Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
My mother is 83 years old and lives alone in the same apartment for 52 years. She is living on social security. I have noticed that there is a old musty odor in her apartment. I suspect that the odor is trapped in the carpet, drapes and walls. The carpeting is about 8 years old. The drapes are about 4 months old and I don't know when the last time was that they painted the walls.
She also has a problem with 1 inch long water roaches that she has had since the building had a water leak in the laundry room. Her apartment is right next to the laundry room but from what I understand the whole building has these bugs. They have sprayed inside the apartment and we have laid traps.
The landlord called me about the odor and said if we don't take care of it he may have to evict her or he will take care of it and charge her. We think he may want her out because he can get a lot more money for the apartment. I think she pays $600-$800 for a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath. He can probably get $1,400-$1,600 per month.
My question is how many years is considered "wear and tear" for carpet and how often should they paint the walls?
Thank you for any help or advice you can give us.
1 Answer from Attorneys
You might want to enlist the assistance of pro bono legal groups such as Bet Tzedek, Public Counsel, or even folks associated with the Claude Pepper Senior Center, and the like. From the facts you've presented, I would tend to agree that the landlord is being unreasonable. As for the odor, it possibly could be abated by a company that does such things, perhaps one that cleans up after fires. There might not be much of a charge. Of course, the landlord should contribute substantially to that cost. As for the roaches (and perhaps the odor), you might call the city/county board of health to inspect. If it cites the landlord, he would have to abate within a short period, and legally he is prevented from evicting because of the complaint to authorities. Good luck.
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