Does the state prohibit deposits for pet owners?
Question: When I moved into my Lomita apartment three years ago, I paid a $100 pet deposit. My cat passed away recently but for the most part did no damage inside or outside while he was alive.
Since then, I read somewhere that the state of California specifically prohibits such deposits. Am I entitled to get this $100 deposit back when I move out?
Answer: You haven’t supplied me with enough information to say for sure. The tenants’ rights book that you sent me says: “Many landlords collect a fee that is nonrefundable -- such as for pets or cleaning. A few states such as California specifically prohibit landlords from charging any fee that is not refundable.”
If the pet deposit your landlord charged you was labeled as nonrefundable, the landlord was wrong to list it that way. But there is nothing wrong with your landlord taking a refundable pet deposit from you, which is what he has done regardless of the language in the lease or rental agreement.
That does not mean that the pet deposit is automatically refundable, only that it may be refundable.
Your letter says that your cat did no damage “for the most part,” which seems to indicate that the cat did some damage. If it did, and if you haven’t repaired or replaced the damaged items, the landlord can deduct money from your pet deposit to fix those problems.
Tenants resist rehab evictions
Question: I issued eviction notices to some of my tenants in the city of Los Angeles because I want to rehab their units. After they found out that they don’t qualify for relocation assistance, they told me that I could no longer evict tenants in Los Angeles in order to rehab their units. Do I need to seek legal services? Can I get them to move out?
Answer: You cannot evict tenants to rehab their units if they are under rent control in the city of Los Angeles because the City Council is studying the issue and has placed a moratorium on evictions for this purpose until it determines how it wants to handle them.
If the tenants are under rent control, and I don’t think they are, they are right. I don’t think they are under rent control because, barring the moratorium, if they were under it they would qualify for relocation assistance if evicted for major rehab.
If the tenants are not under rent control, they can be evicted for a major rehab with a 60-day notice to move if they have lived in the unit for one year or more. If they have lived in the unit for less than one year, only a 30-day notice is required. In this situation, they do not get relocation money.
You should seek legal assistance if you are going to proceed with the evictions.
Dog wasn’t in the rental agreement
Question: I just found out that the tenant in a house I rent out in Riverside County has a dog, which violates the rental contract. How much notice do I have to give him to move?
Answer: At this point you don’t need to give the tenant a notice to move out, which would be a 60-day or 30-day notice depending on how long he has lived in the house.
Rather, give him a notice to comply with the terms of the rental contract, usually called a three-day notice to perform or quit.
If the tenant does not comply with the notice by finding a new home for the dog, you may then proceed with an eviction. If you elect to evict, hire an attorney.
Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of AAGLA, an apartment owners’ service group. E-mail your questions on any aspect of apartment living to AptlifeAAGLA@aol.com, c/o Kevin Postema, or mail to AAGLA, c/o Kevin Postema, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005.
