Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

On August 18, 2009, I gave my landlord notice that I would not be renewing my lease, which was due to be up, on September 30, 2009. Due to a miscommunication, I was under the impression I had a rental credit of $250 on my account. As such, I sent in my last payment of rent for September 2009 with an explanation of my belief of a rental credit and my rent minus the credit.

It turns out that I was incorrect in my credit assumptions, however, my question comes to how they dealt with this. They knew full well I was moving out on September 1st, 2009. However, when they discovered my rent was short, they posted a "3 day notice" to my door and claimed to have mailed me the same thing. I had my mail forwarded to my new address and I never received anything. In the mean time, I saw that they had cashed the check and thought nothing of it. As the properties were not close to each other, I wasn't checking my old unit daily for notices I didn't believe to be there.

I came to touch up the walls with paint on September 21, 2009 and there was no notice. Then, on September 23, 2009, I came back and there was a Summons taped to my door. It stated it had been filed on September 18. I have yet to receive ANYTHING in the mail, which I began forwarding on September 2, 2009.

My question is, as they knew that I had moved out of the unit and was not physically living there, are they allowed to post the notices and claim they sent the mail without proof? I would GLADLY have taken care of this issue, but I received nothing in the mail or by phone call. Each time I went to my unit to take another load over the course of one week, I did not see ANY notices posted to my door.

What legal right do I have? I called the attorneys today and they say I owe them $1140 for the discrepancy. I cannot afford this. Do I have any right in how they posted their notices? They told me they did not get the mail back, but I certainly did not get the notices, and I have gotten plenty of other mail dated back to September 2, 2009.

What can I do?

Also, I have been considering filing a lawsuit regarding uninhabitable living conditions at this complex. I have fixed repairs they refused to, I have had to completely box up and vacate my apartment 4 times in one year for fumigation (that still left me infested with roaches), I even had my hot water heater break in the middle of winter and they refused to fix it for 5 days until I marched into the office and told them I was sponge bathing.

I have the receipts for these purchases for repair and notified the landlord of all of the issues and waited the 30 days before repairing the problem (my bathroom sink was leaking tremendously and causing water damage and my garbage disposal was broken and would shock you, as I have a metal sink.)

Please, help! I cannot afford these legal fees, but I don't feel its right that they didn't do anything to ensure I knew about this problem. I obviously was no longer living in the unit, the windows were open and the place bare!! Help.


Asked on 9/26/09, 3:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

The short answer to your question is: "nail and mail" is the standard method of service in landlord/tenant matters. So the service is probably good and you're going to have to appear in court. You should counter with your claims. It's beyond the scope of this forum to tell you how to do that. Contact the county bar association, or check with the court, to see if there is a tenants rights non-profit, or other self-help service that can help you get things filed and help you prepare for court.

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Answered on 9/26/09, 11:00 am


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