Landlords Can’t Refuse the Keys to Unmarried Couples
QUESTION: I recently visited a nice apartment complex in an attractive neighborhood. I called the owner, and she arranged for her on-site manager to show me the units. In the course of our tour, I mentioned that it was maintained better than the place where my boyfriend and I are living now. The manager then told me that we probably wouldn’t get the place unless my boyfriend and I lied and said we were married. She told me that the landlady was very religious and never rented to unmarried couples. I figured it wasn’t worth the fight and applied somewhere else, but now I am wondering, was this legal?
ANSWER: Not in California. There was a recent decision in the California Supreme Court--Smith vs. FEHC (1996)--that may apply to your situation. The court ruled that owners are in violation of the state’s fair housing law if they refuse to rent to couples because they are not married. Basically, the court ruled that landlords must obey civil rights laws irrespective of their personal religious beliefs.
If you wish to have assistance in this matter, call (213) HOUSING in Southern California or (415) HOUSING in Northern California.
3-Day Notice Covers Only Past-Due Rent Q: I own an apartment building and one of my tenants is chronically late with his rent; he also owes me money for late charges and past-due utility bills. I plan to issue a three-day notice to pay or quit, demanding that this tenant pay all of these charges. Can I do this?
A: Not exactly. It is important in preparing a three-day notice that you follow the proper procedures. Any mistake, even a small and innocent one, can invalidate the notice and force you to issue a new one.
With a three-day notice, if the tenant doesn’t pay or leave, your next step is to begin an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit. If the three-day notice is improper for some reason, you could lose the unlawful detainer and wind up paying the tenant’s fees and court costs. And your tenant may continue living in your unit until you complete a second eviction procedure.
One of the most common mistakes property owners make with a three-day notice to pay rent or quit is asking for more money than the amount of rent due. You can demand only past-due rent, not late charges or utility bills unless these amounts are clearly stated as part of rental payments in the rental agreement. You can recover these other charges later by deducting them from the tenant’s security deposit or by suing for them in Small Claims Court.
Tenants Won’t Give a Forwarding Address Q: Among my tenants, it seems that everyone is getting very protective about “personal information.” Specifically, vacating tenants are refusing to give me forwarding addresses, which I need to send out security deposit settlement statements and refunds. If I don’t do this within the 21 days, I run the risk of a Small Claims Court awarding damages against me. How can I get my tenants to give me forwarding address information?
A: There is no legal requirement for vacating tenants to reveal their forwarding address information to you, although if they don’t, it certainly makes your job tougher. A possible reason for this reticence is that the tenants may not want you to know about their next residence.
Explain your need to send a refund to the outgoing tenants, and if they are unwilling to divulge their new addresses, be willing to accept the address of a friend or relative provided by them in writing.
If the tenants do not give you a forwarding address, you should send the settlement statement and/or refund to their last known address, the property address they used when they were your tenants. If they have provided such an address to the post office and the correspondence is returned, at least you will have proof that you did attempt to follow the civil code requirement of returning either a statement and/or refund within 21 days after your tenants vacated.
If the tenants’ rental agreement states that the deposit is to be returned in less than 21 days, be sure you honor that agreement.
VCR as Rental Deposit: It’s Legal but Risky Q: While interviewing a prospective tenant, I was asked if I would accept a new VCR as payment of her security deposit. The value of the VCR was close to the deposit amount I require. I’m wondering if this is legal.
A: Yes, it’s legal, but it’s not a good idea. First of all, you should make sure that your prospective tenant can afford to pay the rent regularly and that the offer of the VCR does not indicate a chronic lack of financial resources. Then, are you sure that the value of the VCR is correct, as presented by the prospective tenant? Have you verified its true market value?
Consumer items usually depreciate. Currency in lieu of barter was developed to avoid these kinds of problems.
Because security deposits are fully refundable, you may have to return the full cash value of the VCR at its current price when the tenant moves out.
In essence, accepting the VCR as a deposit is the same thing for you as buying a VCR from your tenant. Do you really want to purchase a VCR now?
If you still want to accept the VCR as a deposit payment, be sure the exact cash value is specified in the rental agreement.
But to repeat, it really is a bad idea.
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This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 582-B Dunholme Way, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 but cannot be answered individually.
For housing discrimination questions, complaints or help, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212 or the Fair Housing Council in your area: Westside Los Angeles, (310) 477-9260. San Fernando Valley, (818) 373-1185. Pasadena, (818) 791-0211. El Monte, (818) 579-6868. Orange County, (714) 569-0828. San Bernardino County, (909) 884-8056. San Diego County, (619) 699-5888.
