property, dislocation expenses, theft, tenant liability, or other types of loss. Renter's insurance is relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain. Renter's insurance can usually be obtained through your auto insurance carrier.

How do I notify you that I will be moving out?
It is required that you provide written notice at least 30 days prior to the end of your lease term. If you notify us, but do not receive confirmation within 3 business days please contact our office to confirm that we received your notice.

How can I renew my lease?
If the landlord is interested in offering a lease renewal we will contact you approximately 30-60 days prior to your lease termination to communicate the new terms. You may also contact us during this time to initiate the process. If no renewal is signed and no proper notice received by either party then the lease will automatically convert to a month-to-month term.

Is the application fee refundable if I am denied?
No, once the processing of your application(s) is begun, the application fees are non-refundable.

Let us know if you have any more questions.