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The rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants are outlined in the lease documents between the two parties. The terms of these lease agreements must comply with California Law, especially the California Department of Real Estate and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
From your perspective as a landlord, common conflicts involve tenants not paying rent or overstaying a terminated lease. Other conflicts involve squatters illegally inhabiting a building and tenants damaging the premises.
From the tenant’s perspective, common conflicts involve a landlord not repairing items in or on the property, such as backed-up plumbing or electricity that is not working properly. Other common tenant complaints relate to noise levels on the property that interrupt quiet enjoyment or sleep.
As a landlord, you can enforce lease agreements and rental terms through mediation, arbitration, or the California court system.
Leases often have provisions to help you enforce lease agreements through mediation, arbitration, or both. Common types of mediation include letters, emails, and phone calls to the tenant. If this communication does not resolve the issue, you may hire an attorney and proceed with an unlawful detainer action or another suit.
For example, if there was non-payment of rent, you or your attorney need to provide certain statutory notices to the tenant. They have a right to cure by bringing the rent current within a certain amount of time. If that doesn’t happen, you can pursue an eviction. This eviction notice triggers the tenant’s rights to oppose the eviction.
The matter then goes to court for a judge to determine whether the lease is going to be enforced in your favor.
Addressing tenant complaints carefully and in compliance with California law is crucial for landlords, particularly because the state has numerous laws designed to protect tenants. It’s essential to fully understand what the law permits and prohibits.
For instance, if tenants fail to pay rent, you might be tempted to change the locks while they are away to resolve the issue. However, this is illegal in California and could result in serious legal trouble.
To navigate these situations effectively, it’s beneficial to have a knowledgeable business law attorney, especially one experienced in real estate and landlord-tenant matters.
An attorney can guide you on the appropriate actions to take and how to communicate with tenants effectively. For example, your attorney will likely advise putting all communications with tenants in formal writing, as informal text messages can be easily misinterpreted or taken out of context and used against you.
Attorney Jeanette Witten is a hard-working and skilled business lawyer serving California. For over 20 years, she’s helped landlords just like you better understand California law, protect their property, and ensure that lease agreements are well crafted.
Have questions about landlord-tenant relationships in California? Reach out to Hudson Martin PC at (831) 375-3151 for an initial consultation today.
Residential or non-commercial leases in California are subjected to a body of laws that protect the residential tenant. Apart from basic rights and the right to quiet enjoyment of the property, residential tenants are protected by a myriad of additional laws.
Commercial leases do not share the same restrictions. For example, you may include terms in a commercial lease allowing you access to the building even during business hours, but comparable terms in a residential lease would not be permitted.
Getting a business and real estate attorney’s help drafting lease agreements, therefore, can be a smart way to protect yourself as a landlord and know what you can expect moving forward with tenants.
The courts in California are very hesitant to evict a tenant for issues other than non-payment of rent. For example, you may wish to evict a tenant for building an additional staircase inside a rented property in violation of clear lease terms. But getting a court to evict based on those terms can be challenging.
The court may simply turn around and say that the tenant did not intend to destroy the property but rather to make it more livable. The tenant is ordered to pay financial damages but does not get evicted.
However, if a tenant is blatantly and purposefully destroying your property, a judge might allow for an eviction. For example, if a tenant were to unabashedly destroy walls with a sledgehammer and ruin the home.
In general, however, evicting a tenant for anything other than non-payment of rent is quite difficult in California. The movie “Pacific Heights” refers to these laws, depicting a villain who rents a home and does awful things to the property, with the landlord unable to evict. The fictional renter relies on California law to keep him legally on the premises, and evicting him proves dangerous and difficult.
While this is a fictional film, it highlights the troubles that landlords can have with uncooperative tenants in California. To this end, consulting with a seasoned business and real estate attorney is your best bet to help protect you, your property, and your legal interests as a landlord.
For more information on Legal Issues In California Landlord-Tenant Relationships, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (831) 480-6608 today.
Attorney Jeanette Witten is a hard-working and skilled business lawyer serving California. For over 20 years, she’s helped landlords just like you better understand California law, protect their property, and ensure that lease agreements are well crafted.
Have questions about landlord-tenant relationships in California? Reach out to Hudson Martin PC at (831) 375-3151 for an initial consultation today.
