Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Slander and Retaliatory Actions
We wrote an article about our maintenance problems in our college newspaper (that does not mention his name, company, or our address and our owner is making threats. We signed a 2 bdrm, 2 ba lease 2 yrs ago. We got a 1 bdrm, 1 ba that the owner then turned into a 2 bdrm by taking a room from the next-door unit.
This past Dec we learned that the electrical wiring in the ''2nd bedroom'' was never rerouted to our unit. We filed a maintenance request and got no answer. We had been model tenants, always paying our rent on time, no loud parties. Yesterday 2 guys showed up to change the wiring. They said they were done and then came back today, again without notifying us.
Our owner accused us of slander. He claimed that the other tenants have complained to him that we should be evicted. He also says that I never turned in our applications prior to signing a lease.
I don't think he has a case against us, but I would like to know what I can say to him in our defense should he threaten us again. Since moving in we have all gotten the impression that he is trying to take advantage of us because we are college students with no place else to go.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Slander and Retaliatory Actions
Truth is a complete defense to slander.
If you can prove that what you wrote is true, there is nothing he can do.
Is there a rent control ordinance where you live? It could be that he has violated some of the rules.
The fact that you never turned in an application does not make the lease invalid. If he signed the lease without the application, that is his problem.
If he keeps hastling you, tell him that you are going to get a restraining order, or sue him for damages caused by his failure allow you quiet enjoyment of your leasehold.
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