california

I have lived in my house for one year.I did not realize how bad the problems were with this rental until after moving in.[no heat source at all,six windows completely missing,no stove or source for cooking,electricity works in only half of house,and the roof leaks badly in two rooms.

I wrote many letters to landlord and told them in person that this had to be taken care of and the only response was we'll get to it.I also told them I feel that it would be fair for me to pay no rent or at the most half the rent since this place was so uninhabitable.They told me to either pay the full amount or move.

I turned them in to code enforcement which violated them.I received a thirty day notice to move after that,didnt move,was served an unlawful detainer,fought it with tons of proof including prior tenants that went through the same thing.

Well I lost this case and the judge didnt even listen or look at the evidence.He told my attorney before we even called a witness that he thought we should settle because he was already leaning to rule for them.

These landlords are of age,75 years old, so he ruled for them due to that.These people own 311 properties and have been getting by with this for 40 years.What can I do?The law in calif is supposed to protect me from retaliation,which was proved.Im evicted out of a place that isnt even close to being livable.

I need some advice please.

Tony, at this point you can't do anything. You've already been ruled against for an eviction. It's already on your court record and will cause you to be denied housing at other places for some time to come. There will be a small claims court case likely in the future and you will be required to pay the back rent that you withheld. That judgement will show up on your credit report and hurt your credit.

The time to have taken action was when these problems arose. You gave written requests for repairs to the LL. That was the first step. But you took it no further for a year. When they didn't make the repairs promptly after you gave written requests, you could have repaired the problems yourself and deducted the cost from your rent using CA Civil Code 1942. Or you could have started depositing your rent with the clerk of court per Green vs. Superior Court, 10 CA 3d 616 (1974) since the issues affected habitability. You could have called code enforcement then, and not waited a year. You could have asked the court to force the LL to make repairs. You didn't do any of these legal options. Instead you demanded that you live there rent free, which they refused.

After having lived with the violations for an entire year, a judge no doubt thought you had found the problems acceptable. You had put up with them for 12 months without availing yourself of your legal rights. You cannot simply stop paying rent when problems arise. You must follow the rules and procedures set down by the courts and state laws. By failing to pay rent, you gave them an easy case for eviction on non-payment. By failing to pay, the LL files against you for non-payment and that is the only issue the judge will look at. Did you pay? No. End of case. If you had good reason not to pay, you would have deposited your rent with the clerk of court as per state law.

I really wish you had posted here when those problems first showed up. I could have directed you per CA state law in ways to have these items repaired or to avail yourself of all your legal rights. Its a little late now. Sorry.