California Civil Code 1942 states that if a landlord doesn't make necessary repairs to keep the rented property habitable then the tenant can either "repair and deduct" or use the "abandonment" remedy.
In my case I have apparently several electrical circuits that are having under-voltage and over-voltage issues. When checked with a multimeter they have read as low as 40 VAC and as high as 210 VAC. Sometimes they have read a normal voltage of 120 VAC. These circuits have "smoked" 3 musical amplifiers and an internet router. At first I thought the issue was with the equipment, but after different equipment was damaged in different outlets, I started some basic troubleshooting and realized that the issue is common throughout half the house. The lights in the bathrooms flicker from time to time, sometimes for hours and then sometimes act normal for hours. Sometimes the voltage is so low that the lights will not illuminate. I am concerned that the over-voltages may actually cause a fire so I double checked my fire alarms to ensure they were operating properly.
There are other habitability issues with the house that fall under the nuisance catergory, such as a front door that will not stay closed unless I use a dead-bolt. In other words it will blow open with the wind unless it is locked.
Also the flooring transitions are improperly installed and/or missing. This has caused my kids to step on floor tacks and hurt their feet with small pricks and snag their socks and stub their toes.
Lastly, it is assumed there has been a squirrel infestation in the attic and garage (according to the pest control guys based off the feces found in the garage). There is a dead animal smell in the living room coat closet. The property manager sent over pest control guy who masked the smell, but they are not allowed by their company policy to go into the attic to actually do anything about the presumed critters. Maybe these are the cause of the electrical problem?
While I understand that I have the option to "repair and deduct" if I meet the requirements, I can also move out under the "abandonment" remedy if the problem meets the qualifications below and I am entitled to prorated last months rent and full deposit refund.
1. The defects must be serious and directly related to the tenant's health and safety.
2. The tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair.
3. The tenant must inform the landlord, either orally or in writing, of the repairs that are needed.
4. The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the needed repairs.
"The law usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the circumstances. For example, if tree roots block the main sewer drain and none of the toilets or drains work, a reasonable period might be as little as one or two days."
So finally the question.....
Based on the issues that I have listed, what would be a reasonable period of time for the land lord or property manager to make the repairs?
Additionally I have listed some additional information below and would like your opinion on whether I have a solid case to protect myself if I simply move out, request a final inspection and my pro-rated rent and deposit back, and submit a letter of notification of my termination of the lease to the property manager based on the California Civil Code of 1942. I know it could go to court, but will I win? Keep in mind the law states that oral or written notification of the maintenance repairs may be given, which we gave basically as soon as we moved in (within 5 days since the walkthrough paperwork was due within 5 days of moving in) so the letter I sent yesterday is simply another notification of the issues as we already notified him about during the walkthrough.
I believe these issues to be within the scope of health and safety as described in the California Civil Code 1942. I entered a work order for the electrical problem using the property managements web based work order interface. Under priority I put "very high priority," the highest other than emergency. We followed up with a phone call the next morning to ensure it was received. We were told that the owner was a licensed electrician and the property manager needed to call him. He would get back to us by 1 pm. We received no return call at 1 pm. I submitted written notice to the landlord via email at 8pm regarding all the issues I listed above as Health and Safety. At 11pm (now over 24 hours) the property manager states that he will have an electrician come out tomorrow and told us to submit the other issues into the web based interface for maintenance requests. At best, I am guessing that the electrician will come out mid-day tomorrow and the problem could be resolved by the end of the day, but I think most likely the problem will consist of weeks of troubleshooting and repair. Also I have pictures on my cell phone of me putting the multimeter in the outlets and readings of 40VAC and 210VAC. While not certified I was an aircraft electrician in the Army so I know how to use a multimeter to test voltage.
The infestation issue has been on-going since we moved in and noted on the walkthrough. While it has been addressed the smell is not fixed, its only being masked. Since the pest control people cannot go in the attic, I believe the property manager is required to hire someone else to get to the bottom of this in a reasonable amount of time?
The front door not latching was also mentioned on the walk through and noted on the paperwork. When asked about it, the property manager told my wife that the owner said it would require drilling another hole for a new door latch and that he wasn't going to do it. It may be hard for me to prove in court that we specifically asked to have it repaired since the request was made verbally.
The flooring transitions were also noted on the walkthrough paperwork, but I have no proof or recollection of specifically asking to have it repaired until now. Although the property manager did assure us that he would work on the long list of repairs that we listed on the walkthrough.
Wow, thanks for reading this super long post. I know the devil is in the details so I tried to provide many!
In my case I have apparently several electrical circuits that are having under-voltage and over-voltage issues. When checked with a multimeter they have read as low as 40 VAC and as high as 210 VAC. Sometimes they have read a normal voltage of 120 VAC. These circuits have "smoked" 3 musical amplifiers and an internet router. At first I thought the issue was with the equipment, but after different equipment was damaged in different outlets, I started some basic troubleshooting and realized that the issue is common throughout half the house. The lights in the bathrooms flicker from time to time, sometimes for hours and then sometimes act normal for hours. Sometimes the voltage is so low that the lights will not illuminate. I am concerned that the over-voltages may actually cause a fire so I double checked my fire alarms to ensure they were operating properly.
There are other habitability issues with the house that fall under the nuisance catergory, such as a front door that will not stay closed unless I use a dead-bolt. In other words it will blow open with the wind unless it is locked.
Also the flooring transitions are improperly installed and/or missing. This has caused my kids to step on floor tacks and hurt their feet with small pricks and snag their socks and stub their toes.
Lastly, it is assumed there has been a squirrel infestation in the attic and garage (according to the pest control guys based off the feces found in the garage). There is a dead animal smell in the living room coat closet. The property manager sent over pest control guy who masked the smell, but they are not allowed by their company policy to go into the attic to actually do anything about the presumed critters. Maybe these are the cause of the electrical problem?
While I understand that I have the option to "repair and deduct" if I meet the requirements, I can also move out under the "abandonment" remedy if the problem meets the qualifications below and I am entitled to prorated last months rent and full deposit refund.
1. The defects must be serious and directly related to the tenant's health and safety.
2. The tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair.
3. The tenant must inform the landlord, either orally or in writing, of the repairs that are needed.
4. The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the needed repairs.
"The law usually considers 30 days to be reasonable, but a shorter period may be considered reasonable, depending on the circumstances. For example, if tree roots block the main sewer drain and none of the toilets or drains work, a reasonable period might be as little as one or two days."
So finally the question.....
Based on the issues that I have listed, what would be a reasonable period of time for the land lord or property manager to make the repairs?
Additionally I have listed some additional information below and would like your opinion on whether I have a solid case to protect myself if I simply move out, request a final inspection and my pro-rated rent and deposit back, and submit a letter of notification of my termination of the lease to the property manager based on the California Civil Code of 1942. I know it could go to court, but will I win? Keep in mind the law states that oral or written notification of the maintenance repairs may be given, which we gave basically as soon as we moved in (within 5 days since the walkthrough paperwork was due within 5 days of moving in) so the letter I sent yesterday is simply another notification of the issues as we already notified him about during the walkthrough.
I believe these issues to be within the scope of health and safety as described in the California Civil Code 1942. I entered a work order for the electrical problem using the property managements web based work order interface. Under priority I put "very high priority," the highest other than emergency. We followed up with a phone call the next morning to ensure it was received. We were told that the owner was a licensed electrician and the property manager needed to call him. He would get back to us by 1 pm. We received no return call at 1 pm. I submitted written notice to the landlord via email at 8pm regarding all the issues I listed above as Health and Safety. At 11pm (now over 24 hours) the property manager states that he will have an electrician come out tomorrow and told us to submit the other issues into the web based interface for maintenance requests. At best, I am guessing that the electrician will come out mid-day tomorrow and the problem could be resolved by the end of the day, but I think most likely the problem will consist of weeks of troubleshooting and repair. Also I have pictures on my cell phone of me putting the multimeter in the outlets and readings of 40VAC and 210VAC. While not certified I was an aircraft electrician in the Army so I know how to use a multimeter to test voltage.
The infestation issue has been on-going since we moved in and noted on the walkthrough. While it has been addressed the smell is not fixed, its only being masked. Since the pest control people cannot go in the attic, I believe the property manager is required to hire someone else to get to the bottom of this in a reasonable amount of time?
The front door not latching was also mentioned on the walk through and noted on the paperwork. When asked about it, the property manager told my wife that the owner said it would require drilling another hole for a new door latch and that he wasn't going to do it. It may be hard for me to prove in court that we specifically asked to have it repaired since the request was made verbally.
The flooring transitions were also noted on the walkthrough paperwork, but I have no proof or recollection of specifically asking to have it repaired until now. Although the property manager did assure us that he would work on the long list of repairs that we listed on the walkthrough.
Wow, thanks for reading this super long post. I know the devil is in the details so I tried to provide many!
