3 day pay or quit after 30 day notice due to crime

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hotpink1st

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California
We live in California and were renting a unit at some duplex style apartments. There had been a string of crimes and multiple people had asked the company to get the cameras working. They refused. We were then broken into and held at gun point while robbed. We were told we would have to give a 30 day notice and pay out the whole 30 days even though we were moving out a week after the incident. I gave notice Dec. 29th and moved out Jan. 3rd of the following month.
We then received a 3 day pay or quit on Jan. 10th, like we do every month, even though they know we don't get paid until the 15th. (The first owners we signed under didn't care but the company who bought the complex started giving us notices monthly.) I informed her we would be choosing to quit per her 3 day pay or quit notice dated Jan. 10th. She is claiming we can't do that because we put in a 30 day and the notice has the prorated amount dated Jan. 28th. The only thing dated the 28th is the rental period listed on the notice. The date of deliver for the 3 day notice is the 20th. From what I understand by sending us a 3 day pay or quit that supersedes the previous arrangement. She stated she will be contacting the companies attorney.

Who is in the right? Aren't they liable for our safety? Can we invoke the quit portion of the 3 day pay or quit?

I can't live there anymore due to not even knowing who did it when they have cameras right outside our door that should have been functioning and its even posted on the front gate that they are functioning.
 
Who is in the right?

Only a court can determine which party acted legally.



Aren't they liable for our safety?



Generally YOU, and YOU alone, are responsible for your safety and your valuables.

The landlord isn't responsible for a home intrusion, armed robbery.



Can we invoke the quit portion of the 3 day pay or quit?


You certainly can vacate (and abandon) your apartment within the next hour.

The three day request to vacate doesn't absolve you of any financial liability that has accrued, or will accrue.
 
Unfortunately you have it wrong.
You have your notice and moved out early. Regardless of moving out early you remain responsible for the rent for those 30 days. You won't get around that.
You apparently received the 3 day notice after the rent was not paid on time. This was the proper thing for them to do since you could potentially return to the residence even though you had left early. No, the 3 day notice does not relieve you of your responsibility to pay the rent for those 30 days. By "quitting" you avoid the eviction process, but not your financial obligation.

Cameras are not required and the company is not responsible for your safety or the protection of your property. There is no guarantee functioning cameras would prevent the crime. Criminal activity is captured on video all the time, and very often that video is insufficient to identify the people involved.

In short, you failed to give proper notice and moved out early. You owe for those 30 days after you have notice- UNLESS the property is rented to someone new during that time and the owner minimizes the loss, in which case you owe a prorated amount.
 
Who is in the right?

Assuming you had a month-to-month lease, you are liable for rent through the period ending 30 days after you gave the 30 day notice (i.e., January 28, 2018).

Aren't they liable for our safety?

As phrased, the answer to this question is no. A landlord is not an insurer or guarantor of its tenants' safety. However, if the landlord failed to act reasonably in light of the known history of criminal activity on the property, it could be liable for damage that could have been prevented had it acted reasonably. If/how that rule might apply to your situation isn't apparent from your post, but the persons who committed a crime against you apparently weren't deterred by the camera(s) that you said are in place even though they had no knowledge that the cameras weren't working. Aside from having some deterrent value, cameras don't prevent crime from happening; they can only aid in investigation after-the-fact, so the lack of functioning cameras caused you no damage.

Can we invoke the quit portion of the 3 day pay or quit?

I'm not really sure what you mean by this, but you can't cut off your liability for rent just because the landlord served a 3-day notice.
 
Glad I didn't listen to all this advice. I talked to someone who does property management and they said I am correct. After the old management contacted her lawyer she changed her tune. They are now going to accept our option to quit which helps us because it takes 12 days off our 30 day notice. I am aware we are still responsible for the rent up until they have keys.
 
I believe they decided it wasn't worth fighting. I broke a lease once with a very nice letter explaining why. Legally they didn't have to let me off the hook but they did.
 
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