Q1.
My tenant is operating a business in her apartment in a residential neighborhood.
Is this illegal?
Would I be subject to any kind of liability?
Can I evict my tenant on this basis?
A1.
There is no liability on your part, but you would have grounds to evict this tenant.
Q2.
We have an apartment building and we are installing cable for the entire building.
I have one tenant who refuses to allow us access to his unit in order to install the cable hardware.
What should I do?
A2.
Remember you have rights as a landlord to enter the tenant's unit to perform all necessary improvements and repairs.
If you are installing cable, you are certainly entitled to enter the tenant's apartment to install the cable. If the tenant refuses to allow you access to the unit, after proper notice, then this would be grounds for eviction.
Q3.
I had a tenant who gave me thirty days notice that he was going to vacate the premises on the sixth of the month.
His agreement was a month to month tenacy.
His rent is paid from the first of the month until the thirtieth.
He then vacated the building on the thirtienth.
Can I still charge him for rent for the reminder of the six days?
A3.
Yes
Q4.
I had a tenant who left the building without giving me any notice.
We were on a month to month tenancy.
Can I charge his security deposit for one month's worth of rent for his failure to notify me?
A4.
Yes.
You are entitled to deduct any rents owed from a tenant's security deposit.
On a month to month tenancy, a tenant must give a landlord thirty days notice stating that he wishes to vacate the unit, and rent must be paid for that entire thirty day period.
Even if the tenant moves without giving the required notice, the tenant is still responsible for paying the rent.
Q5.
I have a tenant who has a Chihuahua dog.
I have told my tenant several times to get rid of the dog.
Furthermore, our rental agreement does not allow pets.
The dog bit one of the otehr tenants.
Now the tenant is threatening to sue me and the owner of the dog.
Do I have any responsibility?
A5.
The only time you would have any responsibility is if you knew that the dog had dangerous propensities and that you failed to remedy the situation.
A Chihuahua is a small dog so it is unlikely that you would be aware that the dog had dangerous propensities unless the dog had bitten other tenants.
The remedy you would have would be to serve the tenant a perform covenant or quit notice to get rid of the dog.
If the tenant failed to get rid of the dog, then you could evict him.
Q6.
I rented a single family home to a tenant is Los Angeles.
She has since vacated the house.
She is demanding that I pay her interest on her security deposit of 5%.
Do I have to pay her interest?
A6.
You would only have to pay her interest on the security deposit if the property was subject to Los Angeles rent control and she had lived in the property for more than a year.
Q7.
My tenant has not paid rent for over two months and he is complaining about repairs that have not been done to his apartment.
I don't feel that I should have to make the repairs if he is not paying rent.
What should I do?
A.7
Make the repair!
One of the strongest defenses a tenant can raise to non-payment of rent is unihabitability.
When you bring this tenant before a judge on an unlawful detainer action, if the tenant proves that the apartment was uninhabitable because of the willful refusal of the landlord to make repais, the judge will throw your case out.
At that point, you will have to make the repairs and start the unlawful detainer action all over again, starting with the 3-day notice.
Q8.
As an owner can I evict my tenant who is on a one year lease if I am selling the property?
A8.
No.
Merely selling the property does not cancel a tenant's lease and it is not a legal reason for eviction.
However, if your tneant is on a month to month tenancy,
you may evict your tenant by giving your tenant a 30-day notice to quit.
The above questions and answers were provided by Dennis Block with the law firm of Katz & Block, Dennis Block & Associates.
Published in AOA (Apartment Owners Association) July 1997.
Any new laws should be discussed with legal representation.
IF you have any questions, I would be happy to research and e-mail you back with answers.
