1.
The cost of filing Unlawful Detainer actions was increased by emergency
legislation throughout all of the California courts. The current filing
fee for an Unlawful Detainer in Los Angeles County is $106.30.
2.
A 60-day notice is now required throughout the State of California to
terminate a tenancy. Of course, other situations may require an
additional amount of time. The tenant however, still is only required
to give the maximum of thirty days notice to terminate the tenancy.
This law has a "sunset provision" as of January 1, 2006 when
the issue will most likely be revisited by California Legislation. Remember,
to increase rents more than 10% also requires a 60-day notice.
Also, you should
be aware of the fact that in addition to the usual methods of service
of a notice that a sixty day notice of termination may be served by
certified or registered mail. However, if you do utilize the mail service
method, you must add an extra five days.
3.
Relief from Forfeiture, CCP section 1179: Under the prior
law, if you prevailed in an eviction action, the tenant could file a
petition for relief from forfeiture due to hardship and the petition
had to be made in writing within thirty days of the Court's judgment.
It was also unclear as to whether the remedy was available for a month
to month tenancy as opposed to a lease. We had successfully obtained
a ruling in a case which indicated that this form of relief was only
available on a long term lease, but the Court did not publish the decision
and therefore, this was not a Court decision followed by other courts.
The new law, however, makes it much easier for a tenant to obtain
the relief from the forfeiture because the tenant can now request
a court to do so on an oral motion. The motion can be made at any time
prior to the tenant being locked out of the premises.
4.
Notice of Entry Civil Code section 1954, the new law
mandates that the landlord shall give a written notice to enter the
premises. However, the law now makes special provisions for a forty-eight
hour notice for the purpose of inspecting the premises during the final
two weeks of the tenancy to determine pre-termination damages and deductions
from the security deposits. Also, this new law makes it easier to
enter the property if your purpose is to show the property for sale
in which case you can actually give an oral notice if you gave written
notice of your desire to sell the property within 120 days. You must
leave a business card or a written note indicating that you have entered
at the time of your entry.
5.
Security Deposit Civil Code section 1950.5: The new
law requires a procedure by which you must inform the tenant of his
right to have an initial pre-termination inspection, which must occur
the last two weeks of the tenancy. You must do so in writing and
agree upon a time of entry for the purpose of the inspection. Of course,
the tenant can waive the inspection. If the initial inspection is conducted,
the landlord must identify the proposed cleaning and repair items which
are apparent for which the landlord intends to deduct from the security
deposit. This method allows the tenant the opportunity to remedy the
deficiencies, but cannot conflict with the written rental agreement
which may prohibit the tenant from conducting repairs or alterations
without the landlord's prior consent. A written statement of the deficiencies
must be given to the tenant at the time of the inspection. Further,
if the landlord fails to follow the procedure, the penalty is no longer
a $600 penalty, but can be two times the amount of the security deposit.
The landlord still has 21 days from the vacancy to refund or state the
deductions from the security deposit still remains in effect. There
is no interest obligation on the security deposit.
There are additional
new state laws concerning toxic mold, release of illegal chemicals,
and new cases come down everyday which change or interpret existing
law.
6.
LOCAL LAWS. There is a plethora of amendments to the Santa Monica
Rent Control Law that affect property owners and some of them are set
for below:
(a)
Tenants now have the right to have a specified number of occupants share
their apartment with them. When a tenant moves in, he has the continuing
right to the same number of occupants as allowed at the move in time.
In other words, if two tenants are allowed at the time the tenant moves
in, then the tenant is allowed to have an additional roommate throughout
the tenancy, however, if only one person moves in, then there is no
right to have an additional roommate.
The property owner
can still reasonably disapprove a proposed replacement tenant, but must
do so within 14 days from the tenant notification of the replacement
tenant. Therefore, you should obtain information concerning the credit
and criminal background of the proposed roommate.
(b) Section 1806 B is revised
to allow a tenant's family member or domestic partner to live in
the unit after the original tenant vacates or dies if that family member
or domestic partner has been living there for at least one year prior.
However, there is nothing in 1806 B that prevents the property owner
from raising the rent pursuant to the Costa-Hawkins Law, in the event
that this circumstance occurs. Under Costa-Hawkins, when a tenant vacates
and leaves behind a subtenant or roommate, the property owner can give
a 60-day notice of rent increase and raise it to market level rent.
Remember, if the tenant asks permission of you to allow a family member
to stay, say no.
(c) Section 1806 (a) (d): This revision
seeks to force a requirement on the property owner who wants to Ellis
his property that he must "intend" to complete the Ellis process
and intend to go out of the residential business. It appears to
be an attempt to give tenants who have moved out grounds to sue the
property owner for wrongful eviction if the housing provider goes back
into business or does not complete the Ellis eviction process.
(d) All notices, except three day notices
to pay rent or quit upon which you will file an Unlawful Detainer must
be served on the Santa Monica Rent Control Board within at or about
the time that the tenant is served. Failure to do so could result
in denial of the Unlawful Detainer action.
(e) An amendment allows the tenant
further protection from harassment, however, generally, tenants
are harassed by other tenants, and therefore, this section can be quoted
to support an eviction for nuisance.
(f) The Board has set forth an amendment
which provides that the first rent charged pursuant to a Costa Hawkins
vacancy shall be the base rent, provided that the base rent is collected
for approximately one year. If you give the tenant the twelfth month
free, then the Board will not agree with your monthly rental figure
and will lower it by averaging all payments.
In addition, please
remember that the state law now requires specific information be given
to tenants in the rental agreement as well as in the three day notice.
For example, the tenant must be told how to pay the rent, where to pay
the rent, the hours in which you can pay the rent, as well as an identification
of the owner of the property.
Finally, the Ellis
Act has been amended by the Legislature of the State of California which
now provides that if an owner has Ellised the property then whenever
the owner comes back to the rental market, the rents must stay at the
rent controlled levels which existed when the notice of intent to Ellis
was served for five years from the date the property was deemed withdrawn
from the market. In other words, all new tenancies after coming back
into the market must stay at the old levels for five years. Of course,
this restriction does not apply to units that have been rented prior
to December 31, 2002.