Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I am being targeted by my property owners who have filed an unlawful detainer against me claiming the “owner occupy” just cause eviction but this is months after My unit was found to be uninhabitable due to a major mold finding along w large amounts of asbestos and lead paint findings were discovered forcing me to temp relocate and I was given a good faith letter stating remediation would begin 11/1/20 and be completed 12/15/20. Since then no work has been performed on my rental the conditions are worse which caused me to contact local code enforcement and the lead paint SAFE department to report the issues and have violations with correctable time frames handed out to the owners . After this I began receiving letters from there attorney stating that soon as permits were approved I’d be given a 60 day notice which I informed them tenant laws protect me from retaliation for 180 days after being in contact with government agencies to report the conditions. The owners want possession specifically because the conditions of the unit if exposed and scope of work is followed it would require the Building to be torn down . The owners never did an inspection on my unit prior to purchasing the property “as is” and after paying 4 million for the attached units they have discovered that the black mold has overtaken the attached unit next to me and so on . They’ve removed the insulation from my neighbors unit as well while she is still occupying it is unbelievable whst they are covering up and attempting to evict me so that it will not be ordered to be demoed . I’ve been living at month to month rentals while waiting for them to repair my home of 7 years in the meantime . This is unfair and they are even darker details . Upon gathering evidence to defend myself cause I Cannot afford a lawyer to fight there millions of dollars and top tier legal team , it was discovered that the city code enforcement office never issued any violations when I have documents from December last year verifying the countless amount of violations they discovered upon the investigation i filed which now has the officer under investigation in what appears to be a payoff by the owners to keep the violations from being filed . My court date is next week and I’m afraid they have paid off the judge but I refuse to let these criminals get away with this without standing up to them . Keep in mind I have kept possession to reoccupy once repairs and remediation were finished because it’s my home of 7 years, I Live one block from the boardwalk and beach , my rent is $1450 monthly not the average $2400 and I have a detached one car garage I still access daily as I do construction and I store my equipment and tools in which being evicted illegally would hurt me professionally in addition to losing my home to this attack . Any advice on what I should focus on for my defense would help . I have 100’s of documents and pictures I’m sending in to the court as evidence today as well .

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in California

Looking for something else?