Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Rental payment being refused
i have lived in my apt. for the last 7 years but since i became ill and now recieve ssi(which hasnt effected the rent being paid) my property manager acts as if she want to put me out. she has charged me late fees and repair charges when rent is not late and nothings been repaired. now she is not posting my rent payments and says shes not getting them(i send them confirmation delievery and postal tracking says they are being delievered) i have called fair housing but was told if she wont return their call nothing can be done. but if she begins eviction process to call back. because of the extra cost and time it takes to have money orders traced i plan on opening an escrow account but how or do i notify the manager of the monthly rental payment? are there legal actions i can take against the property manager for the stress her malicious acts are causing me? do i really have to wait until the point of being evicted to arise to be help with this problem?i feel she is planning on trying to evict me by pretending im not making rental payments
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Rental payment being refused
Your landlord may be discriminating against you because of your medical condition or disability. Have you filed a formal complaint with DFEH? You should. Then it would have to investigate, and your landlord would be prevented from retaliating against you for filing the complaint.
It appears that you are doing everything you can to protect yourself regarding paying rent. Perhaps you can contact the owner directly in writing (or have an attorney do so on your behalf) and express to him/her your concerns.
Re: Rental payment being refused
You can sue her, of course, for intentional infliction of emotional distress and harrassment. If your rent is not being accepted you can deposit it under a provision of the Civil Code and notify your landlord, and this will satisfy your obligation to pay rent. You can and should send a written communication complaining of this to the owner of the property. The manager is his or her agent, and as such, the manager's actions are the actions of the owner. Let the owner know you want the situation rectified, but in the absence of a appropriate response, you will sue the owner along with the manager.
You can, of course,hire an attorney to send a letter to the manager and the owner. The letter will require some collection of relevant facts and some research to be effective, and will probably cost you a two or three of hundred dollars. If you have a written rental agreement, and it contains an attorneys fees provision, if there is litigation over the lease and you prevail, you should be able to get most of your attorney fees covered in the judgment.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
