Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Is this legal and can I collect previous charges?

I am living in an apartment building of five units. For the last five years, I had been living in the front apartment until my landlord wanted to inhabit the space. I am now living upstairs. When I was living downstairs, the property management company told me that I had to pay for the tenants studio apartment behind us. It used to be connected to our apartment, but they built a wall and made it a studio. I have always thought it was strange that we had to be the one to pay for someone else's electricity. Upon renting the apartment, they said they would pay for our hot water in exchange for paying for the other tenants electricity. Upon moving upstairs, I learned that each unit pays for their hot water- so we were not getting a discount. Is this legal? If not, would I still be able to try and collect a percentage of the amount I paid even though I am now living upstairs? Also, now that I am living upstairs, I am paying for outside lighting that is on a timer which I have no control of. Shouldn't the landlord be responsible for this electric charge?


Asked on 1/21/03, 5:08 pm

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

Re: Is this legal and can I collect previous charges?

I'm not sure I follow your discussion of the facts perfectly, but here's a general principle to keep in mind. The landlord and the tenant can agree to almost any terms they choose. The only restrictions on lease terms are things like excessive deposits, waiver of right to sue for negligence, and a few more things of this type are void because they violate public policy.

In my opinion, an arrangement where one tenant paid another's electric bill would be perfectly OK provided it was fully disclosed in advance. It doesn't even have to be 'fair;' it just has to be a provision you've negotiated and agreed upon. For a relevant statute, see Civil Code section 1940.9.

If, on the other hand, the electrical hookup was not disclosed to you, or if the cost were knowingly misrepresented, that would be fraud and you could sue and perhaps recover.

There may be local ordinances in some cities requiring each unit to have a separate electric meter. This is not the case in general.

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Answered on 1/21/03, 5:56 pm


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