Question: I am a manager of a 56-unit complex. One of the tenants informed me that his girlfriend moved in. I gave him an application and told him to have her fill it out and then return it to me. It has been 10 days, and I have not gotten it back.
Answer: If the lease prohibits the assigning or subletting of the premises without your permission, you can serve a three-day notice to perform conditions and/or covenants or quit, detailing the violation. The notice should require that they either turn in the application, or she must vacate the property within the three-day period. If they do not comply with the notice, you could commence eviction procedures.
Ted Kimball
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP
Question: I served one of my tenants with a three-day notice to pay rent or quit. He did not comply, so I served a 30-day notice to quit. If the tenant does not move out by the 30th day, should I call the sheriff to evict him?
Answer: The sheriff will not evict your resident unless you have gone through the unlawful detainer lawsuit and produced a judgment for possession. You could have filed the unlawful detainer action after the three-day notice expired; you did not need to give the tenant an additional 30 days.
Question: I recently received an application from a young married couple. He is 20, but she is only 17. I told her she was too young to sign the rental agreement, and he had to qualify on his own even though she was working. She said because she was married, she was qualified to sign. I never heard of this law. Is she right?
Answer: California recognizes an individual’s right to enter into binding contracts if he or she is 18 years of age or older, in active duty in the military, married, or are emancipated by order of the court. You therefore should treat her the same way as you would any other adult applicant.
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.