Landlord Wants $100 More a Month; Tenant Wants Help
Question: I have just received a very large increase in my monthly rent ($100). I do not feel that this is justified. Can you please provide me with the name of an organization that handles disputes between renters and landlords?
Attorney Steven R. Kellman replies:
Except for rent-control areas, landlords in most parts of Southern California are not restricted from raising the rent to any level they feel the market will bear (with some exceptions such as subsidized housing).
Rent may not be raised in retaliation for complaints or for other protected activities of the tenant, such as forming a tenants association. Rent raises may not be discriminatory either.
Landlords do not need to justify their rent raises unless a dispute arises in which you claim the raise is retaliatory or discriminatory. A judge may then settle that dispute if it gets that far.
If you do not agree with a rent raise, you should pay the increased rent “under protest” to protect your rights and then seek legal advice to see if the raise is legal or not.
Attorney Ted Smith replies:
I realize this may be a burdensome rental increase to you, but residents living in the same apartment for several years may have become complacent because their rent was never raised.
Landlords appreciate the long-term tenancy, but at the same time, they have the right to realize a decent return on their investment. Rental increases at this point are simply well-deserved rights landlords are exercising.
In general, increases are made in good faith, with the idea of continuing the tenancy, not creating a vacancy.
Property Manager Is Relatively Incompetent
Q: I own a three-unit apartment building and have a relative acting as the property manager. I pay him, but he doesn’t do a good job.
Shouldn’t the property manager make periodic inspections of the property and contact service people when repairs are needed? Is there is a guidebook or manual available that outlines the job duties of a property manager for a small apartment building?
Smith replies:
I’m concerned that your relative is not licensed by the California Department of Real Estate. Generally, when a person (not a resident manager) acts on behalf of someone else in a real estate management capacity (negotiating leases, collecting rents, etc.), he or she should be licensed. The fact that he is your relative does not change the license requirement. There are exemptions to this requirement for on-site resident managers and leasing personnel as well as for certain employees of licensed property management firms.
Property manager Robert Griswold replies:
I am also concerned about the licensing and assume that you will resolve that issue.
The job description for your property manager is strictly a matter of negotiation between you and your property manager. It is extremely important that periodic inspections are made of the property; from a legal standpoint, either the owner or the property manager can perform them.
Naturally, one of the primary benefits in hiring a property manager for a small apartment building is that the property manager will make the inspections, collect the rent, make minor repairs, pay the bills and supervise any work done by contractors.
I am not aware of a guidebook or manual outlining the duties of a property manager for a small apartment building. You may want to review property management contracts used by owners and property managers to provide a general overview of the responsibilities of the property manager. One in common use is the California Assn. of Realtors property management agreement (Form PMA-14) available at your local Board of Realtors office.
Hotel Residence Law Changes After 30 Days
Q: I live in a short-term occupancy motel in the downtown area. I moved in recently and was told that the rent was $79 per week. Everything was fine for a few weeks, until I was told that I had to pay $89 per week starting that week.
Don’t they have to give me some type of advance notice under California tenant-landlord laws, or are the laws different for motels?
Kellman replies:
The laws for occupants of hotels and motels are different than those for tenants for the first 30 days. In this period, the occupant is usually not considered a tenant. Evictions can be done without court action by simply calling the police. Rent can be changed without much notice.
After 30 days, however, the occupancy turns into a tenancy. Now the resident is entitled to the protections of landlord-tenant law, including attempted evictions, notice for rent raises and the right to have repairs made to keep the unit safe and habitable.
Some hotels and motels have tried to deprive residents of these protections by moving the person from one room to another at the same establishment before the 30 days are up to keep the resident from becoming a tenant. This practice is frowned upon and generally no longer works.
Smith replies:
Kellman is right. After 30 days of living in the room, your occupancy rolled from hotel law to landlord-tenant law, and the rules do change. It sounds to me like you have a week-to-week tenancy. Although most tenancies are month-to-month, week-to-week is perfectly legal. Either you or the motel may change the terms of this week-to-week tenancy with seven days’ written notice. Therefore, your motel had the legal right to raise your rent so long as proper seven-day written notice was given.
This column is written by property manager Robert Griswold, host of “Real Estate Today!” (KSDO-AM [1130], 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays), and attorneys Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenants’ Legal Center, and Ted Smith, principal in a law firm representing landlords.
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If you have a question, send it to Rental Roundtable, Real Estate section, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Or you may send e-mail to rgriswold.latimes@retodayradio.com. Questions should be brief and to the point and cannot be answered individually.
