Legal Q&A: How do I get rid of noisy tenant?

February 3, 2015

Question: How can we enforce the entry rules clause in our lease? One of our residents is refusing to show the rental unit to a prospective purchaser of the building.

Answer: California’s Civil Code, among other permitted uses, specifically requires residential tenants to allow the landlord to show the rental unit to prospective purchasers and their agents. Failure to comply could lead to an action for unlawful detainer after service of a three-day notice to perform or quit if the resident refused to give reasonable dates and times for the entry.

Ted Kimball
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP

Question: I have a tenant who is driving everyone in the apartment complex nuts. He plays his stereo and television all day and all night and keeps everyone up. We call the police constantly but they can only do so much. I want to evict him but he signed a one-year lease. None of the notices I have make sense in this situation. What can I do to get this noisy tenant out?

Answer: If the tenant is producing major and continual disturbances to the quiet enjoyment of the neighboring property and it is severe enough, the court could allow you to evict the tenant after service of a three-day notice to vacate. This notice does not allow the tenant to cure anything. Therefore, it has to be a severe situation. Otherwise, writing warning letters and documenting the disturbances can bolster your case if the tenant does not stay quiet.

Question: My rental unit is 15 years old. One month after a large man rented my unit, the shower pan cracked. We are sure it was because of his weight. Who is responsible for the repair?

Answer: If the crack was due to “normal wear and tear,” it is your expense. If it was caused by extraordinary wear and tear, i.e. abuse, it is his expense. The tenant could argue that a shower pan should hold any person’s weight, but it also depends upon the way it was used and the age of the pan.

Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP is a full service real estate law firm representing residential and commercial property owners and managers. This article is for general information purposes only. Laws may have changed since this article was published. Before acting, be sure to receive legal advice from our office. If you have questions, please contact your local KTS office. For contact information, please visit our website: www.kts-law.com. For past Legal Alerts, Questions & Answers, and Legal Articles, please consult the resource library section of our website.

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