question about renter's right here in jalisco / feeling like a hostage

We will be renting for a # of months. Been in the rental for one month and already a # of issues.

One in particular is the maid/housekeeper who came with the property ..... whether we want her or not.
She's been working with the household 22 years and remains after the owner passed away. The house is now owned by adult kids living in the US.

She comes Monday - Friday from 9 to 1:00. It appears that she has been working as a maid, rather than a housekeeper.

It's a smallish kitchen .... so we compete for the same space in kitchen for getting started for the day, several dogs in/out with snacks, their breakfast, humans breakfast, etc. Compete for space in the bathroom for personal duties, showers, etc. She's in/out of the bedroom ... and where the computer is in the living room (and where we are working), there's competition for her emptying trash, sweeping, etc. etc. There are a # of wild stories I won's share ....

While I'm sure she is well intended, and the adult kids want her to continue to have a job, 5 days a week at a busy time of the day, is way beyond reasonable for us. Initially one of the owners said we could reduce, or change her hours as we wanted ... and they would pay her the same amount. Now I have requested to have her not work any hours in the area where we live. If they want her to work elsewhere on the property, that's not my business ... but we don't want someone 5 days a week. In addition, we feel like she is spying on us. I'm not concerned about stealing ... but she moves things around and puts things away -- not where I want them and often can't find them.

So here is the response from the owner.....
she has been working M-F from 9:00 to 1:00 for 22 years. She will continue to work M-F from 9:00 to 1:00. She will not be restricted from the kitchen or any other part of the house or property.

I realize at this point, I have no idea what rights I have here.
I am making an appointment with our attorney next week ... but I'd appreciate any feedback or comments in the meantime. Thanks ....

So, a warning flag didn't go up when you first found out you'd have this maid so often, and for so long?? Unfortunate, and too bad the out of town owners aren't willing to accommodate you.
Consulting an attorney is the way to go. Sounds like moving may be your only option, and much depends on whatever rental agreement you made. If it's just month to month, I'd already be looking elsewhere. Best of luck.

this is from the "contract" written in English and based on a US
'packaged' (form) agreement.

under "House Staff" M-F set out, follow by ....
"with tenant's option to use her less days".
xxx will be paid for M-F work,, even if she works less days, by the landlords.

I'm wondering if the "contract" is even legal?

ferret wrote:Go see Spencer. I don't think a contract written in English is valid.

I think the whole contract is bogus ... I'm headed for the attorney this week.

I still would appreciate anyone's comments from their rental experiences here.
This is my first time renting here, and I'd like to get other's comments, opinion and experiences besides what I get from the attorney.

Thanks ...
S.

Friend of mine goes to a rental agency, where the terms are set in plain language. Some think you'll pay more that way, but I've heard enough horror stories about people who got landlords from hell that I'd be inclined to go with the possibility of paying more and getting more peace of mind.

Gringal ... can you send me a PM and tell me which rental agency. Thanks.

Since you have the option to have her work less time tell her not to show up and she will continue to collect her pay or have her work one day a week.. As far as being everywhere , if you need the kitchen and she is there tell her to leave the kitchen.. Does she live there? Why are you competing for the bathroom? Tell her clearly what you want her to do or not to do and if she refuses show her the door since the owners are still paying her no matter what, it should not matter. Since you have her why don´t you have her feed the dogs and do chores for you while she is there and only when the kitchen is free and at the time you tell her.
If you have zero use for her , tell the landlords so and she will either stay home or they will get mad and tell you to leave which should be fine with you.

brigitte wrote:Since you have the option to have her work less time tell her not to show up and she will continue to collect her pay or have her work one day a week.. As far as being everywhere  , if you need the kitchen and she is there tell her to leave the kitchen.. Does she live there? Why are you competing for the bathroom?  Tell her clearly what you want her to do or not to do and if she refuses show her the door since the owners are still paying her no matter what, it should not matter. Since you have her why don´t you have her feed the dogs and do chores for you while she is there and only when the kitchen is free and at the time you tell her.
If you have zero use for her , tell the landlords so  and she will either stay home or they will get mad and tell you to leave which should be fine with you.

I wish it was this straight-forward. Unfortunately, it is not.
At this point, I did say I did not want to use her ... and they indeed did get mad and blah, blah, blah and have taken the position that it is not an option to not use her or restrict her movement anywhere on the property and that I can just leave, which is complicated for me the next few months .... they did not read the contract they prepared. And, at this point, I think the contract is not legal here in Mexico. There are a # of other issues I don't need to cover here.

I'm interested still in hearing some other stories -- good, bad or indifferent that may help me think this thing through.
And, of course, I will follow-up with the attorney.

change the lock and tell the maid not to come , kicking people out here is not that easy but frankly if I were you I just would get out since they told you you could leave. Talk to the lawyer but I doubt they can enforce the contract anyways. She is an employee and you have the right to tell her what to do period.

brigitte wrote:change the lock and tell the maid not to come , kicking people out here is not that easy but frankly if I were you I just would get out since they told you you could leave. Talk to the lawyer but I doubt they can enforce the contract anyways. She is an employee and you have the right to tell her what to do period.

thanks ... I suspect this is the case.

I'm wondering if anyone has actually done that and what happened.
If you don't want to post publicly, I'd welcome a PM.

For reasons I don't want to go into publicly here, I need to have a place to live (with all my household stuff and animals) until more/less the beginning of June. After, I'm out of here.

I'm trying not to make things worse for myself, but to put me in a better position to negotiate staying here based on my timeframe and not based on their relationship with a housekeeper that has nothing to do with me.

In Mexico the landlord has no right to enter the property without your ok. The tenants here have more rights.
Start looking for a different place .. or you will have a miserable time until June. Speak to the lawyer about your rights. You will be surprise.

brigitte wrote:In Mexico the landlord has no right to enter the property without your ok. The tenants here have more rights.
Start looking for a different place .. or you will have a miserable time until June. Speak to the lawyer about your rights.  You will be surprise.

Informally I had heard that the tenants had more rights here than expected ...
Thanks.

I would just put up with it until June or find another place. It's not worth the hassle. Clearly you have better things to be worried about. No?

22 years and I think you better buck up and find a new place for June. However until then I would create a single space for her with a chair and side table. I would have her sit in it everyday from 9 to 1. I would employ someone else to clean one afternoon a week, probably a cleaning service is a good idea, so the owners can have no complaint that you are not taking care of the place.