Below are questions asked by rental property owners regarding property management, followed by answers provided by the law firm of Simone and Blevins.
Question One: I recently decided that managing my 15-unit apartment building in La Jolla is too difficult. I decided to hire a property management company to take over managing my apartment building. How do I let my tenants know that I will not be managing my building anymore?
Answer One: You are required to serve your tenants with a notice of change of ownership/management every time ownership or management changes. This notice must include the name, telephone number, and street address for each of the following: 1) authorized manager, 2) agent for service of process of the owner, and 3) the person or entity to make rent checks payable to. The notice must also include the forms in which payments are made, such as by check, money order, cashier’s check, and/or cash. If rent payments are made personally, then the notice must also include the usual business days and hours when a tenant may make a payment. Alternatively, the lease or rental agreement may provide information to the tenant to make electronic payment (like Zelle or Venmo), or payment to a bank so long as the bank is located within five miles of the rental unit.
Q2: I just purchased an apartment building. Can I wait to serve a notice of change of ownership/management until I hire a property management company?
A2: It depends. You are required to serve your tenants with a notice of change of ownership/management within 15 days of purchase or change in management. If you fail to provide proper notice to your tenants, then you cannot serve a notice or file an eviction for non-payment of rent that accrued during the period of non-compliance. This also applies to any period of time that the prior owner was not in compliance. For example, you purchase a property on August first, but you do not serve a notice of change of ownership until August thirty-first. Your tenant is behind in rent from August through October. You cannot demand the accrued rent from August in a Three Day notice because you were out of compliance. You may only demand the rent for September and October in the Three Day notice. The August rent is still due, but you will need to demand that rent in small claims court.
Q3: I have a 10-unit apartment building in Oceanside. One of my tenants told me that I was required to have an on-site manager. Is that true? If so, do I need to hire a property manager with a certificate/license to manage my property?
A3: No. California law requires that every apartment building with 16 or more units have a resident/on-site manager whothat lives within the apartment building. Since your building has less than 16 units, you are not required to have a resident manager.
As for the certificate/license to manage properties, it depends on whether the property manager lives on-site or off-site. An on-site property manager does not need a certificate or license to review rental applications, show/lease the property, and collect money for the deposit, rent, and utilities. However, an off-site property manager must be employed and supervised by a licensed California Real Estate Broker to provide these services.
An owner of a rental property may manage their rental property without any certificate or license.
Q4: I recently fired my property manager and am serving my tenants with a notice of change of management. I do not want to give my tenants my home address. Can I use a USPS P.O box as my address in my notice of change of management?
A4: No. You must have an address that can accept service of any notice from your tenants that requires a signature. The USPS will not accept any mail or document that requires a signature. Many landlords rent a box from a private mailbox company, which will sign for any mail or document that requires a signature. Generally, these companies provide addresses that appear to be regular residential addresses.
The law firm of Simone & Blevins has been doing evictions for over 28 years. Their office is open Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Tel: 619-235-6180, website: www.landlordslegalcenter.com, or email info@simonelawfirm.com.