Eviction Defense

If your landlord has given you a notice to pay rent or quit, or a 30 day notice to vacate, you may not have to leave–you may have good defenses. A defense may exist if your unit is uninhabitable or untenantable, if you are disabled, or if the landlord has refused to fix problems after being ordered to do so. In cities that have rent control or eviction control ordinances, a landlord usually cannot evict you without good cause. In Southern California, Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks and Palm Springs all have rent control laws, and Glendale has eviction control laws. These laws may mean that your landlord has no right to ask you to leave. There are so many defenses to an eviction lawsuit that they cannot all be listed here. Please contact us to find out how you can fight your eviction.

Wrongful Evictions, Lock-Outs and Fraudulent Evictions

If your landlord has locked you out of your home or business without a court order, he or she has probably broken the law. If this has happened to you, you may be entitled to recover money from your landlord for all your damages, including moving expenses, loss of property, and emotional distress.

If your landlord has told you that you have to move because he is moving into your unit, or because the landlord’s relative is moving into your unit, the landlord may be telling the truth, or he may be trying to get you to move just so he can raise the rent, or for some other impermissible reason (such as racial or gender discrimination). If you’ve been evicted because of an owner or manager move-in, and neither the owner nor the manager moved into your unit, please contact us to talk about suing your landlord for fraudulent eviction.