Thanks to new owner, tenant has one less place to park

Question: The new owner of the apartment complex where I live has taken away one of my parking spaces. I got a 30-day notice taped to my door. Can he do this?

Answer: You don’t mention whether you have a month-to-month tenancy or a long-term lease.

The new owner can’t change your parking arrangement if you are on a lease. In fact, no changes can be made to any of the conditions detailed in a lease until that lease expires. Some examples of conditions are the amount of rent and/or security deposit, the house rules and the method of paying rent.

However, the same is not true if you have a month-to-month tenancy. In that case, the new owner is within his rights to alter or change any part of your tenancy, such as take away your parking space, with a written 30-Day Change of Terms Notice.

But the change may not be valid if the parking space was assigned due to a disability. Contact your local fair housing program for more information if you have a disability or medical condition that would require you to maintain the existing parking space.

If there is no disability issue, you may want to request a rent reduction since the total premises you are renting has been reduced.

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Moving -- no reason necessary

Question: My job has moved out of the area, and I need to relocate. When I gave the apartment resident manager my 30-day notice to move, he said I had to give a reason for moving. I don’t wish to reveal information about my personal life. The manager returned my notice saying it was not complete. Do I have to provide a reason for moving?

Answer: There are some rent-control cities or cities with local housing ordinances that require a property owner to give a reason whenever a tenancy is terminated. This condition is known as a “just cause” termination. However, there is no law that requires a tenant to give a reason why he or she is moving.

Your notice to move is valid if it is dated and contains your name, address and a statement that you are vacating in 30 days. The 30 days begins the day after the notice is personally delivered to the appropriate person or 35 days after you mail it to the owner’s proper address.

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This new career will cut commute

Question: I lost my high-tech job several months ago and feel that I won’t be returning to the industry anytime soon. The manager position is available at my apartment complex and I think I’d like to apply. What can I do to educate myself in the field of landlord-tenant relations?

Answer: A good source of landlord-tenant education and training might be your local community college, apartment owners association or real estate board. Other resources would be the landlord-tenant reference books published by Nolo Press that are available at your local library or bookstore.

Since the resident manager is generally the first contact for a prospective tenant or an existing one during a tenancy, the qualifications of the manager are important and instrumental in creating a pleasant living environment for everyone. The manager must be able to represent the property owner and support the owner’s rights and responsibilities as well as those of the tenant.

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