Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Two people broke in to my apartment thru windows after they got into the outside of apartment passing side gate and cut off screen mesh on 9/5 morning.

They stole my properties and cash in the first floor and saw my roommate in 2nd floor and ran away. I thank God for them running away.

I reported police on that day and reported to management who is actually landlord as well. I requested him to get the window bars and we needed something on side gate and he said he would look into it.

Basically anybody can open the side gate(that in not locked) and it's not difficult to pass over it since it's not really high(abut 4 feet).If someone passes the gate, there is window in 1st floor without any protection. Two guys didn't break the window because i left that opened but they was my roommate at that time.

But, under the circumstance, anybody could get to the window and break it easily and break in. We are all women in my house, we can't sleep at night feeling safe anymore. So, I wanted get the window bar as soon as possible and on 9/10, I asked landlord to have them by this weekend. He said he didn't even start to looking for companies and he didn't decide if he will get window bar or not yet. He said he can't start working on it today, either, and he wouldl do it whenever he gets time to do that and he didn't even promise me to get the window bars.

I told him that I would like to move out, but he said I should pay rent until the contract is expired which is next year. I feel unsafe and can�t sleep well at night since the condition of the apartment is unsecure under current circumstance which is basically open to everybody passing side gate and approach to my window without any shield except the window that be locked.

But the landlord keep saying it the normal condition and it's SECURE environment.

Is this situation could be inhabitable condition?

If not, can I move out apartment with 30 days notice? In agreements, it states anything about early termination.

Or, do i have a right to get the window bar and deduct the amount i paid from next month's rent?

Also, I think there's landlord�s or management's responsibility for the break-in. Can I request compensation for I�ve lost?

Is there any place that I can submit complaint?

Please advise me what i can do.

Thanks.

Jiseon Yun


Asked on 9/11/09, 10:02 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

You certainly want to place a great deal of responsibility on the landlord. Do you feel very many people would be willing to be landlords if they had to make their rental units so secure? Those who stayed in business would of course attempt to increase the monthly rent to cover those addlitional charges. Eventually, it might become cheaper to rent in better part of a city then in the unsafe areas. At that point there would be a glut of tenants despirately looking for a place to live and a mass exodus into the countryside.

A landlord is required to take reasonable steps to make the rental unit acceptably safe in the eye of the average person. He is limited as to how high any fence can be [so the police or fire department can get over it], if he places bars on the windows at least one window per bedroom must have an internal device to spring those bars open [children died in apartment fires because they could not get out], the fire department wants to be able to get through the fence to put out any fire, all lockes can be picked or broken open a silt just depends on how much effort you want to go to [spray CO onto any metal and as it freezes it becomes very brittle], unlike before crimes including murders occur in even very good neighborhoods [see the double killing O J Simpson was tried for], etc.

Some case law has found a landlord responsibile when similar incidents had happened before there, but you have a very weak case against the landlord. Even if you won, what are your damage [fear of crime happening is too common of a situation to justifiy significant damages and based upon what did occur it seems the women in your residence are somewhat over reacting]. And what about your negligence in leaving the window open? Sure it was hot and the breeze coming in felt nice, but had the window been closed the whole break in might never have occurred, as the breacking of glass might alert someone. No attorney will take your case because there is not enough money involved, but the landlord has ilnsurance coverage and they supply him a relatively experienced attorney at no cost and pay the damages up to his policy limits, which likely is in at least the six figures.

I am sorry for what happened and your continued upset, but this is not rural China where the only crime is that committed by the government and its officials.

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Answered on 9/12/09, 12:37 am


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