Interest on Deposit Paid in Some Areas
QUESTION: I live in an apartment in Burbank and I recall reading in your column about a year ago that interest on security deposits must be paid to tenants every five years. In about one month I will have lived in this apartment for five years. Should I be expecting a check in the next couple of months?
ANSWER: You are probably referring to a city of Los Angeles law requiring landlords to pay interest on security deposits to tenants in rent-controlled rentals in the city.
The interest must be paid every five years, or every year at the landlord’s option, after the law’s effective date, which was Nov. 1, 1990.
Affected tenants who live in rentals for at least one year after the effective date of the law, but who move before five years is up, also must be paid interest on their deposits.
That law only applies to rent-controlled rentals in the city of Los Angeles. It does not apply to rentals located in the city of Burbank.
Compensating Tenants During Fumigation
Q: My husband and I have owned a triplex in Cypress for the past 7 1/2 years. After an inspection of the property, we found that we must have it tented for termite fumigation. Do you have any guidelines on how we should compensate the tenants--they are on month-to-month rental agreements--for the three-day fumigation?
Also, we want our renters to carry renters’ insurance policies for their benefit and ours. Is it feasible for us to require that they get the insurance when they have lived there for 18 months? If so, do you have any idea on what limits we should require for liability insurance?
A: If you have a rental agreement like the one used by the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), you only have to give the renters notice to vacate during the fumigation period by referencing the appropriate paragraph in the agreement.
AAGLA’s month-to-month rental agreement, paragraph 17, says, “Pest Control/Fumigation/Extermination: Upon demand by Owner, Renter shall temporarily vacate the premises for a reasonable period of time to allow pest or vermin control work to be done. Renter shall comply with all instructions, forthwith, from the pest controller, fumigator and/or exterminator regarding the preparation of the premises for the work, including the proper bagging and storage of food, perishables and medicine.”
If you have no such language in your rental agreement, there are no specific guidelines for the amount of compensation you are required to give to your tenants when your building is fumigated, but you probably must compensate them for the inconvenience in some way.
If they are going to stay with friends or family during the fumigation, you could offer them three days credit off of the monthly rent. You also could give them some kind of a food allowance for off-site meals, probably $5-$10 a day.
If your renters don’t have friends or family in the area, check out the rates at some local motels, not necessarily the Ritz-Carlton, but also not the Sleazy Arms Motel. And, if renters from more than one unit will be using the facility, try to get a discount on the room rates.
The food allowance for these tenants is probably a little higher than for the tenants who are staying with friends or relatives, maybe $10-$20 a day.
The bottom line is that, absent an AAGLA-type rental agreement, you must negotiate some kind of compensation with your tenants for their extra expense and inconvenience during the fumigation.
As far as renters’ insurance goes, it is always advisable for your tenants to have it. Requiring existing tenants to get the insurance is possible with a 30-day notice of change of tenancy form, which amends the rental agreement to require the insurance, and you to be named as an additional insured.
Whether or not it’s advisable to require your tenants to get this insurance if they don’t want it is another question. If they are so adamant in their opposition to it that they may move out over it, you may be better off leaving well enough alone because of the high vacancy rates across the Southland.
Before broaching this subject with your renters, it is probably a good idea to try to find out the amount of the cost you are asking them to bear. If they do get the insurance, the amount of coverage they will need will vary with the value of their belongings.
Problem With Taking Late Rent Payments
Q: I rent out a house in the city of Manhattan Beach. The tenant has always paid the rent on time until the past few months. Then, he started paying a few days late each month until this month. The rent is now 21 days late.
The tenant claims that he was the victim of a shooting and has not been able to work. He says he is trying to get help from some relatives to help him pay the rent, but I’m wondering how long I should wait.
He paid first and last months’ rent when he moved in so he is paid up through the end of the month. If I do need to evict, when do I start the process? I seem to remember you indicating that it takes two to three months to evict someone. Is that true?
A: According to AAGLA’s general counsel, Trevor Grimm, the problem with accepting late rent payments is that sooner or later a tenant may claim you have waived the right to demand that the rent be paid on the due date.
In law, a “waiver” is the voluntary relinquishing of a known right, like the right to demand timely rent payment. You take a chance when you do not document your non-waiver of the right of prompt payment.
The length of your forbearance to demand payment on time is strictly a personal decision. Three weeks of rent-payment delay, without some written request outlining a payment plan, is enough.
As you may know, rent due and unpaid on the first is delinquent on the second, assuming it’s a business day, and a notice to pay it may be served then, which is the first step in an eviction.
Your memory is correct about how long it takes to evict. Evictions can take two or three months in many courts.
You must factor that time into your decision about delaying an eviction for non-payment as well as when deciding upon the amount of money to demand as security when renting an apartment.
