Illegal Room rental (Los Angeles, Sacramento: apartment, renter, lawyer)

[amchin007]

I rented a room from two people. I signed a lease and made a deposit. I now found out the room is illegal to live in because its a fire hazard. There are no windows in the attic space and the only way to exit the room is from the hatch. I put in my 30 days notice but after discovering the room is unsafe to live in I have moved into a different place with proper fire escapes. I would like to recoup the cost of this months rent since I am no longer living there due to the fact that the room is unsafe. Do I have an legal ground in CA and if so what are the codes determining this. If I was unaware of the hazardous nature of this room can I get my rent for this month back. Am I being unreasonable?

[jerblaine]

Ok I am in the same situation. You should not have moved out. If you stay there then they owe you relocation fee which is 6,810 dollars. Move back!! you really didnt move out.

Stay there and file the complaint and take it to court.


You just have to prove it is illegal and prove that you live there. I have my court case March 11 :-)

[Christine Joan]

Here are a couple of government agencies that might be a good place to start your search for answers:

Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs
500 West Temple Street, Room B-96
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2706
(213) 974-1452
(800) 593-8222

Department of Consumer Affairs
1625 North Market Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 445-1254 TDD (916) 322-1700
(800) 952-5210 TDD (800) 326-2297

California Civil Code section 1941.1 lists some of the main issues that make a rental unit uninhabitable. Section 1942 allows a tenant to use self-help (including move out) if the tenant first gives the landlord notice and the problem isn't fixed. However, your problem is that the place should not have been rented to you in the first place. As the poster mentions above, I have heard that there are situations where a landlord has to pay a tenant's relocation costs; however, I am not familiar with the laws that compel that result. I think the lawyers or paralegals at the Consumer Affairs offices will be able to help you find out what your rights are in this situation.


If all else fails, take the landlord to small claims court and ask for your money back (and the costs you incurred from having to move out because the rental unit was not habitable).

None of this is legal advice, so please consult a private lawyer or one at a governmental agency that is experienced in landlord/tenant law. Good luck to you.

[the one]

thats pretty greedy. looks like you just want a pay day. i would suggest asking for your money back and if they refuse then seek legal avenues. im sure once you tell them that its illegal and unsafe they will give it back. a lond lord does not want to lose the potential rent of that unit/crawl space. it would kinda be like hush money that belongs to you anyways. its just leverage to use against them. but dont be greedy. this relocation fees...looks like someone is looking for a pay day.

[Christine Joan]

Moving can be very expensive, I can't even begin to imagine how angry I would be if I moved into a place and gave them rent and a deposit and then leanred that the apartment was not habitable and that I had to move again.

I don't know that a small claims court would award moving costs, but it seems like in this situation, if a renter is being forced to move again because the landlord did not deliver what was promised: a habitable dwelling, moving expenses are a legitimate expense that was caused by the landlord's failure to deliver the habitable dwelling that was promised. At least, I believe that California law recognizes an implied warranty of habitability when a landlord rents a place. It did not seem to me, when I suggested that asking for moving costs too, was being greedy. Had the landlord provided a habitable dwelling, the renter would not have had to move and incur moving expenses. It seemed to me that the cost of the move was caused by the landlord's breach of the warranty of habitability and a legitimate cost to be reimbursed.

However, I highly suggest that the renter seek legal advice, either from a lawyer experienced in landlord tenant law or from a governmental agency that deals with landlord/tenant issues.

Also, the renter can probably call the fire department in the local area and get a list of the California statutory and municipal code sections that were violated by the landlord.

[BreaOC]

The following link will take you to the California Tenant/Landlord handbook. It will show you what rights you have as a renter- California Tenant/Landlord Handbook (broken link)

[BreaOC]

For whatever reason my link doesn't seem to be working, so we'll try it again Landlord/Tenant Book Index - California Department of Consumer Affairs

[Vetsrock]

Originally Posted by the one

thats pretty greedy. looks like you just want a pay day. i would suggest asking for your money back and if they refuse then seek legal avenues. im sure once you tell them that its illegal and unsafe they will give it back. a lond lord does not want to lose the potential rent of that unit/crawl space. it would kinda be like hush money that belongs to you anyways. its just leverage to use against them. but don't be greedy. this relocation fees...looks like someone is looking for a pay day.

Wow. Really. That sounds just like something a landlord would say. Illegal dwellings are illegal for a reason. 1 they are not safe and 2 they charge more for a place than what is it worth Ie. single family dwelling divided in to more units on a single family zoned lot. the zoning, permits, inspections and such are to make sure the place is safe. The Law in most states says that a tenant should contact health and safety. you think hush money weighs more than the life of another tenant or injury thereof. The landlord here was ripping off the tenant in the first place with no regaurd for their safety and you suggest they be able to continue and that the tenant suck up their cost to move with a back alley agreement. Wow. I believe under the law they are the tenant does not have to continue to pay rent once the city finds code violations, the landlord has to pay a moving fee that gets higher when the tenant is senior or disabled and the tenant can claim rent already paid. the lease becomes void once the city offices find the dwelling to be illegal.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by Vetsrock

Wow. Really.

Just a note: you are responding to a post from 2008. See date in the upper left corner of posts