Rental Rights Question in Contra Costa County?

[Melly123]

I live in Contra Costa county. I have a 2 bedroom apartment with myself, husband and our 3 children. At the time of move-in we did our walk-thru, went over the lease, signed and gave him the money to move in. A few months went by and we started smelling a horrible smell of urine inour hall closet where our water heater is. We let it go, thinking it was just a minor issue....weeks go by and the smell is worse, I can't stand it anymore so I call our SLUMLORD and notify him of the problem and he said he'd come to check it out. He didn't come that day, or even the next day...he came a week later. He agreed that the smell was in fact cat urine coming from the tenants below us! DISGUSTING!!! So tells us that he was going to talk to them and give them a chance to fix the problem. I know that the smell will not go away unless the carpet is ripped up in both units. However, I started only playing half the rent because this is not okay!!! I have three children here, I cannot even use that area of the apartment. If I open that closet door, the entire unit would reak of cat urine. He has yet to do anything about the problem and it has been about 2 months since we first addressed this.
Today, he called and said if he doesn't receive $200 by this Sunday then we have to get out. We had a verbal agreement that we would pay him in halfs because of this problem. I haven't threatened him with calling a health inspector, city inspector or anything, although I should!

Can he legally do that, and if he does...do we have to be out within those 3 days???

Any advice or knowledge in this area would be greatly appreciated!

[dalais]

can a landlord ask/require a pet deposit 9 years after moving in to the Apartment? Cat was on original application & lease. No pet deposit was required at time of move in Thanks!

[dkpiteg]

We signed a lease back in 2010 and then renewed it in 2011. It ran out in March of 2012. The property itself went into short sale status in November of 2011, and we have been working with the realtor to show the property as needed. The realtor has been a real jerk to us, and kept threatening to get us kicked out if we didn't drop whatever we were doing and rush home to meet with a prospective buyer, or inspector, so that's been real fun.

Our lease ran out in March of 2012 and we have been living there month to month since. We did not sign any type of new lease, or agreement stating we were moving to a month to month status. We just continued to pay rent to the Property Management company on the 1st of the month. Mid June of this year, we were served with a 60 day notice to be out by 8/15/13. Beginning of July, we opted not to pay rent to try and save up for a security deposit for a new place. On Friday 7/12/13 I had a brief discussion with a gentleman who works there and told him of our decision, and then followed up with an email. He told me that even though we were on a month to month basis we could not use our security deposit for last months rent. I told him we hadn't been in a lease for over 16 months, but he said the original lease terms still apply. On Saturday 7/13/13 he served us with a 3 day notice to pay or quit dated 7/12/13.

My question is- we never signed anything stating we were moving over to a month to month status, so do the original lease terms still apply to something that was expired on 3/12/12? And if he's serving us with a 3 day notice, can he date something for Friday, but not give it to us until Saturday, considering we have to respond within 3 days?

My

[beb0p]

Original lease terms applies, that's what a month to month does.

He cannot serve you something today dated yesterday. You can contest on this ground and all it does is make them serve you another notice.

As long as you're living there, you have to pay rent. End of story. And no, deposit is not rent; even though it can be used to cover rent if you default.

If you fail to pay rent, it can dent your credit and affects your chances of landing a new rental.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Yes, the original lease terms still apply, except you are now on a month to month agreement. When a lease is not renewed, you are automatically converted to month to month. Nothing needs to happen in writing for that to be true.

He is correct, you can't use your deposit for your rent. Be sure and pay it. You don't want an unlawful detainer on your record. All he has to do is file the unlawful detainer, and that will show on your eviction report. Doesn't matter if you win in court. Landlords just get a report that shows if an unlawful detainer was filed. You definitely don't want this to happen.

I'm sorry they won't work with you on this. Your only other option, is to go ahead and move immediately. Then, they will take the rent out of the deposit. But, you wouldn't have a reference either - or a good one, anyway.

[Juan415]

Can i sue the landlord if he hasnt fix the bathroom for nearly 2 years ?

[Roman7maria]

so i live in a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment my landlord has not renewed my lease my old lease still has my ex partners name on which he no longer lives there my land lord will not fix anything and if he does he charges me and says it was negligence from tenant i just had an incident where my toilet was filled with water and my bathtub was filled with water too i had informed my landlord and he told me ok we will take care of it next time you know it he sends me a text telling me you owe me 395 for the pluming issue since it was tenants negligence you flushed wipes down the toilet i said that]s impossible my daughter has not been here with us for over 3 weeks and this just happen he said idk but you have to pay mind you he never showed me a receipt or anything saying what the plumbers did or repair also now because of that i have water still leaking from the bottom of my toilet

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Roman7maria

so i live in a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment my landlord has not renewed my lease my old lease still has my ex partners name on which he no longer lives there my land lord will not fix anything and if he does he charges me and says it was negligence from tenant i just had an incident where my toilet was filled with water and my bathtub was filled with water too i had informed my landlord and he told me ok we will take care of it next time you know it he sends me a text telling me you owe me 395 for the pluming issue since it was tenants negligence you flushed wipes down the toilet i said that]s impossible my daughter has not been here with us for over 3 weeks and this just happen he said idk but you have to pay mind you he never showed me a receipt or anything saying what the plumbers did or repair also now because of that i have water still leaking from the bottom of my toilet

That's some sentence.

[charleenearley]

A skunk got under my 950 sq ft house (renting here for 6 yrs). There's a 6" gap where the skunk got in and has been spraying every day since Monday. I've been sleeping in this horrid smell since Monday, it's now Saturday. I told the landlord about the skunk on Monday and how it's smelled up the entire house. My eyes water, difficult to breathe well, headaches, sneezing non-stop, not to mention, all of my clothes, purses, tote bags (I'm a teacher) smell like skunk. The landlord told me to "change the cat box." I told her I change the cat box every day (p.s. the landlord gave me the cats when they were kittens!). By Saturday, my son and daughter-in-law came to visit and couldn't step into the house, the stench was that bad. All 3 of us talked to the landlord (this is no my 2nd time) and she said the problem was mine, because I feed the feral cats on the front porch. I told her that I bring the cat food in each night, so there's no food on my porch at night. Exterminator charges $225 per skunk caught. Landlord said that's on me. So I stayed in a hotel Saturday night ($174.90!). Landlord and her son set a skunk trap. My clothes smell like skunk, my furniture too. What are my rights? Rent is due in 2 days! I've never been late on rent either!