Tenants and landlords

Tenant/Landlord Helpful Information

Repair scenarios in a home are going to happen, it should never be a deal breaker for either party involved. There are common sense actions that should be followed to accomplish a common goal. For the tenant having a good clean place to live in and for the landlord, his goal is to maintain a good clean place that is rentable and attractive for the longevity of tenancy and his image of integrity.

Most problems with tenant landlord relations are often misguided because of lack of information. The following is our attempt to narrow down the responsibility of both tenant and property owner.

**Notice

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any official or agency of the state of California. While this information is designed to provide accurate and current information about the law, readers should consult an attorney or other expert for advice in particular cases, and should also read the relevant statutes and court decisions when relying on cited material. This publication is available on the internet. See the department of Consumer Affairs’ home page at www.dca.ca.gov. This information was extracted verbatim from the publication baring certain reference to pages in the booklet.

This information may be copied; if (1) the meaning of copied text is not changed or misrepresented,

(2) Credit is given to the department of Consumer Affairs, and (3) all copies are distributed free of charge.

Dealing with Problems

Most landlord-tenant relationships go smoothly. However, problems sometimes do arise. For example, what if the rental unit’s furnace goes out in the middle of the winter? What happens if the landlord sells the building or decides to convert it into condominiums? This section discusses these and other possible issues and problems in the landlord-tenant relationship.

Repairs and Inhabitability

A rental unit must be fit to live in; that is, it must be habitable. In legal terms, “habitable” means that the rental unit is fit for occupation by human beings and that it substantially complies with state and local building and health codes that materially affect tenants’ health and safety.

Conditions that make a rental unit legally uninhabitable

There are many kinds of defects that could make a rental unit unlivable. The implied warranty of habitability requires landlords to maintain their rental units in a condition fit for the “occupation of human beings.” In addition, the rental unit must “substantially comply” with building and housing code standards that materially affect tenants’ health and safety.

A rental unit may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it contains a lead hazard that endangers the occupants or the public, or is a substandard building because, for example, a structural hazard, inadequate sanitation, or a nuisance endangering the health, life, safety, property, or welfare of the occupants or the public.

Lawsuit for damages as a remedy the remedies of repair and deductions, abandonment, and rent withholding allow a tenant in a rental unit with serious habitability defects to take action against the landlord if :

A housing inspector has inspected the minimum requirements for habitability listed below; or has been declared substandard because, for example, a structural hazard, inadequate sanitation, or premises and has given the landlord or the landlord’s agent written notice of the landlord’s obligation to repair the substandard conditions or abate the nuisance; and

• The nuisance or substandard conditions continue to exist 35 days after the housing inspector mailed the notice to the landlord or agent, and the landlord does not have good cause for failing to make the repairs; and

• The nuisance or substandard conditions were not caused by the tenant or the tenant’s family, guests, or pets; and

• The landlord collects or demands rent, issues a notice of rent increase, or issues a three-day notice to pay rent or quit after all of the above conditions have been met.

A dwelling also may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it substantially lacks any of the following.

• Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.

• Plumbing facilities in good working order, including hot and cold running water, connected to a sewage disposal system.

• Gas facilities in good working order.

• Heating facilities in good working order.

• An electric system, including lighting, wiring, and equipment, in good working order.

• Clean and sanitary buildings, grounds, and appurtenances (for example, a garden or a detached garage), free from debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin.

• Adequate trash receptacles in good repair.

• Floors, stairways, and railings in good repair.

In addition to these requirements, each rental unit must have all of the following:

• A working toilet, wash basin, and bathtub or shower. The toilet and bathtub or shower must be in a room which is ventilated and allows privacy.

• A kitchen with a sink that cannot be made of an absorbent material such as wood.

• Natural lighting in every room through windows or skylights. Windows in each room must be able to open at least halfway for ventilation, unless a fan provides mechanical ventilation.

• Safe fire or emergency exits leading to a street or hallway. Stairs, hallways, and exits must be kept litter-free. Storage areas, garages, and basements must be kept free of combustible materials.

• Operable dead bolt locks on the main entry doors of rental units, and operable locking or security devices on windows.

• Working smoke detectors in all units of multi-unit buildings, such as duplexes and apartment complexes. Apartment complexes also must have smoke detectors in common stairwells.

• A locking mail box for each unit. The mail box must be consistent with the united states postal service standards for apartment housing mail boxes.

• Ground fault circuit interrupters for swimming pools and anti suction protections for wading pools in apartment complexes and other residential settings (but not single family residences).

• The implied warranty of habitability is not violated merely because the rental unit is not in perfect, aesthetically pleasing condition. Nor is the implied warranty of habitability violated if there are minor housing code violations, which, standing alone, do not affect habitability.

While it is the landlord’s responsibility to install and maintain the inside wiring for one telephone jack, it is unclear whether the landlord’s failure to do so is a breach of the implied warranty of habitability.

An authoritative reference book suggests two additional ways in which the implied warranty of habitability may be violated. The first is the presence of mold conditions in the rental unit that affect the livability of the unit or the health and safety of tenants. The second follows from a new law that imposes obligations on a property owner who is notified by a local health officer that the property is contaminated by methamphetamine. A reference book suggests that a tenant who is damaged by this kind of documented contamination may be able to claim a breach of the implied warranty of habitability.

Limitations on landlord’s duty to keep the rental unit habitable

Even if a rental unit is unlivable because of one of the conditions listed above, a landlord may not be legally required to repair the condition if the tenant has not fulfilled the tenant’s own responsibilities.

In addition to generally requiring a tenant to take reasonable care of the rental unit and common areas, the law lists specific things that a tenant must do to keep the rental unit livable. Tenants must do all of the following:

• Keep the premises “as clean and sanitary as the condition of the premises permits.”

• Use and operate gas, electrical, and plumbing fixtures properly. (Examples of improper use include overloading electrical outlets; flushing large, foreign objects down the toilet; and allowing any gas, electrical, or plumbing fixture to become filthy.)

• Dispose of trash and garbage in a clean and sanitary manner.

• Not destroy, damage, or deface the premises, or allow anyone else to do so.

• Not remove any part of the structure, dwelling unit, facilities, equipment, or appurtenances, or allow anyone else to do so.

• Use the premises as a place to live, and use the rooms for their intended purposes. For example, the bedroom must be used as a bedroom, and not as a kitchen.

• Notify the landlord when dead bolt locks and window locks or security devices don’t operate properly.

If a tenant violates these requirements in some minor way, the landlord is still responsible for providing a habitable dwelling, and may be prosecuted for violating housing code standards. If the tenant fails to do one of these required things, and the tenant’s failure has either substantially caused an unlivable condition to occur or has substantially interfered with the landlord’s ability to repair the condition, the landlord does not have to repair the condition. However, a tenant cannot withhold rent or has no action against the landlord for violating the implied warranty of habitability if the tenant has failed to meet these requirements.

Responsibility for other kinds of repairs

As for less serious repairs, the rental agreement or lease may require either the tenant or the landlord to fix a particular item. Items covered by such an agreement might include refrigerators, washing machines, parking places, or swimming pools. These items are usually considered “amenities,” and their absence does not make a dwelling unit unfit for living.

These agreements to repair are usually enforceable in accordance with the intent of the parties to the rental agreement or lease.