Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Do I have to honor a verbal agreement when tenant doesn't honor it?
I rented a room in my house to a guy who seemed really nice, but he doesn't keep his word - he didn't put away his excessive amounts of stuff when he said he would, etc... The phone bill came around August 10th last month and was due on the 28th, I asked him to mark his portion down and pay it. He offered to pay it after September 1st. I told him if he didn't pay it before it was due it was an unfair imposition on me. I had to twist his arm to get the rent, which was due Sept 5th. He finally paid me on Sept 11. He still hasn't paid the phone bill. I decided I didn't want to deal with this nonsense and served him a 30 day notice on 9/15. I had told him that I wouldn't charge him for Internet use while he lived here when he moved in. Today I changed the password on the wireless router and on my computer so he can't use it. He says that I'm violating our verbal agreement that the Internet is included in the rent and that since he's paid the rent I have to honor that or we'll have a court battle. I say that he violated his verbal agreement to pay his share of the phone bill and get his boxes out of the living room so I don't have to give him free Internet. Whos'e right? Can he sue me? Thanks!

Asked on 9/21/06, 6:16 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

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Re: Do I have to honor a verbal agreement when tenant doesn't honor it?

Counterclaims are not permitted in unlawful detainer actions. From the way you relate the story, if he doesn't pay the phone bill and you have DSL tied to the phone line, in my opinion he shouldn't have access to anything phone-related. If you have a cable modem, though, that might be a different story. Also, you might want to secure the phone for the time being and not grant him access to it.

Answered on 9/21/06, 6:28 pm

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