Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Immediately wrlite a letter to the property manager demanding that she/he has been terminated, must reimburse you all rents collected, must stop collecting any rents. Write all the tenants, with a copy of several documents showing that you are the owner, that the property manager was fired by you on __date, that all rents owed should be paid directly to you, if they are not sure who to send the rent to they should put it into a trust account you have set up, there is no need for them to have any convesations with the ex-manager. Find a new property manager. If the old one is licensed, complain to the the Department overseeing that program. Check to see if the manager owns any property and if there appears to be any equity in it; if so, file a superior court action [you can amend it at any time before defendant is served so it can be a bare minimum] so you can slap a lis pendent on their property. If the total damage are less than $7,500 you can sue instead in Small Claims Court but you can only get a money judgment there.

Although it is normally obtained for other reasons, you should be able to get a restraining order. Below is a short article on restraining orders.

And of course you should contact the police, even though they may do little unless you live where there is a low crime rate. Set up a bank account where the tenants can deposit the rent money and only they can withdraw it. Contact the utility companies and made arrangements for payment. Contact all of the others who are owed and explain the situation to them; stick to the facts so that the manager can not later successful due you for defamation.

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Types of Restraining Orders

Although the rules and names for restraining orders vary in every jurisdiction, there are three common types of restraining orders. The first type of restraining orders is an emergency protective order, which goes into effect immediately. Emergency protective orders usually arise in situations of police responding to domestic violence calls. A police officer can call a judge at any time and request the emergency protective order if the officer feels it is necessary to prevent imminent harm. An emergency protective order only lasts a short amount of time, usually less than a week, and its purpose is to provide protection and give a victim time to apply for a restraining order.

The second type of restraining order is a temporary restraining order, which also lasts only a short period of time, usually less than a month. A temporary restraining order is issued when a victim applies for a restraining order. Its purpose is to provide the victim protection until a hearing can be held and a restraining order can be issued.

Permanent restraining order is the third type of restraining orders and is usually referred to as simply a restraining order. A permanent restraining order can be issued once a hearing has been held, and it can be in effect for up to a set number of years in some jurisdictions. Permanent restraining orders can be renewed or extended if the victim is still in danger of being subjected to abusive or harassing behavior when the order expires.

Obtaining a Restraining Order

The procedure for obtaining a restraining order starts with filling out the necessary paperwork. The requisite forms can usually be obtained from the local courthouse or online. Many shelters and domestic abuse prevention organizations also have the forms accessible for the public. The forms will require the victim to provide personal information, including a specific description of the abusive or harassing behavior for which the victim is seeking protection. Once the forms are completed, the victim should take an ID and identification about the abuse or harasser to the local courthouse. The court clerk will take the forms to a judge, who will decide whether or not to issue a temporary restraining order until a hearing can be held. After the temporary restraining order decision has been made a court date will be set for a hearing on the permanent restraining order.

After the hearing date has been set, the victim must arrange for service of process to give the abuser legally compliant notice of the hearing and serve them the proper legal documents. In order to be granted a restraining order, at the hearing the victim will have to prove that the abuser or harasser has committed abusive or harassing acts, and that the victim needs protection.

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Mr. Shers is right that you must send letters to the property manager and your tenants immediately, terminating the manager and notifying the tenants not to pay them rent. If the tenants have any doubt that the manager is just a manager and not the owner, you will need to include proof of ownership. Then tell them that they must pay rents to you and payment to the manager could result in eviction (make it polite but clear). If the manager is a resident manager you may also want to begin an unlawful detainer action against them to get them off the property. As for the rest of his advice it is pretty far off base. You certainly don't need to go to the trouble and expense of a restraining order unless the tenants ignore your letter and keep paying this manager. I can't for the life of me figure out why it matters if the property manager owns property to whether you sue them for what they have done. You definitely cannot put a lis pendens on the manager's property. That would set you up for being sued for slander of title and abuse of process. As for what else you SHOULD do, that is hard to say without more facts. You definitely need to take back management of the property, which means contacting all the utilities, your lender if any, and anyone else who has been sending bills to the manager and will expect payment now from you. Then you have to go after the manager for embezzlement. Exactly what you need to do and what your options are, however, will depend on the details of your employment arrangement with the manager, how much they made off with, etc. I have an office in downtown San Jose, and would be happy to give you a free half hour consultation to go over the details and discuss your options.