Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Hello,

Three years ago, my family and I moved into a rental home in Palo Alto. The owner decided not to replace the carpet, so we paid to replace it giving us the peace of mind that we would be living in a clean environment. Shortly after we moved in, we noticed a bad smell in the house, in addition to discovering the house was infested with rats n the attic as well as discovering several of the front windows would not close/lock. Within days, we all had trouble breathing. After seeing doctors, who prescibed inhalers, they also advised us to leave the house for fear it would cause permanent health problems. Before we vacated the home, we had a mold inspector inspect the suspicious rooms. The inspector found high levels of mold on the surface and in the air. Also, he discovered the roof was thread bear with virtually not tar seal left. The moving expenses into this home were part of my husband's relocation package for his new job. This home was uninhabitable. Is the owner of the home responsible for covering our costs of our move into his home, costs moving out his home, the price of the mold inspection as well as compensating us for the carpet in the home? Thank you for your time.


Asked on 2/07/11, 2:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Unfortunately as obvious as it is that this house was uninhabitable, you don't get to make that call. You needed to call the city and have the building cited, and the landlord given 30-days to remedy the defects. Only if he then did not do so within 30-days would you have had rights to damages and relocation expenses. Now this is different from a defense of uninhabitability if he sues you, but to gain the right to affirmative relief, you needed to go the route of an official city determination of the issues.

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Answered on 2/08/11, 10:56 pm


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