Open and Closed Cases of Subsidy Rentals

QUESTION: I live in Victorville and I have a question. In your Nov. 7 column, “Law Requires Landlord to Make Repairs,” your reader mentions that the apartment building in which he lives was recently approved for “rent subsidies through a government program.”

I am a senior citizen with a very limited income, and I fear that I will not be able to pay the rent on the apartment where I now live. I have made many inquiries about rentals that offer “rent subsidies,” and have been told that these types of government programs are all closed now.

Is this true? If not, can you print a name and address of someone offering rent subsidies in my area?

ANSWER: According to Neen Whittaker, occupancy supervisor, HUD Section 8 Program (San Bernardino office, which includes Victorville), HUD in your area is not accepting new applications for rent subsidies right now.

The programs continue but only for existing clients of the agencies. Whittaker could not say when new applicants for rent subsidies would be accepted, but she said that applications are periodically discontinued.

Whittaker said you can call her office any time for enrollment information at (909) 889-9571, or watch the local newspapers for announcements at the beginning of the classified ads section that HUD is accepting new applications for rent subsidies.

According to Whittaker, the agency accepts up to thousands of applications when they are available, but demand far outpaces availability, in spite of the fact that every enrollment period the agency takes more applicants than before.

HUD is always accepting applications from property owners wishing to participate in the program. Owners seeking information for the Victorville area should write to HUD at Post Office Box 1410, San Bernardino, Calif. 92402.

What Is Policy on Last Month’s Rent?

Q: I manage an apartment in Bakersfield and I have a question about the last month’s rent.

Our policy is to have rents paid on the first of the month or earlier.

If a renter moves in any time after the first of the month, we prorate the rent to the end of the month. Thereafter, the full month’s rent is due on the first of each month.

My question is, when a renter gives a 30-day notice in the middle of the month, and it is to end during the middle of the next month, is any of the remaining rent refundable?

A: There is no “remaining rent,” unless the renter is on a fixed-term lease, like a one-year lease, and wants to break it before it expires. I’m assuming that is not your situation.

As you say in your letter, a renter can move into your unit during the middle of the month and you prorate the rent to the end of the month. In that same way, a renter can move out in the middle of the month and prorate his last half-month’s rent, leaving no “remaining rent.”

If the tenant pays the full month’s rent for the month he is moving out, and moves out in the middle of the month according to his previously served 30-day notice, he is entitled to a refund of the rent.

Two Security Charges for Two Apartments?

Q: I live in Los Angeles and I have a question for you about my security deposit. I lived in two different units at the same building between July, 1991, and September, 1993. First, I lived in a two-bedroom apartment from July, 1991, until September, 1992. Then I moved to a single until September, 1993, when I moved out of the building.

When I left both apartments, I cleaned them very well. The carpets were vacuumed and every closet cleaned.

I would like to know if the owners were justified in charging me for painting, cleaning and having the carpets cleaned in both apartments. I was not given any notice that there would be such charges when I switched apartments.

Nevertheless, I was charged a total of $517 for painting and cleaning of the two units.

Since I left both apartments in good condition and cleaned them both, am I responsible to pay for painting, cleaning and carpet cleaning in them?

A: Often, landlords can charge tenants part of the cost for cleaning carpets and painting apartments when they are vacated. And, unless the unit is left in the same condition as it was when the tenants moved in, reasonable wear and tear excepted, they can usually charge the full cost of cleaning.

Generally, disputes about deposits are adjudicated in Small Claims Courts, unless they exceed $5,000. There, many judges have defined “normal wear and tear” as being three years for carpets, drapes and painting.

That means that after three years the owner probably shouldn’t charge anything for cleaning or replacing carpets or drapes or for painting.

Since you lived in the two-bedroom apartment for less than three years, 14 months (July, 1991, to September, 1992), the owner is probably justified in charging you some percentage (say 38%) of the cost of painting and carpet cleaning (14 months is 38% of three years). Similarly, since you only lived in the single apartment for 12 months, the owner can probably charge you 33% of his costs there.

If you think that you have been overcharged for carpet cleaning and painting, you may file a lawsuit in small claims court to attempt to recoup any possible overcharges. First, try telling the owner that you think you got a dirty deal on the cleaning and painting bill. A negotiated settlement is always better than court.

Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), an apartment owners’ service group. Mail your questions on any aspect of apartment living to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90025.