Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Major renovation without prior notice
We have been happy tenants in a
quiet residence for 3 and a half years,
we then decided to renew our lease
for one more year. The day after
renewal, major renovation started in
the residence without any prior
notice. Constant noise, fumes, dust
have seriously altered my wife's
mental and physical condition. She
was recovering from a major spine
surgery and needed adequate rest.
As a consequence of this
compromised recovery, she is still
currently unable to function.
We have complained several times
and they only offered the promise
that it would end soon. We
eventually had to move to a hotel
when they decided to tape all our
windows for 10 days. It all lasted
about a year and despite my wife's
critical condition (all documented by
doctor's letters and records) we
barely managed to finally move.
Is this constructive eviction or breach
of contract?
What would be the best process to
get compensated for all this physical
and emotional distress?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Major renovation without prior notice
Your facts are a bit unclear.
How long were you out? Was it 10 days, or longer? Did management give you compensation when you were out?
When did you move? Was the lease up? Are you complaining about constructive eviction, and/or breach of contract after you already are out?
Did you ever discuss anything with landlord? Did you write landlord a letter explaining this?
I am afraid that if you did what I think you did, you handled everything wrong.
You also need to prove physical damages in most cases, whereas it is almost impossible to be compensated for "emotional distress".
Perhaps you had better e-mail my office, or call, with answers to these questions, because, if your answers are what I think they might be, you have accepted a problem for a year without officially putting the landlord on record about the guaranty that you could quietly enjoy the premises.
Another lawyer might see it differently, but I am afraid (based on what I am assuming from this) that you will recover little, if anything, by filing suit at this point.
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