Same Standards Must Apply to All Tenants
Question: Recently my roommate and I applied for a two-bedroom apartment in a large complex. During the interview, we were told by the manager that each of us must fill out an application and pass a credit check.
She also said in order to qualify, we must each make three times the rent, which is $1,200 a month. Together my roommate and I make about $4,000 a month, which is in excess of the requirement, but neither of us qualifies individually. Is there anything we can do to secure this apartment?
Answer: A landlord may require a tenant to make a certain amount to qualify for a rental, as long as the rule is applied consistently to all applicants. This means that if you and your roommate are each required to make three times the rent, the same rule must apply to both members of a married couple.
Income requirements that are not applied equally to single and married people could amount to housing discrimination based on marital status, which is illegal in California. If you feel you may be experiencing discrimination of this or any other type, you may want to call your local fair housing agency for further information or assistance.
Friend’s Bad Advice Leads to 3-Day Notice
Q: My husband and I just received a 30-day notice of termination of tenancy. We had already paid rent for this month, but a friend said that we did not have to pay rent if the landlord is the one who is terminating our tenancy. So we stopped payment on the rent check. When the management learned this, a three-day notice to pay or quit was issued, and we were told that if we don’t pay or leave, legal action will be taken against us. Is the management just being difficult, or should the rent money be paid?
A: Your friend gave you bad advice. With a month-to-month rental, either party has the right to terminate the tenancy by serving a 30-day written notice on the other, unless the city you live in has an ordinance requiring just cause for eviction.
The assumption that the tenant does not owe rent if the landlord is terminating the tenancy is not correct. The tenant is responsible for the rent for the full 30 days, starting with the day after the notice was received.
If the tenant decides to leave early, he or she still owes rent for the full 30 days. If the owner is able to re-rent the unit before the end of the 30-day period, the existing tenant will owe rent only until the new tenant moves in.
Brothers’ Dispute Can Be Resolved in Court
Q: About 15 years ago, my brother and I bought two lots as joint tenants with right of survivorship. We’ve paid off the mortgages. My brother stopped paying his share of the property taxes and property owner’s association dues about four years ago.
He owes me about $1,700 for his share. He wants to sell the lots but has shunned my offer to buy one parcel for our original purchase price, minus the $1,700 he owes me. Current market value is a few thousand dollars higher, but he would have no sales commission. Can I sue him for title since, in effect, he has abandoned the real estate by not paying his share of the expenses?
A: This situation shows what can happen when a co-owner doesn’t pay his share of expenses. You could sue your brother in Small Claims Court if you want him to reimburse you for the expenses you paid to save the lots from being lost eventually at a tax sale.
Perhaps a better approach is to sue him in a partition lawsuit. The court can order the property sold, with the proceeds split between the owners. You can then probably buy him out if that’s what you want to do.
Vacation Duplex Won’t Qualify for Exemption
Q: We have owned a duplex in Michigan for 28 years. We return there for four months each summer. We’ve always rented one side but do not rent the side we occupy during the summer. We recently sold it. Can we qualify for a 50% tax exemption under the new tax law?
A: No. The vacation home duplex is obviously not your principal residence, since you didn’t occupy it at least two of the five years before the sale. Therefore, your entire profit is taxable as a long-term capital gain. Your tax advisor has complete details.
No Swapping Shares in Limited Partnership
Q: Can the proceeds from the sale of a limited partnership qualify for a tax-deferred exchange into a rental house?
A: No. Limited partnership shares are personal property. They can’t qualify for a “like kind” exchange for real property held for investment or use in a trade or business under Internal Revenue Code 1031.
Lawsuit May Solve These Title Woes
Q: About 15 years ago, a favorite aunt and uncle with no children asked to add me to the title of their home as a joint tenant. I didn’t like the idea, but they pleaded with me. I relented and assumed responsibility for the property taxes. Several years later, a minister entered their lives and demanded that I remove myself from the title. I soon stopped receiving the property tax bills.
After asking the local tax collector, I learned my aunt and uncle had created a family trust with the minister in charge (they gave him power of attorney). I was somehow removed from the title. But the tax collector reinstated my name to the title and tax bill. Can the house be put into a family trust without my consent and signature? What should I do?
A: Run, don’t walk, to the best real estate attorney in town. If your aunt and uncle executed a deed from themselves to you and them as joint tenants with right of survivorship, your name cannot be legally removed from the title without your written consent. Perhaps your signature was forged.
However, your aunt and uncle could put their interest in the property into a family trust without your consent. A quiet-title lawsuit might be needed to sort things out.
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This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087; they 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, Fair Housing Institute or Fair Housing Foundation office in your area:
Bellflower: (888) 777-4087.
Carson: (888) 777-4087.
El Monte: (626) 579-6868.
Hawthorne: (888) 777-4087.
Lancaster: (888) 777-4087.
Long Beach: (562) 901-0808.
Pasadena: (626) 791-0211.
Redondo Beach: (888) 777-4087.
San Fernando Valley: (818) 373-1185.
South-Central Los Angeles: (213) 295-3302.
Westside Los Angeles: (310) 474-1667.
Orange County: (714) 569-0828.
San Bernardino County: (909) 884-8056.
Ventura County: (805) 385-7288.
