Cash request OK in certain cases

Question: My landlord sent me a 30-day notice that requires I pay the rent in cash only. I’ve always paid by personal check. Is this allowed?

Answer: Effective Jan. 1, 2005, Civil Code 1947.3 addresses your question for month-to-month tenants. This statute establishes a general rule that prohibits a landlord from requiring rent payments in cash.

The only exception applies if a renter bounces a check. If a tenant pays rent or a security deposit with a check drawn on insufficient funds or the tenant has stopped payment on a rent check or money order, a landlord is allowed to request future payments in cash.

If a landlord chooses this approach, he or she must give the tenant a written 30-Day Change of Terms notice stating that the rent payment was dishonored and that the tenant must pay in cash for a limited period determined by the landlord, not to exceed three months. Following this time period, a tenant can resume the original method of payment. A copy of the dishonored check must be attached to the notice.

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Religious display may be protected

Question: I manage a complex where the property owner has very few rules. A new tenant has hung religious symbols in the front window of her apartment. The owner is afraid other tenants will want to do the same for their own faith or beliefs. Can the owner ask her to remove these items and inform all tenants that items of any type are not to be hung in the windows?

Answer: Property owners have a great deal of discretion to make rules and policies regarding their rental property, but they cannot discriminate on the basis of religion.

The Federal Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 provide tenants the right to be free from religious discrimination. It could be argued this includes a right to hang religious symbols inside a tenant’s own unit.

As long as it is enforced evenly, however, an owner can probably make a policy stating that residents are not to hang anything in their windows that can be visible from the outside. It would be best to state this rule in the rental agreement.

For example, it would be an indication of religious discrimination if a tenant who has a religious symbol hanging in the window has action taken against him or her while a tenant who has a plant or some other nonreligious item hanging in the window has no action taken. In such circumstances, the owner’s policy is being administered unequally.

If the owner were consistent in taking action against everyone who does not abide by the policy, then it would be harder for someone to make a claim that the policy is discriminatory.

Timing can also be significant. If a notice to all residents to take down any items hanging in windows was issued immediately after the tenant hung the religious symbol in her window, she may feel that the notice is aimed specifically at her religious expression, in violation of her rights under fair housing laws.

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Second dog is not in the agreement

Question: About six months ago, I allowed a tenant to sublet to a roommate whom I approved. The original tenant was approved to have only one dog, but the new roommate has now brought in another dog. The property owner does not want two animals in the apartment. Because the roommate is not on the rental agreement, can I still give her a notice to remove the other dog?

Answer: You do not have a relationship with the roommate since she was not added as a co-tenant to the original agreement. But the original tenant is in violation of her agreement by allowing the additional animal, so you can serve her a “three-day perform covenant or quit notice” to remove the second dog.

You may have to proceed with legal action if the second dog is not removed. Or contact a housing mediation program to help you resolve the matter to avoid the need for legal action.

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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, CA 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 Southern California Housing Rights Center at (800) 477-5977.