Apartment managers tell renters to remove political signs

SPRINGFIELD -- Some tenants in The Greens are upset because the apartment complex's managers told them to remove their political campaign signs. They wonder what happened to freedom of speech. It turns out the complex's owner likely have the final say in the matter.

Beth Richards and her husband, Blake, say they didn't think there was anything wrong with displaying their political views. They put two signs near the bushes, just outside their apartment windows.

"It had been up for about two months before we heard anything," Beth Richards said.

A few days ago, the Richardses got a notice that asked them to take their signs down.

"We were notified by a warning on our door, along with everybody else in this building, since they didn't know who it belonged to," she said.

The notice says the signs violate section 9 of the lease contract. Richards says they haven't taken down the signs because they haven't seen anything in writing prohibiting them.

"We looked at the lease and couldn't find anything. We went down to management and tried to talk to them, and they were very rude," she said.

A representative at the corporate offices for the apartments' owner says they don't allow signs of any kind on the lawns or the flower areas because it would make the property look unsightly. Nothing in the lease contract mentions signs but it does reference another document, stating residents "shall comply with all written rules and regulations, which shall be considered part of this lease."

Richards says she can't find any other rules and regulations that would prohibit the signs.

"I know a lot of leases may not explicitly say, 'You cannot put out political signs,' but they may say what you can do and can't do," said B.J. Richardson, an attorney in Springfield.

Richardson says most lease contracts are weighted to benefit landlords, for the protection of their property. But a tenant does take on the rights of the owner, unless those rights are limited in the lease. Richardson says some landlords may allow it and some may not.

"Getting prior approval will cut out a lot of the hassle.," Richardson said.

Richardson says he doubts large apartment complexes would allow everyone to put up signs because of the sheer number that could show up. The Richardses believe, if they have to take down their signs, then other tenants who display statues and bird feeders should get the same treatment.

Richardson said the permissibility of signs displayed in a tenant's window also would depend on the contract but would probably be allowed more often than signs on the grounds.