Law Requires Landlord to Make Repairs
QUESTION: The Los Angeles apartment building in which I live was recently approved for rent subsidies through a government program.
Does the landlord’s continued eligibility for this program require that he do any of the following: make structural repairs to the building due to termite damage; make repairs to the heating and plumbing systems in the building; paint the exterior and interior of the units, and install carpeting and flooring in the units that need them?
The unit in which I live needs to be painted and has badly stained and chipped vinyl tiles that, I believe, really need to be replaced.
If the landlord is required to do these things, how much time is he allowed to do them?
ANSWER: Plumbing and heating problems, as well as termite infestations, are all habitability issues that are covered by state law and must be maintained by the landlord, regardless of rent subsidies.
Civil Code Section 1941.1 says, in part, “A dwelling shall be deemed untenantable for purposes of Section 1941 if it substantially lacks any of the following affirmative standard characteristics. . . .
. . . “(b) Plumbing or gas facilities which conformed to applicable law in effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working order. . . .
. . . “(d) Heating facilities which conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order. . . .
. . . “(f) Building, grounds and appurtenances at the time of commencement of the lease or rental agreement in every part clean, sanitary, and free from accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin, and all areas under control of the landlord kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin.”
Thus, if plumbing or heating don’t work properly, and you have tried to get the landlord to fix them without success, you should inform the Building and Safety Department of the City of Los Angeles, which handles such problems. They may be reached by phone at (213) 485-8573.
If you have a vermin problem, other than termite infestation (which is not health threatening), that is handled by the Health Department of the County of Los Angeles. If the landlord won’t take care of that problem, you may file a complaint with them by phone at (213) 881-4015.
Painting of the building or units and repairing stained floor tiles are generally considered aesthetic in nature. They, therefore, are not generally mandated by law to be maintained.
Chipped floor tiles may represent a safety hazard, which, if that’s the case, would have to be repaired at a minimum. Again, if that’s the problem phone Building and Safety at (213) 485-8573.
According to Alfred Garcia, a principal inspector with Building and Safety, “We’ll send someone out for anything that has to do with life safety or structural stability of the building.”
As far as getting rent-subsidizing government agencies to mandate that the owner do any of these things, you’ll have to check with the agency involved. For your information, they usually won’t be able to help you unless your unit is one of those that is subsidized by them.
Who Is Responsible for Old Air Conditioner?
Q: I live in Los Angeles and I have a question for you. In the apartment complex in which I live, many of the apartments have air conditioners that were installed by the tenants, as did my apartment when I moved in 15 years ago.
Over the years, the building’s handyman has checked the filters in the spring. He also has fixed the air conditioners when they had problems. Because the landlord has always maintained them, the tenants have always left the cooling units behind when they moved.
This past summer, I bought a new energy-efficient air conditioner. After I had it installed, I called the building owner’s representative and told her that the old air conditioner unit was available and working if any of the other tenants wanted it.
The response I got was chilly, to say the least. A week later I got a handwritten note from the building owner telling me to get rid of the old air conditioner within three days. It said that she had already contacted her attorney about the problem and closed saying that it wasn’t her responsibility to “get rid of the tenants’ trash.”
Fortunately, I was able to get it hauled away within three days and avoid a legal showdown, but I would like to know if the owner was justified in threatening me with legal action or was its removal her responsibility since she had been maintaining it since I moved in?
A: You were wise to keep a cool head when dealing with this situation, rather than further chilling relations with the owner.
Your rental agreement probably has a clause saying that you are prohibited from making any alterations or changes in the premises without the owner’s consent. Even if you have no rental agreement, or if yours is silent on the issue, you are still responsible for disposing of the old unit.
Had you asked the owner for permission to replace the existing, working air conditioner with a new one, he probably would have conditioned consent on your accepting responsibility for disposing of the old unit.
When you ultimately vacate the apartment, you are also obligated to return the premises to the owner in the same condition as you found it, reasonable wear and tear excepted. That means that you should leave the air conditioner in the unit when you move out.
