Must Landlord Accept Partial Payments?
QUESTION: I am leaving my Simi Valley apartment at the end of April and I have some problems. Rent is usually due on the first of the month, but I paid 87%, $650 out of $750, of my rent on April 5 pursuant to a verbal agreement that it had to be paid no later than the 5th.
At the same time, I gave the manager a note indicating my intention to pay the balance of the rent by the 7th. On the night of the 6th, at 9 p.m., the manager knocked at my door and handed me a Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit.
I happened to have the balance of the rent at the time so I offered to give it to her. She said that they did not accept partial rent payments and that she could not physically accept the rent. She said I should put it in the drop box at the office.
I asked her why, if they did not accept partial rent payments, did she not have a refund of the partial payment I made the day before. She said, “You will have to speak to may superiors regarding that matter.”
Is this a legal way to do business? Also, can she charge a flat $25 late fee and a $20 processing fee for the forms I was handed? Do I have any options or must I pay these fees? (I included $10 with the balance of my rent payment, which I consider fair, as a late penalty.)
ANSWER: First, never make a verbal agreement about paying the rent when there is a written agreement about it. They are almost impossible to prove if denied by the other party and will usually be disregarded in the presence of a written agreement spelling out rent payment procedures.
While landlords are not required to accept partial rent payments, they cannot accept one on one day and refuse one the next. In any event, since they ultimately accepted your rent payment, that’s not an issue. Also, the manager need not accept rent at your apartment if you always pay it at the office.
Late fees are customary and legal. They must be reasonable, however, and should be specified in the lease or rental agreement. A late fee of $25 on a rent of $750, or about 3% of the rent, is probably legal and reasonable.
Similarly, the lease or rental agreement probably contains language indicating that the renter is responsible for fees and costs, including processing fees, when actions are undertaken as the result of his transgressions, such as the late payment of rent. They can probably charge you for the processing fee, too.
Your options are limited. Since you are moving at the end of the month, they will likely deduct the fees from your security deposit if you don’t pay them, leaving you the option of suing to recover them in Small Claims Court.
Who Gets Deposit on Red-Tagged Rental?
Q: Because of the Northridge earthquake, a Pacoima house that I rented out was red tagged. I had four houses on two lots but only two were badly damaged. I let the tenants from the red-tagged houses relocate to one of undamaged houses that just had become vacant.
FEMA gave the tenants $2,300, the Red Cross furnished the place for free (I don’t know why because the furniture wasn’t badly damaged), they got $600 in food stamps from welfare and they got an 18-month Section 8 housing certificate from HUD.
They left the other house in a mess due to having four dogs, five cats and two birds as pets. There were large holes in the walls and the carpets reek with animal smells. Do I have to refund any security deposit money? I feel that they got their deposits back from all these government agencies. Why should I also have to refund their deposits? I couldn’t afford earthquake insurance and have suffered a huge loss due to the quake.
A: You must refund the tenant’s security deposit in spite of how you may feel, or how much money or services they got from any government agencies.
In general, you may keep deposit money to compensate you for unpaid rent, cleaning or to repair damages above and beyond “normal wear and tear.”
Since rent stopped accruing on the 17th, and was probably prepaid on the first, you can’t keep any deposit money for that. Since you will not be cleaning or repairing the red tagged house, you cannot keep any money for that either.
Not only do you owe these tenants a security deposit refund, it must be refunded within 21 days after they move or you could be liable for a $600 penalty for “bad faith retention” of the money.
‘Pet Discrimination’ Is Not Illegal
Q: I moved into my Studio City apartment in 1986 and was verbally told no pets were allowed. There was a sign on the building saying “No Pets” and that’s what the rental agreement said.
Nevertheless, my next door neighbor has a cat. Another tenant has built a cage the entire length of his patio and keeps rats for pets. Still another has birds.
Yet the manager tells me I can’t have pets. The other neighbors are white and moved in after me. I am of color and feel discriminated against. Do I have any recourse?
A: It is possible that the owner changed the pet policy because of the recession in order to attract new renters. He can do that.
While certain types of discrimination are illegal in the sale or rental of real property, such as discrimination because of color or race, pet discrimination is not illegal. You cannot conclude that the different treatment you cite proves illegal discrimination.
If you can’t persuade the manager to allow you to a have a pet, and you must have one, moving may be your only option.
