Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Hot Water Problems

It would have been a bit easier if you had sent management a certified letter and reported the problem to your county health and/or building inspector(s).

Next time, ask for advice in the beginning.

You should send a certified letter to management that you are deducting a certain amount (say 25%) as a rent abatement. Deduct that from your next rent, and, if management refuses, file in small claims court.

If you need more, feel free to e-mail my office.

Good luck!

Re: Hot Water Problems

You can write a letter demanding reimbursement, however, if they took 10 calls to actually fix the water heater, then its not likely that they will be very responsive. If they do not respond to your letter, or respond in the negative (that they will not compensate you) then you can sue them in small claims court. You need to be cautious, however, as (1) its unclear to me what you actual damages might be - a judge or commissioner might find the landlord at fault, but have a hard time determining what you might be entitled to financially; (2) you will really anger your landlord, and in doing so, if you don't have a long-term lease, you may get a notice of termination of your tenancy, which means you have to find a new place to live. If you don't have a lease, the landlord doesn't have to give any reason for terminating your tenancy, and can do so on 30 (if you've lived there less than a year) or 60 days notice.

You may be able to defend a potential notice of termination of your tenancy on the basis that it is "retaliatory" for the small claims case, but its going to create a lot of hassle and aggrivation for you. Weigh what you might get financially (it won't be the full amount of your rent for the time you went without hot water, it will be something less than that) with the potential cost to you before you do anything.

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