Security Deposit Has Tenant Feeling ‘Insecure’
QUESTION: I live in Sacramento and I have a few questions for Apartment Life.
If a landlord requires a tenant to pay the first and last month’s rent, plus a security deposit, can he raise those deposits (last month and security) when he raises the rent?
If not, is the last month’s rent the amount initially agreed upon or is it the rental amount prevailing at the time of move out?
Also, is the landlord required to pay the tenant any interest on those deposits? Does he ever have to refund the security deposit to good tenants after a set time, like three or five years, even if the tenant is staying?
ANSWER: According to Betty Gwiazdon, executive vice president of the Sacramento Valley Apartment Assn., “There is no law in Sacramento requiring interest on security deposits (which include last month’s rent deposits), and the deposits remain in the landlord’s possession until the tenancy ends.”
The answer to the question, “Can the pre-paid last month’s rent and security deposit be raised during the tenancy?” depends on the intent of the parties at the time the rental agreement is signed.
According to Trevor A. Grimm, legal counsel to the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, “If the two payments were ‘pegged’ prices for the security/last month’s rent, then they cannot be raised. (Although, if you ‘go to war’ with the owner over this issue you may just get ‘terminated,’ asked to leave via a 30-day notice to quit.)”
“If, on the other hand, nothing were said about the matter at the time you signed the rental agreement, a good case could be made that payments were deposits ‘against’ the ultimate liability for rent and damages and, thus, would be subject to being raised by the owner.”
“California Civil Code 827 provides that the ‘terms’ of the tenancy may be changed by the owner in a month-to-month tenancy with a 30-day notice. Last month’s rent and security appear to be ‘terms of the tenancy.’ ”
How Many Can Live in 2-Bedroom Unit?
Q: I live in Buena Park and I read somewhere that the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) considers two people per bedroom plus one a fair standard for apartment living, or, at least, one that won’t trigger a discrimination investigation based upon the occupancy level.
If so, it means that a one-bedroom apartment will accommodate three people, a two-bedroom five and a three-bedroom seven.
I am trying to figure out how many people are allowed to live in a three-bedroom apartment. Is their formula two per bedroom plus one for each bedroom or each apartment?
If the formula is two plus one per bedroom for each bedroom in the apartment, you could put six people in a two-bedroom and nine in a two-bedroom. Whichever standard is used, it adds up to too many people in these apartments.
Can you imagine five people using one bathroom in a two-bedroom apartment? I can’t. Just what is the standard? I can’t believe it’s either of these.
A: According to Jim Morrie, senior code enforcement officer of the city of Buena Park, “We don’t have our own set of occupancy standards. The city of Buena Park abides by the standards set within the Uniform Building Code (UBC).
Most California cities, including the city of Los Angeles, use those standards, which may cramp your style more than the DFEH’s. According to the UCB’s standards, which limit the maximum number of occupants, 10 people can live in the average-size one-bedroom apartment (520 square feet), and then add one person for every 50 square feet.
In 1991, the city of Santa Ana adopted its own set of standards, which would have halved the number to five people in the average one-bedroom apartment.
That law, however, was struck down to two weeks ago by the 4th District Court of Appeal, which also ordered the decision certified for publication, meaning it can be cited as a precedent in subsequent lawsuits against other cities with similar ordinances.
In Orange County, the cities of Orange and Dana Point have adopted similar ordinances and legal challenges to them are expected.
According to Beth Rosen-Prinz, DFEH’s Southern California District Administrator, “That code is used as a guideline. It arose from the California Supreme Court ruling in Harris vs. Capitol Growth Investors (in which child discrimination was alleged).”
“When a discrimination complaint is filed, we look at all of the information, including the history of the building, how rental applications are handled, what explanations are made to applicants and the building’s restrictions.”
The bottom line is that you can’t arbitrarily discriminate against children or any other protected class.
For instance, if all of your three-bedroom apartments are rented to single parents with two children, you are obviously not discriminating against children, even though you don’t comply with the two per bedroom plus one standard.
If, on the other hand, all of your three-bedroom apartments are rented to singles, and the manager or leasing agent tells prospective renters that the schools are much better elsewhere, and children have never lived in your building, you may have a problem if there is an investigation.
