FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1. My landlord won't return my security deposit, and I left that place spotless! What can I do to get my security deposit back?

This is without a doubt the most common landlord-tenant problem. When you are preparing to leave your apartment for good, you should request a meeting with the landlord so you can go through your apartment with him, so that he can assess any damage you have done. TAKE PICTURES of the condition of the apartment just before you walk out the door. You may need this evidence later. Give your landlord your forwarding address.

Within 21 days, your landlord must, by law, return your security deposit with a full breakdown on how he spent any part of it. (By the way, you are not responsible for repainting the apartment or recarpeting the place--the landlord has to pay for normal wear-and-tear.) If your former landlord spent more than $150 of your deposit, he must provide you with receipts. If, after 21 days, you have not heard from your landlord, you should write to him demanding your full security deposit be repaid within 10 days. After 10 days, if he has not returned the security deposit, you can, and should, sue him in small claims court for your full security deposit PLUS a penalty of two times the amount of the security deposit. (Example, if your security deposit was $1,000, you should sue him for $3,000.) The Court is authorized to award you the penalty under Civil Code section 1950.5 (l), which provides for damages and penalties if a landlord withholds your security deposit in bad faith.

2. My landlord won't repair anything! What should I do?

If your landlord won't make the repairs you ask him to make, there are a couple of different things you can do. The easiest thing is to exercise your right to "repair and deduct." First, you need to put your request in writing, and make sure you save a copy of the letter. If, after 30 days (or less if absolutely necessary), no repairs have been made, you can hire a repairman to fix whatever's wrong, and deduct the bill from your rent. The deduction cannot be more than the amount of your rent, and you can only do this twice in one year. California Civil Code section 1942 states as follows:

• (a) If within a reasonable time after written or oral notice to the landlord or his agent ... of dilapidations rendering the premises untenantable which the landlord ought to repair, the landlord neglects to do so, the tenant may repair the same himself where the cost of such repairs does not require an expenditure more than one month's rent of the premises and deduct the expenses of such repairs from the rent when due, or the tenant may vacate the premises, in which case the tenant shall be discharged from further payment of rent, or performance of other conditions as of the date of vacating the premises. This remedy shall not be available to the tenant more than twice in any 12-month period.
  (b) For the purposes of this section, if a tenant acts to repair and deduct after the 30th day following notice, he is presumed to have acted after a reasonable time. The presumption established by this subdivision is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence and shall not be construed to prevent a tenant from repairing and deducting after a shorter notice if all the circumstances require shorter notice.

3. The repairs that need to be made in my apartment will cost way more than two months' rent. What else can I do?

If the repairs that need to be made are major repairs (e.g., your roof leaks), again, put your request in writing. If the landlord does not fix the problem promptly, you can:

• (a) Withhold the rent. This is very risky. If you withhold the rent, your landlord can serve you with a three-day notice to pay rent or quit, and if you don't, he can try to evict you. You will then have to defend the eviction on the ground that the landlord has breached "the implied warranty of habitability." (The implied warranty of habitability means this: You paid for a place to live. You rightly assumed, for example, that the place you rented would be waterproof, and that it would have electricity, and hot and cold running water, etc., because that is required by law. That is an implied warranty or guarantee.) If you defend the eviction lawsuit successfully, the court can order your landlord to make the repairs. You need an attorney to do this successfully (and it still might not succeed, because there are no guarantees).
• (b) Enlist the help of the government. No matter where you are in California, there is probably some agency that can help you force your landlord to make repairs. Call the county Health Department and ask for an inspection. Call the Department of Building and Safety. If your city has a Department of Housing, call that office. Many of these types of agencies are empowered to issue orders to your landlord to make repairs. For example, in Los Angeles, if you are in a rent-controlled dwelling, you can call the Housing Department and ask for a Code Enforcement inspection, and an inspector will come out and find everything that is wrong in your apartment and issue a Notice to Comply to the landlord.
• (c) Hire an attorney to force your landlord to make repairs. If your apartment building is extremely run down, you should join with some neighbors to bring a lawsuit together to make the landlord repair the entire building. This is called Slumlord Litigation. (Hint... go to the Contact Us page to find a lawyer.)

4. The manager of my building let the police into my apartment while I wasn't there! Can he do that?

No. The landlord, manager, or maintenance man of your apartment building, hotel, or dormitory may not let the police into your home, unless the police have a search warrant. The landlord has no right to consent to a warrantless search. See People v. Superior Court, 143 Cal. App. 4th 1183 (2006).

5. I know that my landlord is breaking the law. Can I sue him for that?

The answer is, "It depends." What kind of law is being broken? How does that breaking of the law affect you? For most types of lawsuits, you need to be able to prove damages--that you lost something because of the wrong done by your landlord. Before you think about suing, imagine yourself on a jury judging your case, and ask yourself how much money you would award. If you would award less than $7,500, consider filing a small claims action. Remember, lawsuits are difficult, stressful and time-consuming.

6. How much do you charge?

Again, the answer is, "It depends." A flat fee of $2,000.00 is usually charged for a simple Unlawful Detainer defense, so long as the case is venued somewhere in Los Angeles County in the Central, South, West, Northeast, or North Valley Districts. Fees charged are higher if the case is more complicated or if you want a jury trial. (Often, a jury trial is the only way to go.) Fees do not include costs of suit, such as filing fees, deposition transcripts, expert witness fees and jury fees. The fee increases for cases farther away from central Los Angeles, such as Long Beach, Pomona, or Lancaster. Fees increase even more for cases in Orange County, Ventura County and Kern County.

For other types of cases, such as slumlord litigation, mold litigation, nuisance cases and fraudulent eviction cases, where the tenant is suing the landlord, the firm usually charges a contingency fee, meaning that the client pays a small up-front retainer only, and no additional legal fees are owed unless you win your case. Note that not all cases will be accepted.

Some matters are handled on an hourly fee basis. Our fees range from $150 per hour to $275 per hour.

7. My landlord says that he is converting my apartment to a condominium. Am I entitled to relocation assistance?

It depends on where you live. In most of California, the answer is no. But some cities have ordinances that require relocation payments to the tenants, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Monica. San Diego requires payment of relocation assistance if the tenant is low-income, elderly, or disabled. State law requires that all tenants affected by condominium conversion be offered the right to buy their units on terms comparable or more favorable than those initially offered to the public.

8. My landlord is selling the building I live in. Am I entitled to relocation assistance?

Generally, the answer is no. Your rights are exactly the same as if the landlord didn't sell the property. There is nothing about the owner's contract with a third party that affects your tenancy. In other words, if you are in a rent-controlled property, you can't be evicted or have your rent raised just because of the sale. If you're in a non-rent-controlled property, and on a lease, your lease remains in effect. In other words, the sale does not change anything as far as you're concerned, except you have to make your check out to someone new.

9. I represented myself in an Unlawful Detainer case, and the Judge ruled in favor of the landlord. Can I appeal?

Yes, but it is not likely to change anything. In order to appeal from a judgment in an eviciton case and be successful, you generally have to be able to show that the trial judge "abused his (or her) discretion." Under the “abuse of discretion” standard of review, appellate courts will not reverse the decision or order a new trial unless you can show “a clear case of abuse” and “a miscarriage of justice." You generally will not be able to even start to show an abuse of discretion by the trial court judge unless you have a record of the proceedings, i.e., a court reporter's transcript of the trial. Then you have to show that there is no way the Judge could have reached the decision he or she did given the evidence presented. You practically have to be able to show the Judge was insane.

But here's the kicker. Filing an appeal will not stay the judgment in the original case. It will not prevent the landlord from getting a writ of possession so that the Sheriff can throw you out. You will be evicted anyway, so there's really no point to appealing in most cases.

Important information: The information on this website is general legal information that may or may not apply to your case. Rather than rely solely on the information presented here, or on any other published source, you should contact an attorney to discuss your paticular case. Only an attorney with knowledge of both the pertinent law and the particular facts of your situation can render a legal opinion. No attorney-client relationship is created between the firm and the reader of the information on this site merely because the reader has read or relied on the information published here.