Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Retaliatory Eviction Question

It is absolutely retaliatory. If she tries to evict you, then, you can defend the case on those grounds. If successful, she can't try to remove you for another 180 days. We can help defend you if she files eviction papers. Contact us to discuss in further detail. Good luck and thanks for inquiring.

Re: Retaliatory Eviction Question

Paste this link into your browser and it will take you to the California landlord tenant law. Riverside County cannot de-liberalize these rules. They essentially apply state wide.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=88112719735+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve.

Your friend is right. It is an unlawful retaliatory eviction for the landlord to evict you for demanding that he makes repairs that are his obligation to make.

In fact, if you are really fed up, you have a right to make repairs each month (not to exceed one month's rent), and deduct them from that month's rent. It's all spelled out in there.

So, if your landlord wants to play hardball this way, here's what you can do back. Send him a certified letter stating that his eviction notice is legally ineffective and constitutes an unlawful attempt at retaliatory eviction and you will not comply with it, and will hold him liable for damages and attorneys' fees if he tries to evict you. Then, renew your demand for repairs, and tell him if he does not soon make them, you will hire people to make them and deduct it from the rent to the extent allowed by law. Don't try to deduct your own time for fixing things yourself. Hire people. If you can figure out the relevant Civil Code sections, cite them chapter and verse.

Let me know how you make out. I am interested to know if this gets him not only to back off, but to start making repairs. It really should.

You can e-mail me at [email protected] if you would like assistance in drafting such a letter to your landlord. Frankly, it would be more persuasive to him if it came from a lawyer.

Although I now practice in Georgia, I have been a member of the California Bar since 1979, so your question was referred to me.

Good luck.

Re: Retaliatory Eviction Question

Last week the California Supreme Court decided this very issue. It now appears that your landlord may evict you, even if it is in retaliation for you complaining about problems. A letter to your landlord will do you no good. So this defense will no longer work in an unlawful detainer (note that it usually did not work before the Supreme Court's decision, anyway). However, you still may have a right to sue your landlord for money after you move out; but I usually recommend these types of lawsuits be brought in small claims court. My recommendation to you is to move out before time is up, otherwise you will probably get an unlawful detainer judgment on your credit report and no one will rent to you. If you think I am anti-tenant, then read some of my other posts and you will see that this is not the case. And you might want to inform the other attorney who told you otherwise to get current on the law.