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Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Rental
Housing
The answers provided to the questions below are brief summaries of
your rights. If you experience any of the described problems, you should seek
assistance from local agencies specializing in fair housing and tenant/landlord
issues.
For problems described in questions 1 through 6, contact your local fair housing
agency: In Redwood City call Project Sentinel at 650-327-1718.
For problems described in questions 6 through 10, contact Bay Area Legal Aid
at 650-358-0745.
Also, answers to commonly asked tenant/landlord and fair housing questions can
be found in Rent Watch, a column in the San Francisco Examiner, San Jose Mercury
News, and Filipino Guardian.
Click on each of the questions below to get a brief summary of your rights.
1. Race Discrimination
2. Children and Families
3. Eviction Based on Ethnicity
4. Disclosure of Personal Information
5. Disabled Access
6. Repairs
7. Illegal Termination of Tenancy
8. Cleaning Deposits
9. Breaking a Lease
10. Notice of Rent Increase
Race Discrimination
Q: I am a Caucasian man who recently put down a holding deposit on a two-bedroom
apartment that I plan to share with an African-American man. When the two of us
went to sign the rental agreement, the manager seemed taken aback. She said she
was too busy to complete agreement and she would call me later. She called me
next day and said the unit was no longer available. I expect discrimination
based on race. What can I do?
A: Contact your local fair housing agency which may conduct a housing
discrimination test. In this test, a trained African-American investigator would
pose as a person seeking to rent the apartment in question. Then a Caucasian
investigator would follow up in same manner. If the fair housing agency finds
that the two testers were treated differently, you will be advised on how to
take action against the manager and owner. back to top
Children and Families
Q: I own a house that I rent out. I do not rent the house to families with
children because the are stairs leading to the basement which I feel dangerous
to small children. Recently, a prospective tenant accused me of discriminating
against families with children. Do I have a right to decide if the home is
unsafe for children?
A: No, that right belongs to the tenant. Although a rental property owner has
the responsibility to make the premises reasonably safe for residents of all
ages, including children, the owner does not have the right to base his decision
to rent on whether or not a prospective tenant has children. Any feature that
may be deemed hazardous to child may be pointed out to the parent, may not be
used as an excuse not to rent to children. Many normal features of a home may be
dangerous to children and it is the parent's responsibility to safeguard against
these. In addition, general assumptions children produce more noise, take more
baths, or do more damage to property than adults are based on unfair stereotypes
and cannot be used as reasons for barring children from rental housing. back to top
Eviction Based on Ethnicity
Q: We are an Asian family who has been living in the same apartment for about
four years. When we first moved in we really liked the mix of races and cultures
in the complex. One year ago, new owners took over, and now the complex is
slowly being dominated by one ethnic group not Asian. Whenever a lease expires
and the tenants are not part of the "in group", their lease is not renewed.
Those of us on a month to month basis are just waiting for a 30 day termination
notice. Pretty soon, this will be a one flavor complex. I know that this isn't
"right," but is it legal?
A: The systematic eviction of specific ethnic groups is illegal under federal
and state fair housing laws. In cities without rent control a landlord does not
need a specific reason a "just cause" to terminate a tenancy. However,
regardless of whether a city has rent control, it is illegal to evict for any
reason related to a person's group characteristics, such as race, color or
national origin. Your observation that people of particular ethnic groups are
being systematically evicted is a strong indication that illegal discrimination
may be occurring. A fair housing agency may be able to investigate this matter
and counsel you as to your options.
Finally, if you have reasons to believe your landlord makes repairs for some
tenants but refuses to make repairs for other tenants because of ethnicity or
any other group characteristic, your landlord may be violating fair housing
laws. Contact your local fair housing agency for assistance .back to top
Disclosure of Personal Information
Q: What questions may an owner or manager ask about a tenant’s medical
condition? I receive SSI, have a Section 8 voucher and lives in this complex for
a year without any medical problems. Perhaps since the nature of my disability
is not visibly apparent, the manager has become curious of the exact nature of
my disability. He keeps asking for my medical information. I have told him that
any information necessary for my care in a medical emergency can be found in my
wallet, and otherwise I prefer not to discuss my condition. May I continue to
refuse to discuss his intrusive questions?
A: Yes, you may keep your health information private. Under federal and state
fair housing laws, the landlord may only ask you the same questions he asks of
all other tenants and prospective renters, such as questions relating to your
ability to pay the rent, to maintain your unit (with or without assistance), and
to assume the regular responsibilities of a tenancy. However, if you occupy
housing designated for persons with specific disabilities, you may be asked
questions to prove that you qualify. Otherwise, disclosing the exact nature of
your disability is up to you. back to top
Disabled Access
Q: My daughter has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. As she is getting
older, I am unable to lift and carry her from our apartment to the car. Thus, I
asked the manager if I could have a wheelchair ramp installed for easier access.
The manager denied our request because the owner thinks ramps are ugly and might
be inconvenient for other tenants. Is this legal?
A: No, it is not. Federal and state fair housing laws guarantee your daughter's
right to access. The owner must allow the construction of a ramp that is built
in a workmanlike manner. However, unless you live in some form of government
subsidized housing, you will be responsible for the cost of construction. back to top
Repairs
Q: I am a Hispanic tenant who has made several requests for repairs over the
past year. My landlord has ignored all of my requests. What bothers me even more
is that when white tenants make the same request, the repairs seem to get done
promptly. I am not the only Hispanic tenant in my complex who has experienced
this. Some of the other Hispanic tenants have been moved because necessary
repairs were never done. After they moved, the repairs were done before the new
tenants moved in. I do not want to move to anther apartment. What can I do to
get my landlord to make these repairs?
A: California Civil Code Section 1941.1 grants all tenants the right to dwell in
a habitable unit. Usually the most effective way to exercise your right to a
habitable unit is by including a letter or note to your landlord with monthly
rent requesting repairs within 30 days. Keep a copy of the note and make it
respectful instead of angry. If an emergency situation (e.g., a broken water
heater) arises, contact your landlord by phone and follow up with a note or
letter asking for the repairs in a reasonable amount of time (e.g., one to two
days). If any written request is not answered in a satisfactory way, you should
seek legal advice from La Raza Centro Legal. In addition, you may want to
contact the code enforcement office of the city in which you live. Inspectors
from this office are authorized to investigate conditions that may qualify as
serious threats to the public's health and safety and, when necessary, will
mandate compliance with state and local ordinances.
Finally, if you have reason to believe your landlord makes repairs for some
tenants but refuses to make repairs for other tenants because of ethnicity or
any other group characteristic, your landlord may be violating fair housing
laws. Contact your local fair housing agency for assistance. back to top
Illegal Termination of Tenancy
Q: I am behind in my rent and my landlord ahs turned off all the utilities and
won’t let me into the apartment. Is this legal?
A: No, this is not legal. According to California Civil Code 789.3, a landlord
cannot terminate a tenancy by interrupting utility services such as water, heat,
electricity. etc., even if the utility service is in the name of the landlord.
Property owners cannot physically remove tenants, force them out or lock them
out, even if the tenants do not pay rent. The only way to evict a tenant is by
filing a legal action and obtaining a judgement that will be enforced by the
sheriff. Any action against a tenant who fails to pay must begin with a 3 day
notice to pay rent or quit. If a tenant with a month to month lease has paid
rent on time, but the landlord wants to remove the tenant, the landlord must
issue a notice giving the tenant 30 days to vacate the premises. A tenant is
protected from properly filed evictions only if it can be shown that the
landlord is evicting the tenant for a discriminatory or retaliatory reason.
Examples of discrimination include any action against a person based on their
characteristic; examples of retaliation include any eviction brought to punish a
tenant exercising a legal right. back to top
Cleaning Deposits
Q: Several weeks ago I moved out of an apartment that I had occupied for three
years. I left the apartment cleaner than I found it, and have receipts for
carpet and other cleaning, photographs and witnesses to prove this. I expected
to receive my entire deposit back and was quite surprised to find that amount
had been deducted as a "reconditioning charge." Can you explain this to me? I
thought the deposits were fully refundable under California law.
A: In certain instances, a landlord should fully refund a deposit.
Reconditioning charges may not be deducted from tenants' deposits as a means of
covering expenses a landlord naturally incurs as a result of doing business.
Carpet and drapery cleaning fees routinely charged to tenants regardless of the
condition in which the apartment is left are not legitimate, and using the
"reconditioning charge” under these circumstances may be an attempt to hide an
unfair charge to the tenant. However, the landlord may use a deposit to clean if
necessary, or to repair damages beyond normal wear and tear (e.g., holes in
carpet or broken tiles). back to top
Breaking a Lease
Q: I leased an apartment six months ago. However, I found a home I want to buy
and escrow closes in two weeks. My problem is that I have a year lease on the
rental. Can I break the lease, and if so, how?
A: Yes, you can break the lease, but you still have financial obligations to the
owner. You have entered into a contract and are obligated to pay rent for the
full term of the lease, whether you live there or not. If you do not pay, the
owner can sue you, and may get a judgement against you. Fortunately, the owner
has an obligation to make reasonable efforts to rent the property to another
tenant as quickly as possible and must use that tenant's rent payments to offset
your obligations. back to top
Notice of Rent Increase
I just moved out of an apartment. My landlord deducted $600 from my security
deposit saying it is for unpaid rent from last year. The landlord claims my rent
increased $50 a month a year ago; I never received a written notice nor did he
ever ask that I pay more each month. He claims he told me of this when my lease
expired and I went on a month to month basis. Can he hold me to this increase?
A: No, he cannot. A notice of increase must be in writing, as required by
California Civil Code 827. Because you had a month to month rental agreement,
your landlord had the option of giving you a 30 day notice of rent increase at
any time. However, because your landlord accepted monthly payments the lower
rate, without giving you any further notice that more money was due, he in
effect agreed to continue your tenancy at the initial rate. Therefore, he is not
entitled to deduct back rent from your security deposit.
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