Los Angeles - House Illegally Rented As A Duplex? (city hall, renter)

[vassargirl]

My naive daughter and her boyfriend were renting the lower half of a house in Los Angeles. The owner claimed it was legal.

Fast forward - a year later and they are moving out. The owner, who is a bully, is holding all their deposit for painting, new carpeting, etc... He knows enough people that he can put together receipts and I'm sure that he'll get away with keeping the entire amount.

When a friend pointed out that the unit was illegal and there was a second kitchen and many other code violations, the owner just laughed and said that they were 'houseguests' who were watching his house since he was gone almost 70% of the time traveling. He also pointed out that there is access from the upstairs to the downstairs unit INSIDE the house. (BTW, they entered from a separate outside entrance to the side of the house.)

Long story long - they've pretty much given up on getting any deposit back but they'd like to at least turn the owner in for code violations and having an illegal unit. The owner, on the other hand, seems like he's got an in with the building inspector and is pretty cocky in thinking that he can't be touched. Worse yet, the owner has the nerve to turn everyone else in the neighborhood in for the smallest infraction.

Any words of wisdom in dealing with the building inspector so that this guy brings everything up to code? He seems like he knows how to work the system...

[misplaced1]

There are sure a lot of posts on city data concerning bringing a place "up to code" AFTER a person moves out.

[vassargirl]

I totally agree - that's why I told my daughter that she's going to EAT the deposit and learn a good lesson in the process. She should have been more careful and now she's paying the price.

Now, how to DEAL with a homeowner who is working the system-

[misplaced1]

Has anyone called the inspectors office and inquired to the requirements for a home to be split into two units and one rented out?

I think the biggest issue here regarding rentals is getting a walk through with photo's and/or video before moving in and a walk through with photo's and/or video on move out.

[CALGUY]

The quickest way to get the ball rolling against the owner is to contact the housing department and ask to see varification of a certificate of occupency.
If the unit is not up too code(and I don't care who the hell the owner knows in city hall) it will Not have a certificate of occupency issued.
With out it, the owner is barred from renting the unit.
The tenants can't recover rent that has been paid, but in small claims they could recover any security deposits paid.
Bob.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by vassargirl

My naive daughter and her boyfriend were renting the lower half of a house in Los Angeles. The owner claimed it was legal.

Fast forward - a year later and they are moving out. The owner, who is a bully, is holding all their deposit for painting, new carpeting, etc... He knows enough people that he can put together receipts and I'm sure that he'll get away with keeping the entire amount.

When a friend pointed out that the unit was illegal and there was a second kitchen and many other code violations, the owner just laughed and said that they were 'houseguests' who were watching his house since he was gone almost 70% of the time traveling. He also pointed out that there is access from the upstairs to the downstairs unit INSIDE the house. (BTW, they entered from a separate outside entrance to the side of the house.)

Long story long - they've pretty much given up on getting any deposit back but they'd like to at least turn the owner in for code violations and having an illegal unit. The owner, on the other hand, seems like he's got an in with the building inspector and is pretty cocky in thinking that he can't be touched. Worse yet, the owner has the nerve to turn everyone else in the neighborhood in for the smallest infraction.

Any words of wisdom in dealing with the building inspector so that this guy brings everything up to code? He seems like he knows how to work the system...

Certainly I do not have an answer for you, but if they have receipts for the rent they paid or cancelled checks, then, yes the can turn him in and I would in a second. If they paid in cash, well let's hope they learned a lesson..


That being said, I too wonder why all these people live in houses they know are illegal and then when they move they want to report the owners..
Nita

[Mr. Mysterious]

Go ahead and call the building inspectors, the city is willing to find any small infractions in terms of housing codes and violations. The city is broke at the moment, so any claims would be just fine.

[vassargirl]

Thanks for the input - I told my daughter that $2,000 is a small price to pay to learn a valuable lesson. She swears she didn't know the unit was illegal, but I told her she should have been more careful. I also passed along the advice about the certificate of occupancy. I'm guessing that the homeowner doesn't have one because he'll just say that the new tenant is a house guest who is watching the place while he travels. Spoke to one of the neighbors when I was helping my daughter move and she said that the guy has been renting out his house like a duplex for over 20 years. In fact, he already has someone else lined up to move in. I'm guessing that this is what's considered a "bootleg duplex?"

If nothing else, I just hope that my daughter can save someone else from going through the same mess...

[JohnG72]

#1.) Sue for the deposit in small claims court. Unless they actually thrashed the place(IE spilled on the carpet and never cleaned it up, destroyed the paint, etc,) they WILL get at least part of the deposit back. If the owner attempts to evade service, I'll serve the jerk for a very small fee and video tape the service(ie he cannot just avoid taking the papers from me) .

#2.) Contact the housing department for the city and report the guy. Inspectors WILL go out there. Go to Untitled Document and click on the link to report a property code violation.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

It seems that the rental was a good deal untill after the renter decided to move. Funny how that happens. I wonder how many of those renters looked the other way when they were getting this good deal? Now things have went south, they were kicked out, moved out, or what ever and the place is suddenly an illegal unit.