Raised Rent, Plumbing Charges at Issue
Question: I have lived in my greater Los Angeles area apartment for the last three years. The management company increased the rent 5% last year and they are increasing it by 5% again this year. On top of the increase, they are increasing the rent by $1 per month for the next 12 months “according to the code enforcement.”
I also received a document stating that they will provide us with strainers for the kitchen and bathroom drains, and will charge us $50 if we ever need a plumber. Since this is an older property, this seems very unfair. Is this legal?
Answer: Landlords may increase rents by at least 3% annually under the Los Angeles Rent Control law, which, I presume, applies to your apartment unit. If they pay for your gas and electricity, they also may increase the rent by 1% per utility, up to 5% total. Therefore, if your unit is under rent control and the owners pay for the gas and electricity, they may increase the rent by 5% per year.
Your rent also may be increased by $1 per month per year ($12 total) to pay for the Systematic Code Enforcement Program, which is the apartment inspection program in the city of Los Angeles.
If the property is not rent controlled, the landlord may increase the rent up to its market value with a 30-day notice.
The situation surrounding the plumbing letter is less cut-and-dried. I once had a clogged drain and the landlord told me to find out from the plumber what caused the clog so we could determine who was responsible for the cost of the plumber. He paid the plumber because the problem was not caused by anything I did, or neglected to do, and that’s the bottom line. If you cause a plumbing problem, you are liable for the cost of the repair, not an arbitrary figure like $50. You are not responsible for plumbing problems that are not your fault, such as tree roots in the pipes.
Others’ Lack of Concern for Safety Irritates Tenant
Q: The management company at my West L.A. apartment building has installed locked gates on all entrances and a new access system for the front door. Several tenants have propped the gate open to allow their friends to get in.
I have complained to management several times about this and offered to be the responsible party, but nothing has been done. Is it legal to prop open the gate? Can tenants be evicted for this?
A:Your letter says that you have “offered to be the responsible party.” I assume that means that you want to be responsible for keeping the gate closed. This is not a good idea for you or for the management firm. Do you really want to have daily confrontations with your neighbors about this?
And if you are “responsible” for a management task, like keeping the gate closed, you may be considered an employee of the management company. That may mean that if a confrontation with another tenant escalates to the physical or property damage zone, the management company may have some liability for any resulting damages. They are not going to want to take a chance on that.
Worse, does “responsible” mean that you are therefore somehow liable if there is a security breach in your area of responsibility? Don’t count on a response to your offer anytime soon.
You also ask if it’s legal to prop open the gate. While it is not illegal to prop open a gate to an apartment building, it may violate the legitimate rules of the apartment owner and management company.
If such a rule were written into a lease or rental agreement, and tenants violated the rule after legal, written warnings, notices to perform covenant (follow the written rules) or quit (move out), they could be evicted. You, however, could not evict them. That probably would be up to the management company (most owners who hire property management companies don’t do their own evictions), and it would be entirely at their discretion.
Your best strategy here is to appeal to their concerns about safety, which is usually why people install new gates and access systems.
Cable Service Can Be Added to Rental Cost
Q: I live in Ventura and recently the owners here decided they were going to bill each apartment its proportionate share for the cost of basic cable. All of the units are connected on the cable line so the building owner is responsible for the basic cable cost.
When asked, “What would happen if someone said they didn’t have a TV and didn’t want to pay?,” the response was that the owner would serve them with a 30-day notice. Is that legal?
A: Cable TV is an added amenity for which you must pay added rent. In essence, the owners are charging you extra rent for an extra service, which they can do in Ventura with a 30-day notice of change of terms of tenancy. If you don’t pay the rent, you can be given a three-day notice to pay rent or quit and subsequently be evicted. If they gave you a 30-day notice for failing to pay the rent, they would be doing you a favor.
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Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of AAGLA, an apartment owners’ service group.
