Q: I have a tenant who moved into his rental unit last month. I included a provision in his lease that prohibits smoking cigarettes in his unit. Now, his neighbors are complaining that cigarette smoke from his unit is seeping through their air vents. When I approached the tenant, he told me that he has…
Question 1: Our long term tenant told me that she has cancer and would like to have a co-tenant with her in her one bedroom apartment (San Francisco rent controlled). Am I obligated to honor her request? If I allow her to have a roommate, am I allowed to raise her rent? In addition, am…
Dear Housing Providers: A Constitutional Amendment was just introduced that could quickly DOUBLE the two-billion-dollar parcel tax burden already imposed on homeowners. Yes, double! California is the only state in the USA where parcel taxes are even legal. Parcel taxes were invented here to dodge Proposition 13’s 1% cap and now Senate Constitutional Amendment 22…
Over the past few years, one of the problems that seem to have taken on increased importance for property managers is mold. When a property is suspected to have a mold problem, this becomes a potential health issue for the tenants, but it also becomes a potential liability issue for the property owners or managers.…
Guests Staying Over 30 Days If you allow a guest to stay in your home or unit for 30 days, you will not be able to just lock them out. Calling the police will not remedy the situation. Guests that you allow to occupy your property for 30 days become a “tenant at will”. The…
A new California law, (AB 646), effective July 1, 2018, states that all residential rental and lease agreements will be required to disclose to a tenant, in no smaller than eight-point font: When the landlord has actual knowledge the rental property is located in a flood hazard zone or area of potential flooding; That the…
I recently watched a true-to-life episode of “ID” and the program was about a female tenant who was being evicted for non-payment of rent. The tenant, who had resided in the building for over five years actually had a good relationship with her landlord, even though she constantly failed to pay her rent. The tenant…
Hello everybody. Every few years, I break from my tradition of writing educational articles for AOA’s monthly magazine. As Apartment Owner Association members know, those serious type of articles have dealt with such legal topics as compliance with all the new resident manager laws, California’s new sick leave laws, how to avoid oppressive laundry leases,…
A poignant cartoon shows two desperate shipwreck survivors in a life raft. We see the circling sharks, but not at the lifeboat’s other end. One says, “Look at them bail! It’s a shame there’s a hole in their end of the boat.” Every level of government has trillions of unfunded liabilities: debt, pension and healthcare…
Recent Rollbacks Nevertheless, rent control is proving vulnerable. On January 1, 1997, Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline became the first major American cities to abandon rent controls since 1950. The process was not altogether voluntary. The initiative came from a statewide campaign organized by Boston and Cambridge property owners, who put up a state ballot initiative…