Health or safety concerns? Renters have options
By Alan Pentico
Recent news coverage of the local landlord who has had numerous code compliance complaints filed against him by tenants concerned about health and safety violations is unsettling.
Many of those renters had to wait months or years for the violations to be corrected. But there is clearly no legitimate reason why anyone should be forced to live in substandard conditions. All renters, when faced with an intractable repair issue that affects health or safety, should be aware of their options — because the law is on their side.
California law states that rental units must be “habitable.” That basically means that the unit must be fit for people to live in. To be habitable, an apartment must meet state and local building and health codes related to health and safety.
Some repairs take longer than others, while some necessitate a higher priority. Property owners and renters each have responsibilities for certain kinds of repairs. Cleanliness of a unit, for example, is the responsibility of the tenant. It is the responsibility of the property owner or manager, however, to ensure the property is habitable.
When faced with a habitability issue, renters generally have seven options.
You can:
- Notify your landlord or property manager of needed repairs. Make a call and send a letter. If you send an email, be sure to follow up with a written letter. Make sure to clearly identify yourself and the specific problem, and include the date of the communication.
- Make the repairs yourself (or hire a professional to do it) and deduct the cost from your rent. Exercise this option if you don’t get a response from your landlord within a reasonable amount of time. Legally, you can deduct no more than the amount of one month’s rent. This remedy covers serious conditions that impact health and safety, such as a no hot running water or a gas leak.
- Abandon the unit, if the problem is severe or life threatening. You might consider this remedy if fixing the problem would cost more than one month’s rent. Before you do this, you want to be sure you’ve given the landlord a reasonable amount of time to fix the problem.
- Withhold rent until the repairs are made. To use this method, the defects or cost to repair them must be more serious than would justify use of the above options.
- Seek arbitration or mediation. Some landlord-tenant disputes can be resolved through dispute resolution centers or mediation services. The goal here is to settle disputes without having to resort to the courts.
- File a lawsuit. Depending on the amount of money involved, this would happen in small claims court or Superior Court. Keep in mind that you can sue without first trying any of the above options, but there are issues to consider, including costs and delays.
- Contact your city’s Code Enforcement Division. The city of San Diego suggests you utilize the complex manager, homeowner association, mediation services, or the civil courts to resolve disputes before you go to them. San Diego’s code compliance complaint form can be found sandiego.gov/nccd/report/investigation.shtml.
If you find yourself exercising options 2 – 4 above, remember that you must give the landlord notice in writing. The letter should clearly explain the problem. Don’t forget to sign and date the letter and keep a copy.
The California Department of Consumer Affairs has more information on these options at dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/problems.shtml. For more information on habitability, visit /landlordbook/repairs.shtml.
Remember, no one should ever be forced to live in an uninhabitable rental property. There are several steps you can take. Read your lease and see if repair requests are specifically addressed and what the process entails. If corrective steps are taken, please make sure you document everything. In other words, take the time to make copies of letters, save emails, make copies of checks, etc.
Everyone deserves to live in a safe and clean home. Anything short of that is unacceptable.
— Alan Pentico is executive director of the San Diego County Apartment Association. For more information about them visit sdcaa.com.
Letters
Quiet zone still not quiet years later
I’m still hearing train horns at 2 a.m. [See “Railway ‘Quiet Zone’ still stifled but moving forward,” July 2012, Vol. 13, Issue 7]. I just moved here five months ago and this is awful. When is this going to end? Or is this fully executed now and the railways aren’t following regulations? Who is monitoring this?
—Ell via sandiegodowntownnews.com
A+ on corporate wellness [See “Health, productivity and more” Vol. 16, Issue 3]! Please check out my corporate wellness programs that are evidence-based and have shown amazing results: trusage.com. I’m a FIT member in Solana Beach.
—Dr. Brian Alman via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Homeless need more than homes
Actually, simply providing someone with a home doesn’t help them beyond giving them dignity in their dysfunction [See “Homeless for the Holidays,” Dec. 2014, Vol. 15, Issue 12]. Ask Project 25. They gave people homes, offered them assistance and some of the homeless were still bound to the idea they needed to collect recycling … There needs to be more than merely roofs over heads, there need to be people who can help folks make healthy food choices, think about the future and learn that the old way of life wasn’t necessarily good.
—Edward Anderson, via sandiegodowntownnews.com
When is a park a park?
I love this article and fully support these efforts [See “Downtown Partnership News: Wide-open spaces,” Vol. 16, Issue 3]. Yet, I must respectfully disagree with the sentence, “An empty stretch of grass is not a park.”
I explore natural parks like Tecolote Canyon and Switzer Canyon regularly and not only enjoy, but prefer natural and wild settings as opposed to a developed park, as useful and great as they are.
I would love to see some natural wild space left preserved, not just on the edges, but right in the middle of Downtown as well, if ever possible.
—Chris Forte via sandiegodowntownnews.com
You failed to mention the Piazza Famiglia project in Little Italy:
littleitalysd.com/about/date-street-piazza/
—Melissa Lamoureux via sandiegodowntownnews.com
They love our civic organist
I think you’re fantastic and your talent is second to none [See “Civic Organist News: An introduction to the organ,” Vol. 16, Issue 2]. You make my love of the pipe organ even greater, but I have not been able to see you in live performance. Would you be performing anywhere between Pensacola, Florida and Tallahassee, Florida in 2015?
—Timothy FC, via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Carol, if there were more organists like you, more people would attend organ programs! Plus, anyone who rides is OK in my book.
—Evan Jones via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Carol came to Augusta, Georgia recently and was just fantastic!? Her fingers and feet just danced along the keys and she has a delightful personality. She is an utter joy to watch!
—Fay Clymer, via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Golden West feedback
I stayed at the Golden West in 1996 and 1997 [See “Gaslamp Historical News: The Golden West Hotel,” Vol. 16, Issue 2]. While it did have a certain charm and it provided a roof over my head, I wouldn’t recommend it as a tourist stop. The rooms are substandard and the place is dirty. Some of the residents were in sad shape and in need of help of all kinds. It was in a word a flophouse. San Diego should do something about it if they want to present it to the public as a landmark
—John Nyman, via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Two sides of the taxi coin
Yes, you do speak for all of the taxi drivers in San Diego [See “Editorial: The impact of ride-sharing,” Vol. 16, Issue 2]. I am one of them and they are destroying a business that people like us depend on full time to pay our bills.
The way they are operating is just lame and I can’t believe it. Lawmakers, cops, and sheriffs have continued to just stand by and watch without doing anything.
Once they have over-saturated the market to the point that no one can make money anymore … what then? No one will even want to provide transportation anymore and there are already too many cars on the roads at night with no end in sight because they won’t even cap the number of vehicles that are allowed to operate under these so-called technology network companies.
—Joshua Bishop via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Taxi cabs have been taking advantage of people for too long. I’m glad we finally have an option to get decent transportation for a decent price.
—San Diego Citizen via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Listening to our bodies
Thanks Scott Markey, for touching on a topic that can and does happen to all athletes, yet we all fail to listen to what our bodies are telling us [See “Coping with a fitness layoff,” Vol. 16, Issue 2].
You are also so right about people working out next to me with severe colds and even the flu! They should be home in bed. Nice read, Scott.
—Bill Lavery via sandiegodowntownnews.com
Correction
In our March issue’s cover story, “Repurposed for a purpose,” [Vol. 16, Issue 3], Brennan Hubbell was identified as working for Mooch Exterior Designs. However, Mr. Hubbell works for himself and was charged with the design and installation of the belly-up counters installed around the tree planters. Mooch handled the rest of the outdoor designs. This was an editor oversight and we regret the error.