Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabrrita
Stop wasting your time with her as she has no idea what she is doing.
She probably can not evict you for non payment as she can not prove you did not pay rent. It is not on you to prove you paid but on her to prove you didn't. CA requires that a receipt for payments be provided when asked. CA aso has specific laws governing when a landlord can ask for cash only payments and based on what you stated, she did not have the legal right to demand cash only payments. So, not only did sjhe demand cash in violation of law, she also refused receipts as required under the law. In cases like this, judges normally will go on the long standing principal that you can't prove payment because the landlrod is the one who refused to provide the proof, therefor, her violating the laws puts the burden on her to prove you didn't pay. If you can show you have paid cash in the past, (and yes, the landlord admitting you paid your rent in the past is proof), its the landlord who has to convince a judge that you actually did not pay.
Want to add, I'm not even sure a judge will hear thre case if you can show the landlrod demanded cash in violation of the law.
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To
ArcticWolves: I read all the way through this thread and this last post by Rabrrita is the direction I am leaning on this. The following describes my opinion on all of this.
The 3-day notice passing does not mean you will immediately get dinged on your credit rating, especially when you are sure you have already paid. See additional comments below regarding eviction.
Looking to see what the California Consumer Affairs publications says about this
Landlord/Tenant Book Index - California Department of Consumer Affairs
I verified Rabrrita's comments here
California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs that the landlord violated the law by requiring you to pay in cash and refusing to provide you a receipt.
Quote:
Check or Cash? The landlord or landlord's agent normally cannot require you to pay rent in cash. However, the landlord or agent can require you to pay rent in cash if, within the last three months, you have paid the landlord or agent with a check that has been dishonored by the bank. (A dishonored check is one that the bank returns without paying because you stopped payment on it or because your account did not have enough money in it.)
In order to require you to pay rent in cash, the landlord must first give you a written notice stating that your check was dishonored and that you must pay cash for the period of time stated by the landlord. This period cannot be more than three months after you:
- ordered the bank to stop payment on the check, or
- attempted to pay with a check that the bank returned to the landlord because of insufficient funds in your account.
The landlord must attach a copy of the dishonored check to the notice. If the notice changes the terms of your rental agreement, the landlord must give you the proper amount of advance notice (see Before You Agree to Rent).107
...
Obtaining receipts for rent payments
If you pay your rent in cash or with a money order, you should ask your landlord for a signed and dated receipt. Legally, you are entitled to a written receipt whenever you pay your rent.109 If you pay with a check, you can use the canceled check as a receipt. Keep the receipts or canceled checks so that you will have records of your payments in case of a dispute.
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If you have any witnesses, such as other tenants, who can testify that the landlord required you (or you all) to pay in cash and provided no receipts, you have a legal case against her for violating the law.
I believe that the landlords actions you have described, offering to rescind the 3-day notice then refusing to do so after you balked at the language where it required you to agree you had not paid the rent, when it was actually the landlords obligation to have provided you with receipts; could be considered retaliation. Retaliation by the landlord is also frowned upon under the law and is described here:
California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs
Quote:
... the landlord's action is said to be retaliatory because the landlord is punishing the tenant for the tenant's exercise of a legal right. The law offers tenants protection from retaliatory eviction and other retaliatory acts.338 The law infers (assumes) that the landlord has a retaliatory motive if the landlord seeks to evict the tenant (or takes other retaliatory action) within six months after the tenant has exercised any of the following tenant rights:339
...
A tenant can also assert retaliation as a defense to eviction if the tenant has lawfully organized or participated in a tenants' organization or protest, or has lawfully exercised any other legal right. In these circumstances, the tenant must prove that he or she engaged in the protected activity, and that the landlord’s conduct was retaliatory.342
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Eviction: The 3 day notice is just the beginning of a long process that must be exercised in order to evict a tenant, described here:
California Tenants - California Department of Consumer Affairs Read this all very carefully, you will see that you have additional time and oppourtunity to respond to this action. You really should consider getting legal assistance in responding to this landlords actions. You have rights here that are being abused and that you should assert.
A 3 day notice must also meet very specific requirements as described in that link above. If the notice does not fully comply then it is not valid. It also appears that a 3 day notice is probably invalid if the landlord has required cash payments and cannot produce a receipt for them.
I think the landlord is on really thin ice here and you can use that to leverage your position.
If I were you I would write the landlord a letter and deliver it while a witness you trust is present and another copy by certified mail. The letter should say something along the lines of:
1. you disagree with and dispute her assertion that you did not pay the rent;
2. that you are certain you did pay the rent on x-x-x day and remind her of anything you can recall about what transpired when you did so;
3. that you cannot produce a receipt for the rent because she has demanded since you started renting here that the rent must be paid in cash; which you now understand is a violation of the landlord tenant laws in CA;
4. and that she has refused to provide you with a receipt for your rent payments for all of the preceding months; which you also now understand is another violation of the landlord tenant laws in CA;
5. that you believe her offer to have you to signing a statement rescinding the 3 day notice, only if you agreed to the false statement that you had not paid the rent, was coercion and an unfair use of her authority over you as landlord;
6. that you believe her rescinding that 3 day notice, when you refused to agree to the false statement you had not paid the rent, was retaliatory, which another violation of the landlord tenant laws;
7. Round 5: that you are giving her 30 days notice that you will be vacating your tenancy here because her harassment has made living here intolerable; that you have already paid this months rent and do not intend to pay it again;
8. That if she continues to make life more difficult for you in regard to this tenancy that you will sue her for any and all damages resulting from this forced relocation and her illegal actions and that you will also be requesting punitive damages.
You might be able to find some legal assistance here
Landlord/Tenant Book - California Department of Consumer Affairs I do recommend you consult with an attorney as soon as possible if you can afford one.
P.S. I would probably plan to sue the landlord when it is all said and done, just for the aggravation and expense you will have gone through with all of this.
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