30-day rule on rent violations isn’t hard and fast

Question: I had bamboo blinds installed to cover the open section of my balcony the weekend after I moved in, more than nine months ago.

I recently got a notice from the management indicating that I need to remove the blinds because they are a violation of the rental contract.

I was under the impression that if they didn’t react to a violation within 30 days, the right to enforce that aspect of the contract was lost. Is this true?

Answer: Not necessarily. Courts have determined that landlords can waive their rights to enforce some aspects of rental contracts under the legal principal of waiver.

Often they say that if the management knows of and accepts rent from the tenant and is aware of a violation of the rental contract, such as having an extra roommate, then management waives its rights to enforce the contract if it doesn’t act immediately to correct the situation.

The key is that management must have knowledge of the violation, accept the rent with that knowledge and do nothing to correct the violation.

You don’t say in your letter whether management had specific knowledge of the blinds from the beginning. Although you say that you put them up right after moving into the apartment, that’s not the critical issue.

If management just noticed the blinds, and served you with a notice to correct in a reasonable time frame, it definitely has not waived the rights to enforce that aspect of the rental contract.

If management had prior knowledge of the blinds and didn’t react, it may have waived the rights, but there is no guarantee that you would prevail in a legal action.

Rent control hikes don’t affect leases

Question: I am the new owner of a rent-controlled apartment building in West Los Angeles. I understand that rents can only be increased by 3% per year.

Am I required to give new tenants any type of a lease?

Also, if I give a tenant 30 days’ notice to move, and he elects to stay in the apartment, can I raise the rent by another 3% even though I have already raised the rent by 3% that year?

It seems to me he would be considered a new tenant at that time.

Answer: You are not required to give new tenants leases. Annual inflation rent increases are limited to 3% in rent-controlled apartments whether you have a one-year lease, a month-to-month rental agreement or no written or oral agreement at all.

Regarding your second question: The tenants are not considered “new tenants” under the scenario you outline, and no subsequent 3% rent increase is possible.

Under a new state law, you cannot give tenants 30-day notices to move without cause. Sixty days’ notice is now required.

“Just cause” evictions are a part of the Los Angeles city rent control ordinance. That means that, in general, you can only give tenants notice to move as the result of a just cause, such as failure to pay the rent or violating the rental contract.

There are few allowable categories of no-fault evictions, and they include such things as owner move-ins, where you move into the unit.

Under the L.A. rent law, all no-fault evictions require the payment of relocation fees. Seniors, disabled tenants or tenants with minor children get $5,000; others, $2,000.

No rent control in Ventura County

Question: I have read about no-fault evictions and relocation fees under the L.A. city rent control law. Is there any information available about this for Ventura County?

Answer: The L.A. city rent control law applies only to rent controlled units in the city of Los Angeles. There is no similar law in effect in Ventura County.

E-mail your questions to aptlifeaagla@aol.com, c/o Kevin Postema, or mail to AAGLA, c/o Kevin Postema, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005.