Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

What is my right for prorated rent when th erental unit is not ready

Myself along with three other roommates signed a lease to move into a rental house on July 1, 2000 However, the agent phoned me on June 30th and ask if I would perform the walk through on Saturday, July 1st. I informed I would be out of town, he reply okay b/c the owner would still be getting the house ready on Saturday. Monday, July 3rd, 2 roommates went to the house and cleaning people were there. On July 5th, the house carpet's were still being cleaned. On July 6th, we all went to the house to perform a walkthrough. July 7th, the walkthrough was performed with agent. Multiple things still needed to be fixed on the house. We moved in on July 11th and myself and the agent agreed that we would be credit 10 days of rent b/c the house was not ready. However, he called me and said that we need to pay for 5 of the credited days because we did not perform the walk through on the 1st. As of right now, July 21st, there is still bags of garbage in the back yard, two doors do not close, fence posts are broken, the dryer is broken. My questions is, should we have to pay the 5 days of rent even though the house was not even ready for the walk through until the 7th and even then there were still many problems?


Asked on 7/21/00, 4:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Barry Jorgensen The Law Office of Barry S. Jorgensen

Re: What is my right for prorated rent when th erental unit is not ready

No you shouldn't. However, a lot will depend on what was agreed to at the actual walk through. If there wasn't anything in writing regarding the clean up and other conditions, you are entitled to a reasonable rebate of rent for periods when the property is not in the agreed upon condition. The key is what was the agreed upon condition and have you waived those conditions.

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Answered on 9/11/00, 10:46 pm


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