rent withholding and repairs

I am a LL in CA and my renter is trying to withhold/break his lease. He just moved in July and has not paid his rent for August but sent a letter. The letter briefly stated that the house has proved to need more repairs and is dangerous for his children to live in and he cannot stay there. The repairs he is complaining about is a missing light switch cover (switch works), a spider found in a bedroom, one loose outlet cover, ripped seam in the carpet of a bedroom, a closet door not fully painted, the garbage disposal making a loud noise. He also stated that he has used the washing machine a few times but it has stopped working. Can I charge him for the repairs? This letter is the first time I have heard of a few of these items. I have no problem getting the reasonable items fixed (please advise which ones I must legally fix). From the research and previous property management I've done I'm pretty sure that he is in default of the lease agreement as none of the repair requests deem the home "uninhabitable". Please advise as to how I cover my end and if he's able to do this. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am a LL in CA and my renter is trying to withhold/break his lease. He just moved in July and has not paid his rent for August but sent a letter. The letter briefly stated that the house has proved to need more repairs and is dangerous for his children to live in and he cannot stay there. The repairs he is complaining about is a missing light switch cover (switch works), a spider found in a bedroom, one loose outlet cover, ripped seam in the carpet of a bedroom, a closet door not fully painted, the garbage disposal making a loud noise. He also stated that he has used the washing machine a few times but it has stopped working. Can I charge him for the repairs? This letter is the first time I have heard of a few of these items. I have no problem getting the reasonable items fixed (please advise which ones I must legally fix). From the research and previous property management I've done I'm pretty sure that he is in default of the lease agreement as none of the repair requests deem the home "uninhabitable". Please advise as to how I cover my end and if he's able to do this. Thanks!

Also, if he does move out and breaks his lease is he liable to pay rent for the remainder of his one year lease?

You are correct. These repairs do not make the property uninhabitable. Other than the outlet covers and the rip in the carpet, these aren't even dangerous. He has not allowed you an opportunity to repair prior to taking any legal remedies available to him. That is not the correct procedure as you will read. Rent witholding in CA is covered by Green vs. Superior Court, 10 CA 3d 616 (1974). Repair and deduct is CA Civil Code 1942.

You should send him notice that you will immediately repair the switch covers and place a metal strip over the rip in the carpet so it is not a tripping hazard. (If the tenant ripped the carpet, he will be responsible for the depreciated value of it.) Do this within 2-3 days, giving 24 hours notice of your intent to enter to do repairs. (These are emergency repairs.) Take photos of the repaired items. When you are there, check the garbage disposal. (They all make loud noises! See if it operates normally by dropping an orange peel in it. Take a flashlight and look in it - HE MAY HAVE DROPPED SILVERWARE IN THERE! If so, turn off the power and fish it out. If it operated normally, send him a written notice that it operated normally.) Have a washer repairman check the washer and give you a written statement of the problem with the washer. If the tenant caused the problem, give him a copy of the bill to pay.

Does his lease make him responsbile for extermination? For one spider, I'd just give him a can of spray. This isn't an infestation. Other than the washer repair guy, all of these problems can be solved for less than $40.

The tenant must make you aware of any needed repairs to the property and give you an opportunity to make repairs. Emergency repairs (electrical hazards are under this) should be repaired within 2-3 days at most. Needed repairs (fixing the washer) should be done promptly (within a few weeks to 30 days depending on your state law), cosmetic repairs (paint- not a needed repair as it does not affect his ability to live in the rental) can be denied unless it is peeling. (Send him a letter stating which type of repair each item requested is and when you will make those repairs. Deny the painting.)

If you fail to make needed repairs after being informed of such within a reasonable time (as stated above), then the tenant may take action through the statutes stated above. The tenant failed to allow you time to repair before rent withholding (which these repairs probably wouldn't qualify for). Additionally, rent withholding is only done through the courts. The tenant pays the rent on time to the clerk of court or to their designated account. They send you a notice that they have your rent and that you can claim it upon repairing the ______. Call the clerk of court. If they don't have your rent, he's illegaly rent withholding.

If so, serve him with a 3 day Pay or Quit notice (the clerk of court has these). Ask the clerk for the correct method of service and ask when it will expire if you serve it on xx/xx date. (The 3 days usually don't count the day it is served, weekends, or any holidays). After it expires, if he hasn't paid in full (only accept full payment, reject partial payments of rent), file for eviction. This will get his attention and let him know that he cannot do this in future if he continues to rent from you by paying up in full.

Oh, and no you can't hold him responsible for the remainder of the lease if he breaks it. CA law says you must take reasonable steps to try and re-rent the unit and mitigate his damages. You could hold him reponsible for the rent until it is re-rented (maybe 2 months worth at most), advertising fees, agent fees if you use one to find a new tenant, unpaid utilities you would be held responsible for, and any other monetary damges you suffer that are not reimbursed to you because of his lease break.

[janasmama]

I'm not a professional or real estate lawyer by any means...

But typically in a lease, the landlord or agency is required to pay for maintenance. If the house has been furnished with a wash machine and that is what the lease states then you should repair it. If there isn't anything in the lease about he house being furnished with a wash machine then I, personally would remove the wash machine b/c appliance repairs can be steep and there's no telling the abuse they get.

Usually what we do is a walk-through with new tenants when they are moving in and then they have 3 days to supply us with a letter stating any repairs that are needed.

As far as the light switch covers go, I'd just drop some by the house for them to put on since they are so cheap. I'd want to repair the carpet to keep it from fraying further. You can sometimes put a moulding strip over it as an easy repair. If the carpet wasn't damaged when they moved in, you need to make them aware of that and possibly just keep a note of the repair so you can deduct it from their security deposit when they move out.

Tell him home depot has some pesticide spray on sale and you'll allow him to spray that on the premises.

If he doesn't pay rent serve him with a 3-day pay or quit notice promptly.

We just moved here in July/my landlord was the last tenant. She had 2 or three cats & since we've been here we've had problems with the "sin" (urine & fecal matter) they've left behind. My son couldn't move into his bedroom for 3 weeks, until she got the carpet ripped up. (we did notice a few spots upon viewing the house-but she said it would be taken care of) the stench was horrible, down to the floorboards. Now, we've had issues with the dining room/basement & garage (located under the house) smelling. I went to clean one of the vents covers & found urine all over it. Then I took it off to clean it & found a mound of crap in on the other side & all down in there. WHOA!! what a stench! She came by looked at it, told my husband to just put the cover back on & she'll have "a guy" come out to clean it. I WILL NOT put that cover on, nor will I clean it myself. I have 4 children under the age of 6 & NO PETS. I am upset due to the smell & also worried that one of my kids will get hurt with the hole exposed. Her & her "guy" were supposed to come out today. They never showed up. I called, she said she forgot to call me to cancel (family issues) I asked when the "guy" was coming out, she said she hasn't gotten in touch with him. What are my rights & responsibilities in this matter? I live in pa

Please put the cover back on temporarily so no child will step into the hole and hurt himself. Then write a letter to the LL to have the vents cleaned of animal waste. (Yes, do this the old fashioned way - in writing.) Send it to her certified, rrr, and keep a copy for yourself. (You are putting it in writing to create a paper trail so you may take other legal remedies available if she fails to repair.) Ask her to contact you within 10 days to tell you when the cleaning will be done.

If she fails to have this cleaned in a reasonable amount of time (check your state law, you may have to wait 30 days before you can use a remedy), you can possibly use repair and deduct to have some company come in and clean the duct and deduct the amount from your next rent payment by sending her a copy of the receipt with the remainder of the rent.

You must give her notice in writing first, and give her time to repair before you can do this. Then read PA case law - Pugh vs. Holmes, 405 A.2d 897 (1979) to see how this case is interpretted. You could also call a health or building inspector once she fails to fix this problem. They would order her to do this. But you must give her a chance to repair on her own first. So send the letter tomorrow.