Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Hello LawGuru Team,

Perhaps you can assist with an issue regarding my landlord (plus building owner) and my apartment. Please keep in mind that I live in Los Angeles, so rent here is ridiculous. (Sorry, this is a bit long.)

I have lived in this apartment over three years. My landlord just crosses names on the lease and writes over the new ones, so I know that when this lease was first created in 2005, the rent was $1250. When I moved in in 2007, my roommate and I were paying about $1360. In January of 2008, it was up to the current amount of $1408. We actually pay a rent stabilization fee of about $9.35 a year which the Housing Authority of Los Angeles says is perfectly legal. The rent I'm paying for a two bed/two bath+full kitchen is pretty cheap for this neighborhood so normally I'd just shut up and pay it.

The issue is that nothing in our building gets fixed. It often takes a couple requests for things to go through (I once had to call the Housing Authority to get a bad water heater fixed). The main problem, though, is the roof. When I moved in here, I noticed that when it rained, water would trickle down the inside of my window (so did my neighbor). The whole section over the window had to be replaced. They told me they fixed the roof, but they lied. My ceiling now has a foot-long water stain on it. There's a covered walkway outside (the overhang is cement/stucco, an extension of the roof) that drips water and now parts of it have started to crumble and fall. I'm pretty sure the entire thing is rotten. I even got someone's dish network guy to take pictures of the warped roof for me.

Despite my notifications and even giving my landlord a piece that broke off, nothing has happened. I also have had zero response on the light in my kitchen that keeps dying. I find a roach (not in the kitchen) about once every two months in the warm months. The windows and doors are drafty. One of the bathrooms needs to be recaulked. Our repair crew isn't too bright either - I caught one peeing behind the building twice.

In summary, can I withhold rent until the repairs are made? I live in earthquake country, so the weak wood really bothers me.

Sincerely,

Jessie Cohen


Asked on 11/16/10, 10:11 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

California law allows you to without up to one months rent if reasonable notice has been given to the landlord and nothing has been done to effect repairs and you spend the sum you are withholding on doing actual repairs. It sounds as though one month's rent wil not fix al the problems [each tenant can without a month's of their rent]. You need to check whether LA rent control rules allow you to do more and whether you can ask successfully for a rent roll back. Once you know what you are allowed to do, politely tell the landlord that you do not want to take action but he leaves you with no choice unless the repairs are made.

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Answered on 11/22/10, 12:14 am

This doesn't sound like a situation that can be handled through repair and deduct. There are a number of very good (or agressive, depending on which side of the landlord/tenant side you are on) tenants rights organizations in the L.A. area. I suggest you contact one of them for help, since they will be up on all the L.A. specific regulations and agencies. I also would warn against withholding rent without very careful guidance and advice from knowledgeable landlord/tenant advocates, because if it turns out you were not in a proper postion to withhold and follow all necessary stepst to exercise that right, you will be evicted.

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Answered on 11/22/10, 9:14 am


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