Abandoning apartment, Los Angeles CA (record, landlord, pay, rules)

[oneKilogram]

Dear all, first and foremost thank you for your future input.

Last September I had to move ASAP, so I moved to a first Alright apartment I found. There were dead roached there, but I did not see living ones for the 10 minutes I was in the apartment.

At night, after moving, they began to come out in hundreds. Landlord did not do anything, not eving calling an exterminator. I dealed with them all by myself.

Last month this is what happened:

1) Roaches began to show up again. I kill up to 5 each day. They seem coming from a neighbor below us.

2) Our cooking stove and oven broke all by itself (Old one, came as an amenity for the apartment).

3) Random dude unlocked our door and walked into our apartment, when my sister was home. He said the manager gave him keys to allow him move a couch to apartment across because it did not fit in a narrow hall. Manager refused this statement, saying assistants got the keys. Assistants refused it too. Landlord promised to replace the locks.

4) Smoke detectors are not working.

5) We still have no keys to the gate entrance, landlord did not fix it for a year now, although promised. Anyone can come into the property.

6) Parking gate is broken. For a year now. Homeless people come in.

7) No one cleans the property. Trash bin is overfilled the next day after waste management empties it.


The landlord was notified about points 1, 2, 3, and 4 via a phone, email, and written repair request. The landlord, over email, asured that she will fix these ASAP.

It has been 20 days since she assured us. It has been two weeks after I reminded her again. It has been 9 months of her failing to exterminate roaches. I have all corespondance recorded, including emails.


Los Angeles code says that I may abandon property if a landlord fails within a "reasonable time" to adress any serious issues. I suppose roaches alone is the serious issue, their feces are all over the place.

Can you please help me, what is a reasonable time and what can I do to leave this nightmare of an apartment.

[Ms_Christina]

Insect infestation is not listed in CA Civil Code Sec. 1941.1 but there might be a local ordinance. Read through 1941.1 and see if any other issues can be used. Be sure to follow the rules to a T and have the right paperwork. Or just break your lease, pay the penalty and move on.

[Ms_Christina]

Also, I think 30 days is presumed reasonable. From the date you informed them of the problem IN WRITING!!!!