Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
lease and new owner
I purchased 50% of a duplex in which tenants currently live in the half I will occupy. Their lease has been fulfille and they are on month-to-month. They claim since the lease was not with me - they do not have to anwer to me. What is my legal position?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: lease and new owner
As an owner, the tenants must deal with you or your attorney. Since the tenants have been in posession for over a year, you can give a 60 day notice unless you are in a rent control city in which the cities rules may apply.
Re: lease and new owner
I agree with my colleagues.
A strong letter from an attorney may help resolve this.
Re: lease and new owner
In buying their unit you fully step into the shoes of the former owner, including that their security deposit should have been turned over to you. If they are not answerable to you then who are they answerable to? The lease was with the legal owner of the unit, which now is you. If they are there without a legally enforceable lease existing, then they would be trespassers. Are they contenting that because you do not have a lease with them that you do not have to supply electricity, etc.
Try to deal with them but you probably are going to need to hire a real estate attorney to get them out.
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