Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
We have been renting our apartment for 2 years. After the first year it went to a month-to-month lease. They decided to charge us for water. They gave us 30 days notice by tacking a note to our door in May. My question is, can they change the terms of the lease without us actually signing an amendment or an additional clause or ANYTHING? We have not signed anything stating that we agree to this and that is our new contract. All we got was the note on the door 30 days ago.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, they can. You can change the terms of a month-to-month tenancy by giving 30-days notice of the change of terms. The tenant's only method of declining the change, other than persuading the landlord to agree to withdraw it, is to move out.
Mr. McCormick is entirely correct. Contracts can be written or oral. After your one year lease expired, you were renting on the basis of a month to month contract. If neither side notifiled the other of any changes in the contract, including moving out, then it renewing for another month term. What your landlords did in May was to tell you that they were willing to renew the contract only if your obligation to pay for the water was added to it. You did not object so you agreed to that change in the new June contract.
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