Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: If I Pay my rent, does that mean I accept the conditions of the property.

Dear Inquirer:

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NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

If you are a residential tenant your landlord may be in breach of the warranty of habiltability, which may be an affirmative defense to your non-payment of rent. If you are a commercial the W of H probably does not apply (unless included in your lease). Continued payment of the rent without complaint could be construed as a waiver of the condition.

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Re: If I Pay my rent, does that mean I accept the conditions of the property.

If you pay, I suggest doing so by check marked 'paid under protest.' Separate written notice is also a good idea. You can also withhold rent partially or entirely if the problem is really serious.

A rental dwelling unit must have natural lighting in every room through windows or skylights having an area at least 1/10 of the room's floor area, with a minimum of 12 square feet except for bathrooms, where the minimum is three square feet. The minimum windows in each room must be openable at least halfway for ventilation, unless there is a ventilating fan.

Complete lack of openable windows is probably a serious enough defect to warrant your withholding rent and/or breaking the lease if the problem is not corrected or correctable.

Re: If I Pay my rent, does that mean I accept the conditions of the property.

If you have a 5-year lease, I imagine you are talking about commercial and not residential property. I suggest you take your lease to a real estate attorney promptly and pay for a consultation to determine how you should proceed.