Owner wants to make it clear: Subsidized renters not wanted
Question: I own a duplex that is not under rent control. When I advertise, is it legal to say in the ad, “No Section 8 Allowed”?
Answer: In California, you can’t discriminate against prospective renters on the basis of their income source. For instance, you can’t put something in your ad such as, “Welfare recipients need not apply.” That’s illegal.
But in this case, you can add Section 8 language to your ad because the Department of Fair Employment and Housing does not consider a Section 8 housing subsidy a “source of income.” Government Code Section (p) (1) says, “For the purposes of this section, ‘source of income’ means lawful, verifiable income paid directly to a tenant or paid to a representative of a tenant. A landlord is not considered a representative of a tenant.”
Although the Section 8 program, which provides rent subsidies to low-income families, has been criticized in the past for having over-burdensome inspections, a cumbersome voucher procedure and complicated rent calculations, the House passed a bill in July attempting to reform the program.
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Tenant takes risk by leaving stuff
Question: I’m vacating my apartment and know that the apartment owner will not refund my security deposit. Based on this knowledge, is it OK to leave before he inspects the unit and to leave behind the things that I don’t want, like furniture, fixtures, refrigerator, a dryer and boxes of junk? There is nothing wrong with the apartment except for some stains on the carpet, which should be easily covered by the deposit with money to spare. Can the landlord do anything to get more money from me for removing the things I leave behind, or will the deposit cover it?
Answer: It is impossible to predict what the deposit will cover based on the information you have provided.
Depending on the age and condition of the carpet, all of the deposit money may be used up paying for it, particularly if it was new when you moved in, you lived there for only a short time, and the carpet’s now trashed and must be replaced.
On the other hand, if you lived there for several years and the value of the carpet has fully depreciated, the owner can assess charges for the carpet only for cleaning it, assuming he keeps it. If he replaces it under these circumstances, he cannot charge you anything for it.
As for leaving before the owner inspects the unit, it is legal but not advisable.
If you choose this course of action, be sure to take pictures to verify your contention that nothing is wrong beyond carpet stains.
If your deposit does not cover the cost of replacing or cleaning your carpet and hauling away the junk you leave behind, the owner can sue you in Small Claims Court to recover the costs that exceed the amount of the security deposit.
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‘End’ of a lease can be a misnomer
Question: I always understood that at the end of a one-year lease I could opt not to renew it and could ask the tenant to leave, or vice versa. Are there jurisdictions where a one-year lease is automatically converted to a month-to-month tenancy at the end of the lease, preventing me from asking the tenant to leave?
Answer: There are such jurisdictions. State law automatically converts an expired lease into a month-to-month tenancy if the tenancy continues and a new lease is not inked.
In rent-controlled apartments, you cannot ask tenants to leave just because the lease is up. Unless you have good cause to evict a tenant under rent control, the tenancy continues at the end of the lease. Renewing it or going month-to-month is up to you. If the unit is not under rent control, you can ask the tenant to leave at the end of the lease term.
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Kevin Postema is the editor of Apartment Age magazine. Send letters to aptlifeaagla@aol.com, or mail them to Apartment Age, Attn: Kevin, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., L.A., CA. 90005.
