Expect Deposit Back, Even in Receivership
QUESTION: My roommate and I moved into a new apartment building in Los Angeles on June 1, 1992. Four months later we got a letter saying that our building was under state court receivership. Since then we have paid our rent to the state court receiver.
We are planning to vacate the building when our lease expires this June and are wondering about our security deposit. Will we get it back? Also, can we hope to get it before we leave or will it be forwarded to our new address?
In another vein, what is the best way to deal with a continuously loud neighbor who ignores the manager’s requests to turn down the stereo and television?
The property manager said that we should call the police and file a complaint. He said that after three complaints have been filed, they can legally confiscate the stereo and/or TV. Is this true?
ANSWER: According to real estate attorney William Shaw, “A court-appointed receiver runs the property under the control of the court.”
“Although your security deposit may be under the control of a state-appointed court receiver,” Shaw said, “it is still fully refundable, even if the building is in receivership because it’s broke. If that’s the case, however, you may wait longer than normal for your refund.
“If the receiver does not have control of the security deposit, you will have to sue the owner in small claims court for its refund.”
Shaw said that being a new building, it’s more likely that there is a dispute between the builder and lender. If the dispute is settled, you will likely get your refund on time. Any unpaid rent, damages or cleaning still may be deducted from the deposit, however.
While compassionate property owners sometimes refund security deposits before tenants move out, that seems unlikely because of the receivership.
It is more likely that you will get the deposit refund mailed to your new address. State law mandates that it be returned to you no later than 14 days after your tenancy ends, which is probably when you can expect the check.
About your boisterous neighbors and possible police intervention, complaints can be registered with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Noise Enforcement Team at (213) 893-8120. The recorded message at that number will ask you to leave your name, the date and both your day and night phone numbers.
While several LAPD representatives were willing to talk about L.A.’s noise rules, none were willing to be quoted.
According to one officer, a noise-enforcement representative will call you back as soon as possible, depending upon the workload. He also said that noise is a relatively low-priority crime.
Another said the LAPD has sound measuring equipment, and the right, if it deems it is appropriate at the time, to confiscate a stereo or television on its first visit.
New Owner Must Recognize Lease
Q: I signed a one-year lease last June on the house I’m renting in Irvine. I have now been advised by my landlord’s nephew (he handles the rental on his uncle’s behalf, who is in London) that money is tight and he needs to sell the property.
This came as quite a surprise to me and I am upset at the prospect of moving prior to the expiration of the lease. Isn’t this breach of contract? What are my rights?
A: I’ll assume that the owner’s nephew has asked you to move out of the house when it’s sold and that he anticipates selling it before your lease expires.
If that’s the case, according to Trevor Grimm, general counsel to the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, you should be pleased to know that you have a right to stay in the house until the expiration of your lease because the buyer gets the property subject to any leases.
A new owner, particularly an owner-occupant, will probably want to move right into the house, and, as they love to say in the real estate industry, “everything is negotiable.” On that basis, the seller or new buyer can attempt to negotiate some kind of agreement with you.
While they can make “offers” to you such as, “Move out two month’s early and I’ll forgive one-month’s rent,” they cannot compel you to take them up on such offers. That, like the terms of such offers, is up to you.
Timely Departure Marks End of Lease
Q: My lease in Palm Desert says that a 45-day written notice must be given by the tenants when they intend to vacate the premises. At one point, the tenants mentioned to me that they were looking for a bigger place, but they never gave me any kind of a formal notice that they were intending to move.
A week later I went to collect the next month’s rent and the apartment was empty. I say they owe me at least 30 day’s rent because I got no notice of their pending move. They say they owe me nothing because the lease was up.
The lease says that at its end it automatically converts to a month-to-month rental agreement. Is that true or are the tenants right?
A: A “holdover clause” in a residential lease generally says that the lease converts to a month-to-month agreement if the tenants stay past the last day of the lease. For example, if they stay for 366 days instead of 365, one year, the lease automatically converts as it says it will and they owe you one month’s rent.
If, on the other hand, they were out on or before the last day of the lease, they are right and they don’t owe you the rent.
Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of The Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, an apartment owners service group. Mail your questions on any aspect of apartment living to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.
