Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

My landlord came in unannounced to my apartment yesterday with prospective tenants for next year.

Thus, he violated the following terms and agreements of our lease agreement:

A) Tenant agrees to allow Landlord entrance and inspection of the premises during business hours and upon NO LESS THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE, without Tenant's presence, for any lawful purpose.

B) Landlord reserves the right to show Tenant units in the SHP to incoming Student Tenants normally during the hours, Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm, with PROPER ADVANCE NOTICE TO THE TENANT.

According to the lease agreement, "This Rental Agreement and the attachments hereto constitute the entire agreement between the parties. There are no oral or written representations or agreements made by Tenant or Landlord which supersede or modify this Agreement. In the event any provision of this Agreement shall be deemed illegal or unenforceable, it shall not void this contract, or any provision thereof. The balance of the terms and conditions herein shall remain in full force and effect. ANY VIOLATION TO THE LEASE AGREEMENT IS SUBJECT TO FINE."

Can I demand monetary compensation from my landlord? What legal rights do I have? Please advise me!


Asked on 2/14/12, 5:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Probably not. The language ANY VIOLATION TO THE LEASE AGREEMENT IS SUBJECT TO FINE is probably not enforceable, inasmuch as fines are exacted by the public for violation of criminal (and traffic) laws, not by private parties for breach of lease. Further, while the landlord has breached the lease AND has probably violated Civil Code section 1954 requiring reasonable prior notice for a landlord entry, a successful lawsuit requires the injured party (you) to plead and prove monetary damages in order to be awarded damages. When your harm is limited to having unexpected guests for 10 minutes or so, it's ordinarily pretty hard to prove damages sufficient to cover the cost of filing suit. However, if you are really P.O.'ed about this, you could file a small-claims action for $100 or so and see what happens. Ordinarily, I'd say you have a right to be upset, but crowding the courts with a suit (and deflating your wallet with the suit's expenses) is not a real rational response.

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Answered on 2/14/12, 6:23 pm


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