Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Landlord's requirement to provide working lock on appartment building door
I live in a 4 story, 10 unit apartment building. It is equipped with a front door locking system that has unit buzzers for each apartment and an intercom system that allows the door to be opened for visitors after determining their identity. The lock is now broken and requires that the door only be pushed to open, allowing access to the public portion of the building by anyone.
What is the legal requirement for the landlord to have this lock fixed? Can I with hold rent (or portion of rent) claiming a security risk to the tenants?
Thank you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Landlord's requirement to provide working lock on appartment building door
The statutory lock requirement is found at section 1941.3 of the Civil Code, and requires the landlord to provide an operable dead bolt lock at "each main swinging door of a dwelling unit." (subpart a-1)
The landlord must also provide locks on the exterior doors that provide ingress or egress to common areas with access to dwelling units in multifamily developments. (subpart a-3).
It is the tenant's responsibility to notify the landlord of a deficiency, after which the landlord has a reasonable time to correct the problem. (subpart b).
The tenant's remedies, set forth in subpart c, include repair-and-deduct. Thirty days after notifying the landlord of the defect, you can bring in your own repair person, pay the bill, and deduct the cost from your rent. See Civil Code section 1942.
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