Question: Can I legally “fax” a three-day notice to pay rent or quit to my tenant at his work?

Answer: California law specifically identifies the legal methods of service of process for a legal notice.  The methods are personal service, post and mail and substituted service.  Faxing a copy is not a valid service and is not recommended.  If the tenant actually receives the notice, however, there is case law to support the claim that if there is actual service, the method of service is irrelevant.

Question: I am an owner of several small apartment buildings.  What legal responsibility and liability does an owner have for changing locks when changing tenants?

Answer: An owner or manager of rental property is held to the same standard of care that would be required by a reasonable and prudent owner or manager in like circumstances.  In other words, if one of your residents claims they were robbed or injured by someone who had a key to their apartment, they could claim you were responsible. They could prevail in court if the trier of fact believed that a reasonably prudent owner/manager would have changed the locks when the former resident vacated the rental unit.

Question: I have been asked by another property manager if a former tenant of mine caused any problems and if I would rent to him again.  I suspected that he was a drug dealer or at least a drug user but I cannot prove it.  What can I tell her?

Answer: If you are unsure, you should remain silent.  From a legal point of view, it is always safest to say nothing.  However, if you choose to do so, you should only reveal information, if any, that you know to be true and can be documented.  When making a recommendation, you are always running the risk that the person you are referring to believes you are defaming their good name.  Making timely notes of what you said and who you spoke to, will be valuable if you are questioned about the conversation in the future.  Discuss only facts that pertain to compliance with your lease or rental agreement.

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: A new tenant signed a six-month lease.  Now, he claims he feels unsafe because of an incident at the property and wants to terminate the lease.  The Police Department reported that the incident was grossly exaggerated.  The tenant claims he has a 72-hour period to rescind the lease after it is executed.  Is this true?

Answer: There is no 72-hour right of rescission for residential leases, and it appears that his reason for wanting to terminate the lease may not hold up in court.

Question: Is there a law on the length of time a resident must reside in an apartment not to be charged for paint or carpet when they move out?  What are the guidelines?

Answer: No, the tenant can be charged for painting or carpet cleaning and/or replacement that is beyond ordinary wear and tear.

Question: I served a three-day notice on my tenants and they paid $300 of the $1050 that was due.  Do I have to serve another three-day notice to start the eviction?  Should I have accepted payment?

Answer: You did not have to accept partial payment but since you did, you must start over with a new notice.

Please contact Eric Linder for information on advertising on this page. 714-796-7038 or elinder@ocregister.com

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: I have heard that fair housing groups send around “testers” to apply for rental units in order to determine if there is illegal discrimination.  Is this true?  Does a “tester” have to notify the owner that they are not a real applicant?

Answer: Municipalities periodically retain fair housing organizations to audit discrimination in the sale and lease for residential real estate to determine the level of discrimination in the area.  More commonly, the organizations send testers out in response to a discrimination complaint.  They do not have to identify themselves as a tester.

Question: I recently received an application from a young married couple.  He is twenty but she is only seventeen.  I told her she was too young to sign the rental agreement and he had to qualify on his own even though she was working.  She said because she was married, she was qualified to sign.  I never heard of this law.  Is she right?

Answer: California recognizes an individual’s right to enter into binding contracts if they are eighteen years of age or older, in active duty in the military, married, or are emancipated by order of the court.  You therefore should treat her the same way as you would any other adult applicant.

Question: A young couple recently applied for one of our vacant units.  They have jobs but do not quite qualify for the unit (they need to make three times the amount of the rent).  They said that his father would be willing to co-sign as a guarantor in order to qualify.  How should I work this arrangement on the lease?

Answer: Guarantor agreements are separate and distinct from the lease and may be rendered void if the lease is modified without the knowledge or consent of the co-signor or guarantor.  Carefully drafted guarantee agreements can eliminate this risk.

Please contact Eric Linder for information on advertising on this page. 714-796-7038 or elinder@ocregister.com

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: My great grandfather died last year and left me his home.  I am trying to rent the house and my Realtor told me that I am required to inform prospective tenants of the death of my great grandfather because he died in the home.  Is this really true?  If so, what is the purpose of this crazy law?

Answer: Because it has been deemed to be a material fact to consider when purchasing or renting a home, California requires sellers and landlords to inform prospective purchasers and tenants if a death occurred in the premises during the last 3 years and the nature of the death, unless the death was caused by an HIV related illness.

Question: I want to rent out our condominium (we are buying a new house) and I need to know how much I can charge for a security deposit.  Can I also charge a cleaning, pet and key deposit?

Answer: California law limits the amount of a residential security deposit to twice the amount of the monthly rent if unfurnished, or three times the amount of the monthly rent if the property is furnished.  The legislature recognizes all deposits as a security notwithstanding how the parties are identifying it.  All deposits, taken together, cannot exceed these limits.

Question: The lease for one of my tenants expires at the end of this month.  He told me to take the month’s rent out of his security deposit because he would leave the apartment clean and in good repair.  He told me since it is his deposit, he has the right to deduct rent out of the deposit. What should I do?

Answer: California law requires the owner or manager to account for the use of the deposit no later than 21 days from the date the tenant vacated the unit.  The law also provides that the deposit shall not be used without the owner’s permission until after the tenant vacates.  Since the tenant has failed to pay rent, a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit may be served.  If the tenant fails to comply, an eviction may commence to produce a judgment for possession and monetary losses.

Please contact Eric Linder for information on advertising on this page. 714-796-7038 or elinder@ocregister.com

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: One of our tenants just vacated the premises but left a large amount of personal property behind.  Included was a locked chest.  What should I do?  Can I tell my tenant that I will give him back his property when he pays me for the rent he still owes me?

Answer: If a resident leaves behind abandoned personal property after surrendering possession of the rental unit, the owner is protected by California law if they keep the property safe for a period of 18 days from the date a notice of abandonment of personal property is mailed to the tenant’s last known address. If the tenant claims the property, the only condition of release is that the tenant pay reasonable storage costs, but only from the date the owner regained possession of the rented premises.  If the property is not reclaimed and if the property is worth less than $300.00, it can be disposed of in any manner.  If its value is greater than $300.00, then the property must be sold via public auction

Question: One of our tenant’s guests broke a window of the recreation room by throwing a ball through it.  The host tenant claims he should not be responsible because the damage occurred outside the apartment and while they were playing catch in the common area. My tenant also refuses to give me the name or any information about his guest who caused the damage.  What can I do?

Answer: In California, tenants are liable for the negligence of their guests while on the premises.  The premises not only includes the actual rented unit, but the common area as well. Therefore the tenant and the tenant’s guest are jointly liable for the damage to the window.

Question: I have a tenant who is on a long term lease. Recently, however, the tenant brought in a roommate and has been out of town for over 30 days.  I am concerned that the roommate intends on staying and that my original tenant may have moved out for good.  What are my legal options?

Answer: If you have a clause in your lease which prohibits the assignment or sublet of your lease agreement, you do not have to consent to the roommate.  You could ask the roommate to fill out an application to rent and thereby identify who the roommate is.  Once identified, you could choose to either allow the roommate to live there if he meets your qualifications, and sign the lease or start eviction procedures based upon the breach of the assignment and sublet clause of your lease.

Please contact Eric Linder for information on advertising on this page. 714-796-7038 or elinder@ocregister.com

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: There is a very loud tenant in the apartment building across the alley from our rental.  I have asked them to quiet down on numerous occasions and have even called the police. They keep playing their music late at night and into the wee hours of the morning.  What else can we do?

Answer: You should continue to contact the police when unreasonable disturbances occur and consider contacting the owner of the property to inform him or her of the situation.  The owner may not be aware of the problem.

Question: After a lease expires and it is month-to-month, how much notice must a tenant give me in order to legally terminate the lease?  He says one week.  Is this true?

Answer: In California, 30-days written notice is required to terminate a month-to-month tenancy and can be served by either party at any time during the tenancy.  If all of the occupants have been in possession for one year or longer, you must serve a 60-day notice.

Question: Someone told me that if a resident is committing a crime on the premises they can be evicted in 3 days.  I have never heard of this law and I rent to someone I suspect is dealing in drugs.  Can you tell me more about it?

Answer: California law does allow an owner or manager of rental property to serve a 3-day notice to quit the premises based upon the commission of an illegal act on the property.  The illegal conduct must, however, relate to the rented property.  For instance, if your tenant was dealing with or possessed illegal drugs on the premises, you could serve the 3-day notice.  If the tenant failed to quit, an unlawful detainer action could be filed in court to recover possession.

Please contact Eric Linder for information on advertising on this page. 714-796-7038 or elinder@ocregister.com

This column is being presented by the South Coast Apartment Association 949.955.3695.  Ted Kimball is a partner with Kimball, Tirey & St. John, which specialize in landlord/tenant, collections and business and real estate. For questions regarding the contents of this article, call 800-338-6039 or visit www.kts-law.com

Question: I served a 60-day notice of termination because I am going to sell my home.  Since then, one of the two residents moved out and is asking for his half of the security deposit.  Am I responsible to return the security deposit before the second person moves out?

Answer: The security deposit is normally not returned until the owner recovers possession.  The tenant who vacates should work that out with the tenant who remains.  It is not the responsibility of the landlord to account for the deposit until he or she recovers possession.

Question: Do I have to pay a tenant interest on his security deposit?

Answer: There are no state laws requiring that interest be paid on the tenant’s security deposit.  Some rent control ordinances and/or other local ordinances do require interest to be paid.

Question: We served a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit.  What is the latest date we could start an unlawful detainer without our 3-day notice “becoming stale” and having to be re-served?

Answer: It depends on the facts of any given case, but the longer you wait, the more of an argument you are giving the tenant.  I would, in general, not wait more than one week.

Please contact Eric Linder for information on advertising on this page. 714-796-7038 or elinder@ocregister.com