Lack of Signed Lease Won’t Get Tenants Off Hook
QUESTION: My girlfriend and I are moving out of our Los Angeles apartment after 2 1/2 years. We initially agreed to rent the apartment on a one-year lease. After the first year, we stayed on a month-to-month basis.
We put down $1,350 when we moved in, $675 for rent and $675 for the last month’s rent/security deposit. We moved into the apartment without ever signing the lease and kept asking the manager to bring it by, but we never got one.
I am wondering if we are responsible for anything, since we never signed the lease stating the conditions of renting the apartment.
Can we get the whole deposit back since we never signed anything stating what the deposit was to be used for?
ANSWER: You may be able to get the whole deposit back, but it has nothing to do with whether you signed the lease. That does not affect your situation.
A written lease or rental agreement is always better than a verbal one because both parties know exactly what is expected from them and what they are responsible for. An oral contract is still valid, though. It includes any oral understandings you may have reached when renting the apartment, plus any state or local laws that affect the relationship.
State law governs security deposits. It is very specific about how they may be used. There are three basic categories of charges that owners may levy against deposits. They include unpaid rent, damages (which include things like missing keys or broken or missing remotes) and cleaning.
Assuming that you give the proper 30-day notice of your intent to vacate, pay all of the rent, don’t damage anything and leave the apartment as clean as it was when you moved into it, you may get your entire security deposit back.
Apartment Managers Are Nuts for Yard Sales
Q: I live in Glendale, and I have a problem with my apartment managers. Every other weekend they have a yard sale. They post their yard sale signs all over the neighboring streets, bringing in plenty of traffic, which annoys me.
Does the city of Glendale have a law concerning how many yard sales a resident can have per year? Can the owners or management company put restrictions on the managers?
A: Managers are limited to what they can do by the terms of their rental contracts and their employment agreements, which often prohibit such activities. They also are limited by state and local laws.
According to a spokesperson for the city of Glendale, yard sales are allowed in the city, but continuing yard sales (like ones held every other weekend) are prohibited. To make a complaint about yard sales, call the city’s Neighborhood Services Department at (818) 548-3700.
Security Deposit Is Always a Good Idea
Q: We rent out a condo we own in Fountain Valley, and we have a question for you about the security deposit. The condo has been rented out to an employee of the management company that handles it for us since November 1996.
Recently, we found out that we don’t have a security deposit from the tenant, which concerns us since the previous tenant’s deposit did not even cover half of the damages and unpaid rent from that tenancy. Is it a good idea not to collect a security deposit from the current tenants?
A: It is always a good idea to collect a security deposit from tenants. Since it didn’t collect one, the management company may be on the hook for any unpaid rent, damages or cleaning (all the normal deductions from deposits) at the end of the tenancy.
It seems to me that, absent an explanation (like the property is unrentable if a security deposit is required), the management company has been negligent not to get one, particularly considering the previous tenancy.
Security Bars Leave Tenant Feeling Unsafe
Q: I live in Los Angeles and have a unit with security bars mounted on the inside of the windows. I read last year that there is supposed to be a quick-release mechanism on these bars so that one can escape in case of fire.
I’d like to request that the landlord bring these bars up to code in my apartment, but I want to quote the law correctly before approaching him.
Also, I am concerned that he may use it as an excuse to raise the rent since the building is not rent-controlled. Do you have any ideas?
A: Even under most rent-control laws, apartment owners can raise rents when they make capital improvements (which include new security bars). Often, owners do increase rents when making such improvements, particularly when making large, costly ones.
The best approach is always to present the facts to the landlord with his interests at heart. You might say, for instance:
“By the way, I heard the other day that the security bars on apartments are supposed to have quick-release mechanisms on them. Otherwise, after a disaster like a fire, your insurance may not cover you for injuries to the tenants and you may be personally liable. Were you aware of that?”
If you want to take a different approach and quote the law requiring the quick-release bars, it is a part of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, Section 6715.2.
Kevin Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine. Mail your questions on any aspect of apartment living to AAGLA, 12012 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025.
