Rent Is Due Despite Notice to End Tenancy

L.A. Times Archives

Sept. 8, 2002 12 AM PT

From Project Sentinel

Question: Just after paying this month’s rent, the property manager handed me a 30-day notice to move. When I asked for my rent check to be returned, the manager said that I owed the rent for the month. If I’m asked to move, do I still have to pay the last month’s rent?

Answer: The assumption that a tenant does not continue to owe rent if the landlord terminates the tenancy is not correct. Unless you paid “last month’s rent” when you moved in, you are responsible for paying this month’s rent.

Check your rental agreement to see what was paid as part of the initial deposit.

Unless the agreement states that a portion of the deposit is allocated to “last month’s rent,” you probably can’t claim that your deposit covers this month’s rent.

Even if you voluntarily move before the 30-day notice expires, rent is still due for the full 30 days. However, if the unit is re-rented before the end of the 30-day period, you are entitled to a refund of unused rent.

Friend Staying in Unit Should Be Added to Lease

Q: I just discovered that a new tenant has been paying the rent but never moved in. He gave the apartment key to a friend who has been living in the apartment and wants to stay. I like the friend and have no problem with him staying, as long as the rent is paid. Is this a problem?

A: Yes. Someone you don’t know, or have information about, has possession of your property.

You have two choices. First, as long as you are satisfied with the friend staying and the no-show tenant continuing to pay the rent, ask the friend to submit a rental application and add him to the rental agreement. This will give you pertinent personal and financial information you may need in the future and will state conditions of the tenancy--for example, both parties are responsible for payment of the rent and need to adhere to conditions of the rental agreement.

Even if the no-show does not live in the property, he would continue to be your tenant and you would have to send him copies of all notices that affect the tenancy.

Secondly, if you don’t want this extra work, you could end the no-show’s tenancy with a 30-day notice of termination of tenancy and continue solely with the friend.

Once approved, the friend would sign his own rental agreement and become solely responsible for the tenancy along with payment of the rent.

This housing situation is ideal for mediation, when everyone sits down with a neutral party to decide how this tenancy is to continue.

Contact your local housing mediation program for assistance.

Manager Cannot Charge for Application Form

Q: Three months ago I moved into my apartment and paid the first month’s rent, as well as a security deposit.

The resident manager is now requesting that I pay an additional fee of $10 for the application form I completed. At the time I applied, I paid $25 for a credit check, but I’ve never heard of being charged an application fee.

A: Tenants cannot be charged for filling out a rental application. California Civil Code 1950.6 limits the amount of fees that can be charged during the process of approving a prospective tenant. Only “actual out-of-pocket costs,” plus a reasonable value for time spent, can be charged.

The maximum fee allowed for a credit report is $30 per applicant.

Civil Code 1950.6 also gives you the right to ask for a receipt for the fee paid as well as a copy of the credit report.

Because you paid $25 before moving in, and were not requested to make other payments, it would seem that no additional charges are allowed. But if other reports such as criminal or eviction background checks were performed, you could have been asked to pay for these services at the time you applied.

Attempting to retroactively charge additional fees is not allowed once a tenancy has been established.

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, Calif. 94087, but 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: (562) 901-0808

Carson: (888) 777-4087

El Monte: (626) 579-6868

Hawthorne: (310) 474-1667

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