60 day notice expiring -

[chafeli]

I was helped previously by one of your kind lawyers regarding a problem my son was having with his landlord. Thank you! I hope you can help once again. I have been trying to retain an attorney locally to help with this situation but have not been able to find one who represents tenants.

I own a mobile home purchased from my mother’s estate, rent the space from a private party (she owns multiple spaces) and there is a Municipal Code regulating space rents in our city. I purchased the mobile home after the owner assured me verbally that she would not increase the rent by 10% as she was entitled to do. After making improvements and moving in the owner sent a lease which showed she had raised the rent from $604 to $635 (definitely below 10%) and also asked me to pay a $78 HOA fee charged by this community - which in addition to the other raised the increase to nearly 20%. I would not have purchased the home if she had informed me earlier of the fee; I'm currently a student on a limited income – planned to live in it, finish school and sell it. It will now be very difficult to sell. The owner said she’d never charged anyone before but felt I should pay it because I would be using the amenities. She felt that by calling it a separate fee it was exempt from the code. I protested and contacted the city to find out what, if anything could be done. I was directed to Assistant City Attorney who was sympathetic, offered to help me and was researching the problem. She was taking a long time and the owner was continually pressuring me so I signed the lease determining to look into it further. If I found the fee was not legitimate I’d deal with it at that time. I was rear-ended on the freeway soon afterward, and the resulting concussion made it extremely difficult to concentrate or remember anything so it all went on hold.

I began looking into it again when I received notice of the yearly rent increase. After examining the code I found that the HOA fee was not sanctioned, at least not entirely, depending on which services were included. Plus the owner is supposed to apply for a rental adjustment from the city before charging amounts over what is allowed, and this owner had never done so. It said the tenant need not pay amounts which aren't approved and the owner cannot retain those funds. I totaled the amount I'd already paid and deducted it in November sending a letter of explanation. I also spoke with her about the situation, mentioning applying for the adjustment from the city. She was completely unreasonable, now saying she had always charged her tenants with the HOA fee and that this amounted to attacking her. She said she would have her attorney contact mine and that I'd pay her attorney fees. She maintains that I did not pay rent for November. She retained an attorney here (she lives out of state) who after threatening me served me with a three day notice.

I contacted the city attorney again and she was again sympathetic - that is until she spoke with the owner's attorney. She then wrote a letter with her opinion that the fee would be called rent - albeit "extra rent" and that it would be considered to have been rent even before I bought the mobile home! I was amazed - even the owner did not consider it to be rent in the lease and behaved as though it was an afterthought and new. The city attorney was not only ignoring the laws of physics but the intent of the code as well. The code states that its premise is to protect tenants from paying excessive rents that would make it difficult to sell their homes and so not be able to get a return on their investment. This is not a legal decision, merely her opinion. An increase in the rent still needs to be approved by the city.

The owner’s attorney then had me served with a sixty day notice, and then another when he said we were "discussing" the matter. I gather from several reactions that deducting the HOA fees was not a good move. I still consider the fee to not be legitimate but have paid it under protest for the past two months. Because of my concussion and other injuries, as well as two other major situations in my life my therapist insisted I drop something or put it on hold and the eviction problem was the only thing I had any control over – I thought. I told the owner’s attorney I'd pay the HOA fee for last year and make it current. I intended to apply to the city later for a rental adjustment. He told me he thought the owner would still want to evict me regardless. A few days later he said the offer was that I could pay everything the owner wanted plus her attorney fees and sign a new lease, or purchase the space for $200,000, or leave- willingly or not. I understand the deduction of the fee could be considered non-payment of rent so am paying that amount tomorrow. I thought that by paying the amount owed I would not be evicted - but now am not so sure. It seems so absurd - but I am not confident a judge would be reasonable about it.

My trust attorney suggested I get advice from a real estate attorney. I called around, but have not been able to find one who can help. The attorneys to whom I've been referred either deal with commercial real estate or represent landlords. From what I understand once the eviction process is started is goes swiftly and it could be a matter of a few days from now. I know the fact that this HOA fee is not legitimate (or hasn’t been sanctioned by the city), and that I was following the Municipal Code regarding rent should carry some weight, but it appears that there are rather strict rules regarding what can be brought up in the proceedings. I definitely need help. If you could you have any advice or refer me to an attorney I would greatly appreciate it. (I was going to use your other service for $9,95 but typically haven't been able to find my credit card for a couple of days.)