Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Home remodeling by Tenant
My friend's family is moving out from
the place they have been renting
for 20 years, a duplex they share
with the owner. Over the
years my friend's parents have
remodeled significant parts of the
property that they were renting
beacuse it was in a less-than-stellar
condition. Because they are moving,
my friend's parents are taking down
some of the improvements that
they made and plan leave the
property relatively close to how it
was before they remodeled it
because to them, it cost them a lot
of money, the owner never helped
financially, and if left alone they
would lose their investment.
Because of this, the owner has
gone beserk and is threatening to
take them to court for vandalism
and other charges. However, the
remodeling took place over several
years and the owner never
complained, thus implicitly
approving of the work. Furthermore,
the landlord and tenant never
signed a renting contract that
stipulated the terms, instead
agreeing verbatim to a monthly rent
payment. My question is: can the
owner really do anything taking all
of this into account? Are the
tenants that are moving out
protected?

Asked on 5/28/09, 3:12 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

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Re: Home remodeling by Tenant

Attorney Cohen is correct - they cannot take with them anything that might be considered a fixture. There is a lot of gray area here, and it would be very wise for your friend's family to consult with an attorney. As a general rule, if you make improvements to a rental property, you do so with the knowledge and understanding that you will not recover your investment. They rented the property in a specific condition. It was their decision to rent the property in that condition. They voluntarily chose to improve the property so it met their needs, but they were improving someone else's property and must abandon it when they leave. They cannot legally have an expectation that they will either be compensated for the improvements, or be able to take them with them. The landlord is probably correct and your friend's family may face some serious jeopardy if they start removing anything that could be construed as a fixture to the property.

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Answered on 5/28/09, 12:37 pm

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