Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I have been renting a house for 5 years now. In the last year I have asked LL for repairs verbally( no bannister on upstAirs landing, mice infestation, termites swarming in back room,no kind of carpet in bedroom just plywood, LL garbage can full of oil and water to be removed from back fence) all with a promise by LL to fix via email (august/september 2010)acknowledgeing that these need to be repaired.Finally in December 2010, I put it in writing and stated to fix in a timely manner. No response

back in January, so in February, I repair and deducted

for carpet installation and sent receipt and rent reduction. I contacted the city code enforcement on feb 22. They came out on march and found him in violation. I paid full rent on march 4 with again restating the repairs and their unwillingness to resolve these issues. On march 4 LL was sent a letter about violations and on march 8 I had a 60 day notice to vacate. I am current on my rent and owe them nothing.

My questions are:

1- is this a clear defense of retaliation in UD?

2- I am supposed to be out by May 9. I was told to pay full rent in may if fighting UD. I read that if he accepts mays full rent he can't proceed with UD. is this true?

3- should I have a attorney represent me in court or should I just have them help me fill out the response of the UD?

Any advice would be helpful and look forward to all help!

Thanks

1- can this be fought in UD as a retaliation


Asked on 4/14/11, 12:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Gibbs The Gibbs Law Firm, APC

First, nobody on this forum can give you a clear-cut answer that yes this is retaliatory or no, it is not. It certainly has elements of retaliatory eviction, but an attorney would have to sit with you and collect a lot more facts to give you a reliable opinion as to defensibility of an eviction on the basis of retaliation.

Second, no that is not true. The landlord, from your description, appears to be evicting you on the basis of a sixty day notice to terminate your tenancy. That has nothing to do with rent, and in fact, if you did not pay the rent, you now give the landlord grounds to give you a three day notice to pay or quit, and get this into Court that much faster. You must pay rent to even get to the point of attempting to defend an eviction on the grounds that it is retaliatory.

Third, absolutely you need an attorney. Proving up a defense of retaliatory eviction is complex and you cannot rely on the COurt staff to help you fill out the correct forms. Find a local tenant rights attorney - they're out there and you want someone with local knowledge of your courts. Good luck - sounds like you have a really bad landlord!

*Due to the limitations of the LawGuru Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. �528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."

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Answered on 4/21/11, 3:31 pm


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