Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
warranty of habitability
At the 4 plex I rent, two front units keep their garbage cans (2 regular cans & 4 recycle cans) against the only exposed wall in the 4 parking space lot & the back units, one of them mine, keep the garbage cans in a fenced in area at the front of the property. Someone keeps dumping garbage on the ground & around my garbage cans, causing it to be impossible to remove my cans for pick up day. I am 50 with a bad back & can not lift these enormous cans up & over all the garbage. I requested that the prop. mgmt company remove the garbage so I can get to my cans, which are just about over flowing, two separate times. I got a phone message from the prop. mgr stating there was no violation of warranty of habitability & they weren't going to clean the mess. I was also told that if I did it & deducted the costs from my rent, it would still carry as a balance due. My rent increases next month in order to bring the unit up to market rents, as stated in the lease, but there is a non working light in the garage, the carpets need to be replaced & the bath & kitchen cabinets are literally peeling. Shouldn't all of this be repaired prior to increasing the rent? Isn't the landlord supposed to be responsible for keeping the common areas clean?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: warranty of habitability
You ask several questions. Yes, management needs to keep the common area clean; since you have told them several times that you could not empty your can because of someone else's garbage, they should have done so. Ask your neighbor who has the cans in front if you could trade spaces on a can for can basis. If not, ask management to assign you a space you can get to.
Whether it is a violation of the duty of habitability is not so clear, but probably is. But it is a violation of the health and safety laws [the garbage men might actually support you because it makes their job more difficult] and even though management did not cause it, once they have notice of it they must clean it up within a reasonable period of time. Tell the manager what your physical situation is and that you see only a few limited choices, one of which is to report him to the local public entity, the other is to hire a neighborhood kid to take the garbage out for you and charge it against your rent. I doubt very much that they would give you a three day notice [the judge would side with you], but they might give you a thirty day notice that the lease is up and you have to move. You have to guess whether the cost of paying the kid is worth the trouble management might cause you.
I have to break off now but will try to answer in a day or two the rest of your
questions.
Re: warranty of habitability
I agree with Mr. Shers' excellent answer as to the garbage.
You should writer a letter regarding the non-working light in the garage.
As to the carpets, and the cabinets, it would depend as to what the condition was when you moved in, and provisions in the lease. While normally management is responsible for normal wear and tear, if you accepted it in less than perfect condition, and there is nothing in the lease regarding this, you cannot complain. It sounds like you are being very picky, and would drive a landlord crazy, I doubt you would get any sympathy from a judge. Live with it, and stop complaining, unless problems are serious.
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