Question: My tenant fixes his motorcycle in the living room of his apartment. I have warned him that he did not have a right to use our apartment as an auto repair shop. He says as long as he leaves the apartment clean, he has the right to work on his motorcycle. What should I do?
Answer: You should review your lease to see if he is breaching any particular condition of promise. If not, and you are on a month-to-month tenancy, you could threaten to serve him with a 30-day notice to quit, or to change the terms of tenancy. If you are not on a month-to-month tenancy, you must find a breach and serve a three-day notice to comply. If he fails to meet the demands of the notice, the eviction lawsuit may be filed.
Ted Kimball
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP
Question: I am the resident manager of an apartment complex where we only offer one-year leases. After six months, one of our residents gave me a 30-day notice because he lost his job. I informed him that a 30-day notice is not effective during a long-term lease, so he wrote me a letter saying he was leaving because of the loud noise coming from the swimming pool late at night. He said his attorney said he could legally do this. Is this true?
Answer: It appears that the real reason for leaving is his inability to continue to pay rent, but even if there was disruptive behavior in the swimming pool, he could not legally quit the premises unless he could prove that you were negligent in maintaining peace and quiet in the apartment community. If you took reasonable steps to maintain the quiet enjoyment of the property, the resident is required to pay you for the remainder of the lease term.
Question: Are the laws any different between “motels” and “apartments”? Where could I get a booklet or more information on this matter?
Answer: The laws are significantly different between motels and rental housing. For instance if a motel customer fails to pay, the police can be immediately called to remove the customer. In a residential rental dwelling such as an apartment, however, the owner must go through the tenant eviction process to regain possession. You may be able to obtain information from the California Lodging Association and the California Apartment Association.
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.