Q and A with Prop West

Q) I have a tenant who locked himself out of his unit. My manager was not home at the time and the tenant was forced to call a locksmith. He has now deducted the cost of the locksmith from his rent. He claims that the resident manager must be available at all times foe this type of situation. Is he permitted to deduct this charge from his rent?

A) Your tenant is incorrect. In California, a resident manager is required where there are 16 or more units on the property. This does not mean that the manager must be present 24 hours a day. It is your tenant who created the problem by locking himself out of the unit and therefore he must be responsible for the cost. I would serve a 3-day notice for the balance owed in the rent.

(taken from AOA magazine; June 2009)

Q and A with Prop West

Q) I have a four unit building in the city of Los Angeles under rent control. It has four parking spaces. One tenant's rental agreement allowes him to use two spaces. This was negotiated before I became the owner. This really hampers me in leasing out one of the units. Is there anything that I can do?

A) You are allowed to change the terms of the tenancy by serving a 30-day notice. In this case you could take away this additional parking space, but you you have to give a corresponding reduction in rent.
Pursuant to the Los Angeles Housing Department guidelines, the reduction is $60-$200 per month depending on the availability of street parking and the local parking structures.

(Taken from AOA News; June 2009)

Q and A with Prop West

Q) I have a tenant that is an up and coming actor. He is having difficulty in paying me rent. He told me that in a few years people will point to my building and say how this famous actor once lived there. What should I do?

A) Tell your "soon to be famous" actor that people will start pointing tomorrow if the rent is not paid.

Serve the tenant a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit and he does not does pay then begin eviction.

(Taken from AOA News; May 2009)

Q and A with Prop West

Q) I have a rent controlled building in Los Angeles. When I bought the building, I got the tenants to sign new rental agreements. My rental agreement limited the parking spaces to one per unit. One tenant is parking two vehicles on the premises. He told me that he has always parked the vehicles on the premises, even before I was the owner. Since he signed my rental agreement, limiting the parking privileges, can I enforce this provision?

A) Your tenant had no obligation to sign the new rental agreement. Since the tenant did sign the new agreement, he must now follow the parking rules or that would be grounds for eviction.

(taken from AOA news; May 2009)