California Landlord And Tenant Legal Questions

You are wrong as to the obligation to pay rent. A verbal contract to rent/lease is the same as a written one; why would you be entitled to live there if you did not have to pay any rent? However, the owner [not the manager] appears to be in breach of the contract because you rented on the belief that the garage roof had no defects so either they need to repair it within a reasonable period of time [which has passed] or you can spend up to one months rent to have it repaired after giving them notice that you will be doing so. But realize that anytime you get into an argument with the landlord, they are going to look less favorably on you as a tenant. Go over the manager's head and speak to the landlord directly about the defect and that is why you have not paid the full rent. But legally, you are not able to deduce the repair costs until you have given notice you will and you have actually spent the money, so the landlord is within his rights to give you a 3 day notice and in court you will have to raise a Green v. Superior Court [look case upon on internet] argument that the rent should be lower than the agreed to price so you do not owe as much as the landlord claims [but that may not prevent the eviction, just lower the amount you owe]. ?It probably is worthwhile to contact a local tenant's attorney for a free conference to see what can be done. Normally, in California, you just have 5 days to file an answer to an unlawful detainer suit that is filed against you after the 3 day notice time to cure runs out.... Read More

I do not understand what the judgments were. If plaintiff lost on his claim, then defendant could not win on any cross-complaint because defendant did not have to pay any damages so has no case. Defendant is the prevailing party. In awarding costs, you look at the claimant against the defendant and what costs were involved in that, then the cross-complainant [defendant] against the cross-defendant as to the costs available as to that part of the suit. If on the cross-complaint, neither party recovers then there would be no prevailing party.... Read More

A demurrer means you claim the allegations made in the complaint do not support the cause(s) of action sued upon, or they are legally barred. You have to file with the court and serve on the plaintiff your written demurrer, but you need to look at the code section on unlawful detainers as it limits what you can demur to. Is it the owner of the house who is suing or the owner's estate if he has died non-owner can not sue. Is there any thing incorrect as to the three or thirty day notice given, such as the amount of rent claimed owed. Is the property covered by rent control. Did you have an agreement, oral or written, that the work you did would cover the entire amount of rent owed and/or would reduce the future sales price for you [breach of contract]. If the agreement was only that you did not have to pay any rent, then you have nothing "invested" in the house because your work was just paying the rent. If you are entitled to more, you may want to file a cross-complaint to get the additional sum back. You need to speak to a local tenant's attorney to see what can be done; they normally do not charge for the first 20 minutes of the initial visit with them.... Read More

When the tenant sub-rented the premises to you, she became like a landlord and, in California, would have to give you 30 days notice. The actual owner of the property would also have to give 30 days notice if it was a legal sub-renting. You could sue for statutory damages and actual damages [can do it yourself in Small Claims Court].... Read More

In California, the time in which you must sue for damage to personal property is two years, but you can argue they expropriated the property, which I believe is a three year statute. Talk to their insurance carrier if they have one. There is language in the code section indicating you might be able to recover attorney fees, but the judge I argued that to rejected it. You can, however, collect for the cost of getting paid because of the loss of the property, which can include more than the normal recoverable costs. If they will not pay you at least 70% of your loss, consider getting an attorney [if the facts are as you state, instead of paying a 1/3 attorney fee [40% in Southern California], it might be cheaper to pay the attorney an hourly fee. Some attorneys, especially semi-retired ones, might be okay with an hourly rate. If not, see if you can get the attorney down from 33%, as it seems an easy case [although few end up being that easy]. You could also hire an attorney on an hourly basis to give you advise as to what to do. Good luck.... Read More

Since it is already Saturday, my advice doesn't matter as you are too late if you have not already filed. You questions can not be posted immediately and there is a time lag before any attorney sees it and can respond. If you must file 48 hours in advance, that means at least two full court days [so the other side can prepare, which it is assumed not to be able to do on non-work days]. ?So with an eviction set for Tuesday morning, you would have had to file before the clerk's office closed on Thursday. You apparently wanted to give the landlord's attorney the least amount of time so did not file within the 24 hours, but you got caught not knowing the law and thinking it out. ?If you could count the weekends, you would be able to personally serve the landlord's attorney on Saturday, when they probably would not be in their office, so obviously to be fair you can not count the weekend days as part of the 48 hours. Most courts hear such ex parte motions in the mornings, so following you scheme would have meant a hearing on Monday morning which would give the court only until the afternoon to issue a written order to the sheriff to halt the eviction. When you try to be unfair to the other side, often you burn yourself.... Read More

To get a restraining order, she has to show you are a physical threat to her. Ask to see the order and find out when the next court date is. Point out to her anything in the allegations she made that is not true and that the judge will be very upset if she lied. If you have paid your part of the rent, contact the sheriff's Office and see what they intend to do, pointing out you paid the rent on X date. To evict you, she has to give you notice, go to court, and get a judgment; she apparently is trying to get around this by getting the court to say you must remain Y distance away from her. So you need to try to get the restraining order reversed.... Read More

If you paid the full sale's price she has absolutely no right to try to take the home back. ?She sold it to you, why should she get it back. ?Recording title is done so that everyone in addition to the seller knows you are the new owner. ?has she offered to return all of your money probably not. I do not understand where the tax lien fits in.... Read More

Contact the landlord, tell him how much more time you need, agree to pay now any rent you owe and for January, and see if you can reach an agreement. What you did is confusing, but it sounds like you agreed to move out by a certain date; how can you get out of the Stipulation if you knew what you were signing? I do not see what motion you could file and on what grounds.... Read More

They have a duty to provide quiet enjoyment of your residence. Since they have made little effort to do so, they have breached the lease. ?First speak to the neighbor and tell him why his smoking bothers you and that you could successfully sue him. Then write an e-mail to the complex managers detailing your efforts, what they have done and not done, that they are in breach of the lease, and if it is not remedied by X date [2 weeks?], then you will leave as soon as you can move to a new place as they have constructively evicted you so you do not owe any rent when you move out and that there should be a refund of part of the rent you have been paying as the unit was worth less in rent they they lead you to believe. Unless your City has some type of eviction/rent control law, you likely can not collect for the cost of moving as you would have had to move sometime in the future anyway.... Read More

Assuming you have a copy of the 12 month lease, you can show it to the landlord and insist that the original contract remain in force. The landlord can not change the lease while it is still in effect without the consent of all who signed it. But your roommates are breaching the lease by giving 30 days notice. You have the practical problem that if you sue them for their portion of the rent, etc., they probably have little in the way of assets so you would end up having to pay the entire rent for the remainder of the one year. It probably is better that you insist that if the landlord lets them leave without paying any compensation [entitled to rent until can re-rent the home] he let you do so also. ?Unless the rental agreement made each person liable for a specific share of the rent, you owe all of it.... Read More

Point out to her that a verbal agreement is just as binding as a written one, and moreover the actions of both of you prove their was an agreement and what some of the terms were. If you managed the property, you clearly had the right to enter it; if you owned any of the cars, you also had the right to cut the locks that were barring your ability to enter the premises. Your suing her will mean the business is even bigger of a money loser because she will have to pay her own attorney fees and appears to have no basis to counter sue you for any damages.... Read More