Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: landlord/tennant housing

No. The landlord cannot legally evict you because you report the problems. Frankly, you may very well be able to stop paying rent until the issues are addressed and remedied. Many times under similar circumstances, people in your situation can write the landlord, give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to fix the problems, and if the landlord fails to do so, pay for the repairs themselves and withhold rent until the amount paid out is reimbursed. But when you write the landlord, be sure to send it CERTIFIED MAIL WITH RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED. There is absolutely no reason you need to settle for such horible conditions. In your letter, be sure to list each item that needs to be repaired and say that if he/she fails to begin addressing the problems within 10 days (and complete all the repairs within 30 days), you will withhold rent and remedy the problems yourself. He/she cannot evict you without being liable for what is known as RETALITORY EVICTION.

Re: landlord/tennant housing

I have to add onto Mr. Wilson's reply to your post. Though legally the landlord would almost certainly be found liable for retaliatory eviction if he evicted you for complaining, you need to be aware of the practical side of this. If you complain, there is a good chance that the landlord will give you notice terminating your tenancy. I assume given the length of time you have lived there, you are a month-to-month tenant, and as such, the landlord can generally terminate your tenancy on 60 days notice. Again, he's probably doing it in retaliation for your complaint, but he can do it, and force you to defend an unlawful detainer lawsuit. If the suit is properly defended, you will likely win, but it means having to take time off work to defend the lawsuit, and cost of filing responsive pleadings with the court, etc...

I'm not suggesting that you should roll over and let him do this to you - to the contrary, it sounds like you are living in a hell-hole. I would suggest an alternative to Attorney Wilson's advice, or at least a modification. First, call legal aid for the county in which you live before you do anything. Also do some research and see if you can find any non-profit housing advocacy groups, or other sources of some free legal advice. See if you can get a referral to an attorney who will work with you to resolve this. Its important that whatever you do, you do it properly so you do not open the door for this guy to make your life any more miserable than it is. You should pursue the issues of habitability - the place sounds entirely inhabitable. You should pursue all of the rights you may have, but given the description of your situation, a more practical solution is to find a new place to live and move on. I hate to say that, but pursuing your remedies will take a lot of work and a lot of time, and it doesn't sound like you have either. See what you can do about finding a new place, and get out of that horrible situation.

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