Tenant Pays the Price for Friend’s Stay
QUESTION: I’ve been living in my Los Angeles apartment since 1980. In 1983, a friend stayed with me for a few months until he got his own place. A couple of months after my friend moved in, the landlord (who lives in the building) raised the rent $25 per month for the extra person.
When my friend moved out a few months later, my landlord never lowered my rent. I just assumed that, once someone moved in, the rent was raised and never got lowered. I should have done my homework.
Recently, I found out that in such a situation the rent is lowered back to what it was before, but the tenant must notify the landlord when the extra tenant moves out. I spoke to the landlord about this, and he said he didn’t know about it. Nevertheless, he has agreed to lower the rent by $25.
Due to the fact that my landlord knew my friend very well before he moved in with me, and was well aware that he had moved out, shouldn’t he have lowered the rent at that time?
Is there a statute of limitations? Do I have any recourse to recover all or part of the overpaid rent?
ANSWER: The Los Angeles ordinance you refer to allows an owner to raise the rent by up to 10% for an extra tenant. It applies only to rent-controlled rental units in the city, and there are some significant exceptions. For example, a newborn child (the first one only) is exempted from the rent increase.
The law also requires an owner to lower rent when the extra tenant moves out, but it became effective after Dec. 8, 1990. Section 151.06 of the ordinance says, “The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to any additional occupant who first occupies the rental unit after [Dec. 8, 1990].”
Before then, there was no provision for lowering the rent when an additional tenant moved out. Rent increases for additional tenants became part of the permanent rent.
Any excess rent claim under the ordinance could only be brought for a tenant who moved in after Dec. 8, 1990. The statute of limitations would further limit any claim.
According to Trevor Grimm, general counsel to the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, “Section 310.08 of the regulations does provide for the reduction of the rent by the amount of the increase, following notification to the owner under Civil Code section 827 (30-day written notice).”
The law, as you say in your letter, requires you to notify the owner of the change in tenancy in writing. Even if it applied to you, you would be out of luck.
Also, the statute of limitations on a liability is three years, Grimm said.
Broken Gutter Flies Off Roof, Hits Car
Q: I live in South Pasadena, and I have a question for you about landlord liability. A couple of months ago, El Nin~o damaged a portion of the gutter on the roof of the apartment building where I live by tearing it loose from the building. The landlord left the gutter unrepaired, with about 30 feet of damaged, unattached gutter lying on the roof.
Then, El Nin~o blew the free end of the gutter down from the third-story roof. This left about 10 feet of the gutter being scraped by the winds across the parking lot behind the building.
Over the next 10 days, I phoned the landlord many times asking that this dangerous condition be remedied. He made some feeble attempts to deal with the problem by removing parts of dangling metal.
After each attempt, I phoned to tell the landlord that there was still a dangerous condition at the property. One morning the wind finally ripped the gutter off the roof and blew it across the parking lot into my fiance’s car.
The landlord glossed over the car damage, saying he is only liable for cars parked in the building’s carport, not for the guest parking area on the other side of the lot. Is this true or is he bluffing us? While the damage to the car is minimal, I want to know where I stand if a similar incident occurs in the future.
A: As you know, El Nin~o has caused El Grande problems for many Southern Californians. In general, landlords are liable for damages caused by their property when they have knowledge of dangerous conditions and do nothing to correct them.
There is no doubt that your landlord knew about the problem. He tried to fix, or at least mitigate, it. Did he make a big enough effort to repair the damaged gutter? I don’t know. Only a judge could determine how much is enough and how little is not enough.
If you decide to sue the landlord for the car damage, you can do so in Small Claims Court for up to $5,000. According to Grimm, “Based on these facts, I would think the tenant would have a good chance of prevailing in court.”
Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of AAGLA, an apartment owners’ service group, and manager of public affairs for the California Apartment Law Information Foundation, which disseminates information about landlord/tenant law in California. Mail questions to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.
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Apartment Renters’ Survival Guide
“The Best of Apartment Life: How to Survive Apartment Living and Ownership,” a 154-page compilation of columns printed in The Times over the past few years, has been published by the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles.
The book provides answers to many of the most frequently asked questions about apartment living, managing and ownership. The 23 chapters include “Nightmare on Elm Street: Tenant Screening,” “Water, Water Everywhere: Rules for Pools” and “When the Party’s Over: All About Moving Out.”
The book sells for $12.75, which includes tax, postage and packaging. Checks, made payable to the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), should be sent to AAGLA, c/o Kevin Postema, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005. Allow two weeks for delivery.
