Acting landlord can also evict tenants
Question: My father owns a rental property. He went on an extended vacation and left me in charge of collecting the rents. One tenant has not paid. I have sent out two past-due notices and understand that the next step is to send a 3-Day Pay Rent or Quit Notice. Can I serve this notice myself? Also, because I am not the legal owner or manager of the property, can I then proceed with an eviction if he still doesn’t pay, or do I need a power of attorney to do so?
Answer: You, or any other representative duly authorized by the owner, can serve this pay-or-quit notice, or any other appropriate notices.
If you cannot serve him personally, you may use the substitute “nail-and-mail” method, which means that you mail a copy of the notice to the apartment -- first-class mail is recommended -- and “nail” or post a copy of it on the door. Although not required by law, it is also a good idea to mail these notices to any other known addresses of the tenant.
If the tenant doesn’t pay the rent by the expiration of the notice (three days, not counting the day of service), you may proceed with an eviction. Keep in mind that the last day of a pay-or-quit notice cannot fall on a weekend or holiday. If it does, the last day for the tenant to pay the rent kicks over to the next business day. If, for instance, the last day is a Sunday, and Monday is a holiday, it kicks over to Tuesday.
You do not need a power of attorney to serve the notice or to proceed with an eviction. But this is a fairly complex procedure and the smallest error can cause you to have to refile the action and start all over again at a later date, so you might consider using an attorney.
Lease halts extra rent increase
Question: I understand that rent increases under Los Angeles rent control will increase from 3% to 4% on July 1. However, I signed a two-year lease with my tenant that specifies annual rent increases of only 3%. Can I still get the 4% increase after the first year?
Answer: You cannot get the 4% increase because your lease limits your rent increases to 3% for the first two years of your renter’s tenancy. After the lease expires, you can, and should, redraft a new lease to indicate that future rent increases will be keyed to the percentage allowed by the L.A. rent law.
Kevin Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine, a publication of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, an apartment owners’ service group. E-mail questions to: AptlifeAAGLA@aol.com or mail to AAGLA, c/o Kevin Postema, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005.
