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Just fyi, in CA, if there is work being done to the property that makes the unit uninhabitable, the landlord is NOT required to put the tenant up in a hotel/motel. The landlord IS required to refund the tenant for those day(s) that the unit is uninhabitable. For example, if rent is $900/month (which equates to $30/day) and the unit will be uninhabitable for 2 days, the landlord must give the tenant back $60 of the rent that was paid for that month. The landlord is not responsible for securing any accommodations for the tenant during that time period, they are on their own.
Even with habitability issues, you are allowed to take a reasonable amount of time to get the job fixed. I just gave someone this link earlier today. It says a LL has 30 days normally to fix things in CA, unless it's something severe like no heat in freezing weather. Even if it's a habitability issue.
"What is a reasonable period of time? This depends on the defects and the types of repairs that are needed. The law usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the situation. For example, if the furnace is broken and it's very cold outdoors, two days may be considered reasonable (assuming that a qualified repair person is available within that time period)."
If she chooses to try to repair and deduct, give her a 3 day notice for failure to pay full rent. She may make it really easy to get rid of her. If she was the best tenant in the universe, you might want to fork out dough for a hotel room. But the way you describe her, I can't even imagine what she'll want next. And you are absolutely not required by law to get her a hotel room, considering she'll have water a good part of every day and all evening and night.
Even with habitability issues, you are allowed to take a reasonable amount of time to get the job fixed. I just gave someone this link earlier today. It says a LL has 30 days normally to fix things in CA, unless it's something severe like no heat in freezing weather. Even if it's a habitability issue.
"What is a reasonable period of time? This depends on the defects and the types of repairs that are needed. The law usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the situation. For example, if the furnace is broken and it's very cold outdoors, two days may be considered reasonable (assuming that a qualified repair person is available within that time period)."
If she chooses to try to repair and deduct, give her a 3 day notice for failure to pay full rent. She may make it really easy to get rid of her. If she was the best tenant in the universe, you might want to fork out dough for a hotel room. But the way you describe her, I can't even imagine what she'll want next. And you are absolutely not required by law to get her a hotel room, considering she'll have water a good part of every day and all evening and night.
Agreed, they have a reasonable time to get it done, but I think the main question here is whether or not this repair makes the place uninhabitable. I'm not sure if this repair makes the place uninhabitable or not. It's not like there's a gaping hole in a wall from an errant driver, and it's not being tented for termites (thereby making it unsafe to occupy); those would be valid reasons to claim it is uninhabitable and return the tenant's rent for the day(s) that it is uninhabitable. So I suppose the question is, can the tenants still live there while the work is being done? Will the water be turned on in mornings/evenings for showers/cooking/laundry, or will it be off for pretty much 2 days straight? How much non-plumbing work (drywall, painting, etc.) will there be, and will there be significant dust that could make living there unreasonable or unsafe? Assuming the landlord here is a reasonable person (sounds like they are), they should be able to conclude whether or not to return the tenant's rent for those 2 days.
Even with habitability issues, you are allowed to take a reasonable amount of time to get the job fixed. I just gave someone this link earlier today. It says a LL has 30 days normally to fix things in CA, unless it's something severe like no heat in freezing weather. Even if it's a habitability issue.
"What is a reasonable period of time? This depends on the defects and the types of repairs that are needed. The law usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the situation. For example, if the furnace is broken and it's very cold outdoors, two days may be considered reasonable (assuming that a qualified repair person is available within that time period)."
If she chooses to try to repair and deduct, give her a 3 day notice for failure to pay full rent. She may make it really easy to get rid of her. If she was the best tenant in the universe, you might want to fork out dough for a hotel room. But the way you describe her, I can't even imagine what she'll want next. And you are absolutely not required by law to get her a hotel room, considering she'll have water a good part of every day and all evening and night.
At first I thought she was a good renter with no issues but now I see that's not the case.
1st sentence is why I don't mind doing something like this for my tenants if they are good no complaints pay on time. But none if my tenants have ever had issues with any trades I sent to do anything. I would think a teapnant would be happy to know a LL is taking care of problems. The second sentence I absolutely agree with. At first I thought she was a good tenant but as the story unfolded yeah I wouldn't do much more than tell her that I will refund you the two days worth of rent if you must stay out of the place otherwise deal with it. I'm repairing the place. I would still give her her walking papers because she sounds like a terrible tenant.
After reading stories like this I'm even thinking
My next rental property when it will be available ill do a month to month with a guaranteed 12 month no rent raise. This way if they want to leave give 30 days and if they step out of line and I get complaints I give them 30 days. Then I'm not stuck with them if they turn out to be horrible tenants
After reading stories like this I'm even thinking
My next rental property when it will be available ill do a month to month with a guaranteed 12 month no rent raise. This way if they want to leave give 30 days and if they step out of line and I get complaints I give them 30 days. Then I'm not stuck with them if they turn out to be horrible tenants
We rent our units month to month for this reason - can give a 30 day notice whenever.
At first I thought she was a good renter with no issues but now I see that's not the case.
1st sentence is why I don't mind doing something like this for my tenants if they are good no complaints pay on time. But none if my tenants have ever had issues with any trades I sent to do anything. I would think a teapnant would be happy to know a LL is taking care of problems. The second sentence I absolutely agree with. At first I thought she was a good tenant but as the story unfolded yeah I wouldn't do much more than tell her that I will refund you the two days worth of rent if you must stay out of the place otherwise deal with it. I'm repairing the place. I would still give her her walking papers because she sounds like a terrible tenant.
After reading stories like this I'm even thinking
My next rental property when it will be available ill do a month to month with a guaranteed 12 month no rent raise. This way if they want to leave give 30 days and if they step out of line and I get complaints I give them 30 days. Then I'm not stuck with them if they turn out to be horrible tenants
This is why the owner I work for only does month-to-month. But, my daughter has a one-month lease on her rental, and what we had to do with a whiny tenant was tell them we couldn't afford to do all the upgrades they wanted, but they were welcome to break the lease. Called their bluff. They decided to stay and shut up about ridiculous demands. We told them such and such is not a habitability issue, therefore, we aren't required to fix it, and we're so sorry but we really don't have the cash to fix it, and may have to sell the place if we have to do all that they want done, but if they're not happy - and of course we want them to be happy - they can break the lease with no penalty.
They stayed and shut up.
And we have no problem fixing a real habitability issue, but after paying for electricians because she wanted to plug in a million things at once, and having the tree trimmed in the backyard because the limbs might fall on her 5 pound dog...and lightbulbs exchanged by a maintenance guy ad infinitem, enough was enough. We finally said, look, you've exhausted the money reserves for maintenance, unless it's a dire emergency, so we understand if you want to move...
Don't get them a hotel. If it were me, I'd go to Home Depot and get them a couple cases of water for $3 each and give them $50 off of their rent. End of story, no negotiation. Especially if they're a pain in the butt.
I don't see how this makes the place uninhabitable. Unless I read wrong the water will be back on every night when the plumber goes home? And will be on and off during the day? And its only a 2 day repair? This is inconvenient, not uninhabitable.
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