Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: Theft, invasion, rent pymt,&mail

There is a lot going on with your question, but I don't see an obvious lawsuit here, except maybe against the roommate for stealing your property. There's not a lot you can do about a roommate having visitors at all hours other than move somewhere else if she won't cut it down. Unless the lease in question prohibits such a divider, you can certainly put it back up as long as it doesn't damage the property doing so. Next time the "rude man" comes in and tries to move it, tell him to get out immediately and keep his hands off. If he refuses to leave, call the police and tell them he is trespassing and harrassing you. The mail thing is rather trivial. The property probably just wants to make sure that mail is not given to the wrong people, so authority to distribute the mail internally is limited to certain people. Unless they are holding up mail for a long time, I would just forget about that one.

Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] if you have more questions.

Re: Theft, invasion, rent pymt,&mail

Civil Code �1950 provides:

"� 1950. Letting parts of rooms forbidden

"One who hires part of a room for a dwelling is entitled to the whole of the room, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary; and if a landlord lets a room as a dwelling for more than one family, the person to whom he first lets any part of it is entitled to the possession of the whole room for the term agreed upon, and every tenant in the building, under the same landlord, is relieved from all obligation to pay rent to him while such double letting of any room continues."

I suggest you see a lawyer before taking any action. I have not found any case law applying this statute.