News: Compliance
Filter
Federal officials are reminding contractors to follow lead-safety rules or possibly face tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
Just about everyone who is paid to work on pre-1978 rental housing — where lead paint is presumed to be present — must provide specific disclosure pamphlets to tenants and be trained in lead-safe work practices.
The California Apartment Association has teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to make sure all apartment owners, managers and maintenance personnel are following these federal regulations.
The EPA issued the regulations in 2008 as the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, and it took… Read More
Tagged: ComplianceEducationSafety
Question: A tenant’s guests broke a window of the recreation room by throwing a ball through it. The host tenant claims he should not be responsible because the damage occurred outside the apartment and while they were playing catch in the common area. My tenant also refuses to give me the name or any information about his guest who caused the damage. What can I do?
Answer: In California, tenants are liable for the negligence of their guests while on the premises. The premises not only includes the actual rented unit, but the common area as well. Therefore the tenant… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Question: After a lease expires and it is month-to-month, how much notice must a tenant give me in order to legally terminate the lease? He says one week. Is this true?
Answer: In California, 30-days written notice is required to terminate a month-to-month tenancy and can be served by either party at any time during the tenancy. If all of the occupants have been in possession for one year or longer, the landlord must serve a 60-day notice.
Question: Someone told me that if a resident is committing a crime on the premises they can be evicted in three days. … Read More
Question: Do I have to pay a tenant interest on his security deposit?
Answer: There are no state laws requiring that interest be paid on the tenant’s security deposit. However, some rent control ordinances and/or other local ordinances do require interest to be paid.
Question: We served a three-day notice to pay rent or quit. What is the latest date we could start an unlawful detainer without our three-day notice “becoming stale” and having to be re-served?
Answer: It depends on the facts of any given case, but the longer you wait, the more of an argument you are giving… Read More
Question: I have returned the balance of the security deposit to a former tenant after deducting cleaning charges and insufficient check bank charges. The former tenant claims that I cannot legally deduct the bank charges from the security deposit because that deduction was not specifically stated in the lease. What are my rights?
Answer: California law allows for the use of the security deposit to include other charges than just cleaning, damage and unpaid rent. There is no legal requirement that they must be specified in the rental agreement in order to be enforced by a court.
Question: Our tenant… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Question: I understand a security deposit refund must be postmarked within 21 days of vacating the premises. Is that correct?
Answer: The security deposit must be mailed within 21 calendar days of the tenant vacating the unit.
Question: I have a maintenance worker who was terminated and was given seven days to vacate his apartment. He has not left, and I would like to know if I need to send him through the eviction process or if there is anything else I can do to get him out.
Answer: You need to send him through the eviction process. If he… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Question: I have a tenant who I strongly believe is selling and using drugs. What actions can I take without having any evidence?
Answer: In order to use the illegal drug activity as a basis for eviction, you have to prove that the drug activity is going on; otherwise, if you are on a month-to-month tenancy, you can serve a 30- or 60-day notice without cause, unless you are in a rent controlled area.
Question: Our tenants have just informed us via telephone that their rent check will bounce, they don’t plan to cover it, and they intend to vacate… Read More
Question: My tenant has verbally notified me that he will be terminating the lease in two weeks and said to use the deposit for the two weeks rent. The contract is a month-to-month and requires 30 days notice. What can I do?
Answer: You may consider giving the tenant a three-day notice to pay rent or quit for the rent owed, since a verbal notice has no legal effect.
Question: I would be interested in knowing what to do when a resident is demanding a repair be made inside of their apartment, but at the same time is demanding that… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Question: Upon reading a “Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit,” I noted the statement, “…plus Owner/Agent may seek to recover an additional punitive award of $600.00 (six hundred dollars) in accordance with California law.” I would like to know the Civil Code Section allowing for this punitive damage.
Answer: The code section is California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1174(b). The section allows for up to $600 if you can prove malice.
Question: I had a tenant move out several months ago. I returned about $600 of his $1,000 deposit. He disputes all but $50 of the deductions and… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Question: If we serve a three-day notice and the tenant decides to move out, is the tenant responsible to pay the monthly rent until the apartment is leased?
Answer: The tenant is still liable for the rent until the lease expires or the apartment is relet, whichever occurs first even if he vacates pursuant to a three-day notice to perform or quit.
Question: I have a tenant who decided not to move in after signing a six-month lease and leaving a deposit. Can I hold her to the lease agreement that she signed?
Answer: Once the tenant has signed the… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A