Conversion Surprises New Tenant

QUESTION: Four months ago, we rented our Encino apartment on a month-to-month basis with the clear understanding that the owner would probably be selling in two years to convert to condominiums.

We have now learned that notices to vacate for the sale will be served to the tenants on the first of next month. Are we entitled to any relocation assistance money? If yes, how much? Also what is the status of our security deposit?

ANSWER: Assuming that your unit isn’t exempted from rent control as a luxury unit, or new construction, you may be entitled to relocation money.

Your security deposit, like all residential rental security deposits, is refundable, less expenses for cleaning, damages or unpaid rent.

According to Los Angeles Municipal Code 151.09, you may also be exempted from the fees if you “received actual written notice, prior to entering into a written or oral tenancy agreement, that an application to subdivide the property for condominium, stock cooperative or community apartment purposes was on file with the city or had been approved, whichever the case may be. . . .”

The law clearly says you must be notified in writing of the owner’s intent to convert. Assuming the owner gave you such a written notice in good faith, you probably are not entitled to the fees. If you are entitled to the fees, they are paid at the rate of $5,000 a unit for senior citizens, the handicapped or renters with minor dependent children. Others get $2,000.

According to Jim Fleck, housing and planning economic analyst for Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Division, “If the owner applied to the city to convert, and notified you of this in writing at the inception of the tenancy, then you would probably not be entitled to relocation fees.”

Fleck added, “If the owner knew the conversion would be occurring as soon as it is, and he told you it would take two years, then you might be entitled to some kind of civil relief in Small Claims or Municipal Court.”

Renter Can Take Steps to Evict Roommate

Q: I rent a rather expensive apartment in Covina, and a few months ago, my roommate moved out. I rented out one bedroom in my apartment, with kitchen and bath privileges, to a young man who has not lived up to his end of the agreement.

He pays his rent whenever he wants to, does not pay his share of the utility bills and plays his stereo loud, causing the other tenants to complain. I have asked him to move out, but he says he will not. We have no written rental agreement. How can I get this guy out of my apartment?

A: When you sublet to this tenant, you became a landlord, with all the rights and privileges attached thereto. Thus, you have the right to evict this tenant for breaching your implied, oral contract.

You need only serve the tenant with a 30-day Notice to Quit (move out) in Covina, which is not rent controlled. However, if he doesn’t move at the end of that time, you will probably need an eviction-specialist attorney to get rid of him.

From the sound of your letter, this tenant doesn’t sound very cooperative, so he may file frivolous court motions or a bankruptcy to delay the inevitable.

According to statistics from the county Sheriff’s Department and marshal’s office, gathered by the California Apartment Law Information Foundation in its 1989 statewide study of evictions, the average time lag from filing an unlawful detainer (eviction) action, to actual turnover of possession, is 80 to 90 days. The average loss (rents, attorney’s fees, etc.) exceeds $2,000.

Owner-Occupant May Evict Only One Tenant

Q: I live in Los Angeles, and my two brothers and I would like to buy a four-unit apartment house in Los Angeles. It’s covered by the city’s rent control law. The problem is that the only way we can afford to buy the building would be to live in three of the units.

Here’s the question. If we buy the building, can we evict three of the tenants to live there ourselves and rent the fourth unit?

A: No. You cannot. The Los Angeles rent control law allows only one owner-occupancy eviction per apartment building.

And whereas the law also allows an owner to evict a tenant to move in a resident manager, according to Anna Ortega, assistant director of Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Division (RSD), “that’s a loophole that the department is working on closing.”

Ortega also said that trying to buy a tenant out, for instance, offering him $5,000 to move, “is a collusion to avoid rent control. It would be unenforceable and unfavorably looked upon by the RSD.”

Heavy Foot Above, Heavy Heart Below

Q: I have been living in the same West Hollywood apartment for seven years. For the past two years or so, I have been having a recurring problem with my upstairs neighbor.

We live in a building with hardwood floors and terrible sound insulation. From time to time my upstairs neighbor forgets that her footsteps can be extremely loud and annoying unless she pays attention to the way she walks. It sounds as if she is marching around in my apartment.

Is there any law that you know of, similar to the one in New York, which says that apartments must be carpeted if the noise coming through the wood flooring is a nuisance? Failing that, do you have any suggestions about what I can do to alleviate this situation?

A: I know of no such law in West Hollywood or anywhere else in the state of California. Short of requesting your neighbor’s cooperation, which you have already tried, the only solutions to your problem may be sound-proofing your ceilings (which requires the consent of the owner) or moving to a new apartment.

Not All Deposits Given Back--Just in Rentals

Q: I live in San Pedro, and I have a question about your June 10 Apartment Life column. Under the question “Deposits Cannot Be Non-Refundable,” you said, “Non-refundable deposits of any kind have been prohibited in California for many years.”

Would you please clarify this statement? Do you mean that non-refundable deposits are prohibited just for rentals, or does it apply to other things?

A: I was referring to security deposits for residential rentals when I answered that question. (Remember, no matter how it is labeled, every cent with which you part at the outset of your tenancy, other than the first month’s rent, is a security deposit.)

According to Peter Kingren, an analyst with the state attorney general’s office, not all deposits in California are refundable.

Kingren said, “If, for instance, I go out and put a $200 deposit down on a car, and then change my mind about buying the car, that deposit could be non-refundable.”