Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

rental repair

our tenants are 8 weeks from ending

their lease. there is a repair issue in

the main shower that requires the

shower be replaced. we would like to

replace the flooring and vanity as

well. tenants are displeased at the

disruption in their home (the project

will take 1-2 weeks depending on

tenant cooperation). it would be

much more costly for us to split

improvements into two job bids. are

we allowed to make the

improvements, or only the repair?


Asked on 3/09/07, 3:05 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Richard Gee

Re: rental repair

You should check your lease, but generally, yes you can do the improvement. There may be a rent abatement issue depending on the language of your lease.

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Answered on 3/09/07, 3:41 pm
Daniel Harrison Berger Harrison, APC

Re: rental repair

Assuming there are no lease provisions discussing this issue, then it really depends on what is "reasonable". If the improvements are not much more than what the repair would be, then it's probably reasonable to perform the improvements. If the improvements are more extensive (not simply by a little bit), and not necessary, then it's likely not so reasonable. Your penalty would be a loss in some percentage of rent (if the tenants knew their rights and enforced them). Or, the tenants could argue that you breached the lease by failing to provide them with quiet enjoyment of their premises (which is a more complicated scenario). If you have further questions about the quiet enjoyment issue, or anything else, feel free to email or call.

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Answered on 3/09/07, 10:52 pm


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