Who Pays to Move Furniture During Repairs?

QUESTION: I live in a 150-unit senior-citizens apartment complex in Brea. The management here is replacing the old carpeting and repainting the apartments as needed. (Boy, do they need it!) When they do this, the tenant is required to either get someone to move the furniture or to pay $40 for the service.

All of the renters are seniors. Most cannot move the furniture themselves and simply cannot afford this service. It seems to me that improvements to an apartment owner’s investment should be considered overhead and not be subsidized by the renters.

What can you tell me about the legality of this practice?

ANSWER: The practice of charging for services rendered is legal unless it is specifically prohibited in your lease, rental agreement or an addendum, like a HUD contract, to one of them. Historically, improvements to the inside of apartment units have been considered to benefit the renters, rather than the owners, of the units. For instance, under state law owners are not required to replace carpets or repaint no matter how shabby the carpets may be or dingy the paint is.

If the carpet represents a safety hazard, state law requires that an apartment owner must make it safe by repairing or removing it. He is not required to replace it.

Similarly, if the walls are cracked and represent a health hazard the owner is required to patch and touch-up paint them. He is not required to completely repaint the apartment.

Even though it may seem like a bum deal, $40 for paint and carpeting is a pretty good bargain.

Pet Is in Violation of Lease Agreement

Q: We rented our Oceanside condo out to a renter who was to be the sole resident there with no pets. Her lease is up next month and now we are getting complaints that relatives with a large dog have moved in with her. She claims that they are visiting for a month.

What are the obligations of a renter to observe the terms of a lease agreement when it expires and converts to a month-to-month rental agreement?

A: The terms of the lease remain in effect, except for the length of the agreement, even after it expires, if the tenants stay on with your consent. You must protect your rights under the agreement, however.

For example, if you have knowledge of the extra renters and pet, and take no steps to prevent them from occupying the unit, you may “waive” (surrender) your rights to get them out later.

Even accepting one-month’s rent with knowledge of a breach has been interpreted by some courts as waiver. Have the renter give you a letter identifying the relatives and pets and indicating how long they plan to stay.

If they don’t leave when she says they will, or if they plan on staying longer than your rules and regulations allow, you should immediately serve the renter with a three-day notice to perform or quit (obey the rules or move), unless you are willing to accept the extra people and pet.

If they don’t comply with the notice, your next step is to evict them. Seek competent legal help for that.

Responsibility for ‘Built-In’ Telephone

Q: My former husband died and his children and I took care of the estate. We moved his property out of the Pacoima apartment where he lived except for a wall-mounted, dial telephone he was renting from a large phone company.

When I mailed the final rent check, I informed the owners that we could not figure out how to remove the phone, and endorsed the responsibility for the unit to them. My understanding has always been that anything that is affixed to the owner’s property becomes his property. Is this true?

The phone service to the apartment has been discontinued but we are still being billed for the continued rental of the phone unit. What do you suggest?

A: “Endorsing responsibility” for the phone to the landlord was a bad call. It is not a “fixture” since it can be removed and replaced, or the wall easily repaired, unlike a bay window, for instance. Title to leased personal property, like the phone, does not pass to the landlord.

Since the liability for the phone passes to the decedent’s estate, you should give the phone company notice of the death of its former customer with a request to remove its equipment. Either way, a general notice to creditors published by a decedent’s estate cuts off all claims after four months.