News: Question One

Legal Q&A: Can I keep deposit if tenant moves without notice?

February 24, 2015

Question: Can I keep a security deposit if the tenant moves out and does not give me a written 30-day notice? Answer: Not automatically. You can deduct from the security deposit unpaid rent from the time of the move out until thirty days are up, or until the premises are relet, whichever happens first, provided you use due diligence to relet the premises. Question: I took a $300 deposit from a tenant to hold an apartment pending a credit check. The credit check came in and I declined the application. How long do I have to return the money? Answer: … Read More

Tagged: Compliance Legal Q&A News Security Deposits

Legal Q&A: Could landlord lose shirt over tenant’s injury?

December 4, 2014

Question: My renter was backing downstairs, carrying a 38-pound bag of clothes and fell and broke her wrist. Can I be sued and a judgment obtained against me? Answer: You would only be liable if you were negligent in the way you maintained the stairs, and your negligence was a proximate cause of the injury. You should notify your insurance carrier as soon as possible. Question: Our window was broken by a golf ball hit by the tenant of a neighboring property. They admitted they owed me for a new window but moved away before I could collect on it.… Read More

Tagged: Columns Compliance Legal Q&A

Legal Q&A: What happens to lease after resident dies?

August 11, 2014

Question: My tenant claims that since she moved out on Day 3 of the three-day notice to pay rent or quit she is not responsible for any rent. Is that true? Answer: That is false. Your tenant cannot “benefit from her breach.” She is still responsible for the remainder of her lease term or until you re-rent the property, whichever occurs first. Question: I have three roommates on a lease. One of them moved out. Do I have to refund his portion of the security deposit? Answer: No. The security deposit remains with the apartment. You do not need to… Read More

Tagged: Columns Compliance Legal Q&A

Legal Q&A: How can I evict troublesome tenant in rent-controlled unit?

May 14, 2014

Question: I recently won an unlawful detainer case against a tenant, and a lockout by the sheriff has been scheduled. Now I get a notice that somebody I never heard of says that he is a tenant and entitled to a trial and that the lockout will not be going forward as scheduled? How can this be? Answer: It seems that your unknown tenant has filed a third-party claim. A landlord can protect himself from such tactics by serving, at the time of service of the unlawful detainer, all unknown occupants. Question: I own a unit that is rent-controlled. I… Read More

Tagged: Columns Compliance Legal Q&A

Legal Q&A: How much notice needed to end month-to-month lease?

March 6, 2014

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

Tagged: Columns Compliance Legal Q&A Abandonment

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