Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Landlord Responsibilities

I've been renting a house for a little over a year now that had constant plumbing issues from day 1. The toilet kept flooding the bathroom, hall, kitchen etc. After talking to plumbers I figured out we needed a new toilet to fix the problem. I told him that and he didn't want to do it. 1 yr & 6 floods later he finally did and no more floods. However, now I'm positive that there is mold in my house. My children and I have been sick almost monthly since the flooding started. I told him after the first one that we could not be around mold and he insisted that clean water would not cause mold. Now its gotten so bad that meds aren't helping us much and we just get sicker by the day. I told him I would pay for a mold inspector but he would have to pay for the clean up. He refuses saying it's not his responsibility. Isn't it though? If he had replaced the toilet a year ago we wouldn't have had all of those floods. He has agreed to let me out of my lease but shouldn't he have to return my deposit? He hasn't said anything about it but can he try and charge me for breaking the lease even though it's for health reasons and he agreed to it? Is there anything I'm missing that I should expect from him?


Asked on 4/01/09, 7:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

Re: Landlord Responsibilities

If he has agreed to let you out of the lease without mentioning any charges for letting you break the lease terms, then he can not also claim that you failed to give proper notice. He has waived the lease and the required notice. You might be ableto argue that because of the health problems there was a constructive eviction of you as you had to move for health reasons that appear to arise from the house, which is his responsibiity. He had to keep the toilet in good working order and failed to do so. After reasonable notice to him and time t fix the problem, you could have spent up to one months's rent to remedy it. If he does not return your deposit within 21 days after you vacate the premises, which includes returning the keys to him, you can sue him in Small Claims Court for increased damages

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Answered on 4/01/09, 10:31 pm


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