Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I live in California. I just rented this house from a property management company. I met the real landlords and they are real nice people, however the property management company is another story. They are very unfriendly and just rude. I had several issues with the air condition and the property management company wasn't helpful at all. I contacted the landlords directly and they came to help me in a matter of hours. They also told me how unhappy they are with the property management company as well. Turns out they also have a "lease" signed with the company for the life of our lease.

There was an incident over the watering of the yard. The property management company hires a gardener who does our gardening and sets the sprinklers etc. In Los Angeles there is a law that says you can only water 2 times a week, and if you go over, you will be fined / pay higher fees. The gardener had set the sprinklers to go on 4 times a week. I warned the property management company that this is illegal on 2 occasions (i have e-mails as proof) I also said that if i do get fined/ penalized, i will not be paying for that amount. They did not do anything regarding the sprinklers.

When i did get the water bill, there was a penalty on it, in the form of tier 2 pricing for more than half of the water consumption, resulting in a $350 water bill. I told the property management company that i will not be paying for the penalty, and they told me i am responsible for the water bill. We went back and forth and they said if i don't pay the full rent, they will start the eviction process. I did the math prior to 10 days of the rent being due and told them to send me a check immediately. Of course, they didn't do anything.

I got really sick of companies like this screwing people over, therefore i deducted about $140 from the rent and sent the check for the remaining amount and wrote on the check RENT IN FULL. Also attached my e-mails with dates warning them of this illegal activity.

They did not deposit that check and just saw it in the mail today (they just sent it back). Rent was due on the 1st. Today is the 3rd.

I am guessing they want to start something. Can anyone give me any advice with my situation? The real landlords seem to be on my side and they are frustrated with the property management company as much as i am, but i am afraid they are scaring the real landlords with legal action etc for them to be on their side.

I can not move out right now, my wife is 8.5 months pregnant and i have a toddler. What can i do?

Thank you in advance.


Asked on 8/03/10, 1:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Brear Law Practice of Scott Irvin Brear

By "real" landlord, do you mean the property owners? Who actually signed the lease: the landlord or the property manager? Usually the property manager acts in the place of the landlord; they are the landlord's agent, but have no ownership interest. You need to decide whether the landlord is hiding behind the property manager's rude authority. If the property manager is acting on his own as you imply, this guy seems to be out of control....with you as one of their victims. You can wait for the property manager to start eviction proceedings (unlawful detainer) on you for failure to pay. You would then have the opportunity to answer back in court. I would expect you would be successful because this is a glaring example of abuse. They must be serious as they did not want to cash your partial check...a sure sign that they are not interested in compromising. They were dead wrong in not abiding by the watering rules. You should have no problem in court as long as you have the documentation you say you have.

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Answered on 8/10/10, 1:08 pm


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