Evicted Tenant’s Belongings Stolen--Who Pays?

QUESTION: I am writing on behalf of a friend who lives in National City in San Diego County. She was evicted. After the eviction, the landlady kept her stove. All her possessions were removed from the apartment, placed outside, and the neighbors stole everything.

Should she go to Small Claims Court? Also, the cleaning fee wasn’t refunded. What can she do about that?

ANSWER: A cleaning fee is considered a “deposit” under California Civil Code Section 1950.5. If it was not used to clean the apartment, it is refundable. If your friend left the unit clean after the eviction, Small Claims Court is the place to resolve the cleaning fee dispute. Similarly, the stolen stove situation may be resolved in that court.

It may also be the place to resolve the stolen personal property problem. However, the $2,000 limit of the court may make it preferable to sue in Municipal Court. If the owner, who became the “trustee” of your friend’s property after the eviction, placed it outside, she is probably liable for its theft.

Of course, witnesses who will testify in court that they saw her or her agents, removing the property from the unit, will be very helpful. If there are any witnesses who saw the neighbors steal the property and they can identify the culprits, your friend can sue the neighbors as well as the landlady, as well as reporting the thieves to the police.

Landlord Keeps Billing for Smoke Detector

Q: Our Los Angeles landlord has never ceased the $6 a month surcharge for smoke detectors, which were installed 11 years ago. The five other tenants living in the building and I have requested documentation of the amount of the charges and when payment of them would terminate. Instead, all we’ve gotten are annual rent increases.

Here are my questions.

1--Does the landlord have to supply the Rent Stabilization Division with documentation of rent levels? (I have some, not all, canceled checks to prove what they were.)

2--Is the landlord responsible for back payments, including a roll back in the rent because the annual rent increases were based, in part, on the previous $6 surcharges?

3--Does a tenant have any protection against the landlord retaliating against him by claiming he needs the apartment for a relative, because the tenant asserts his rights? (This threat was once made against another tenant here.)

A: I’ll answer your questions as you’ve asked them.

1--No.

2--Probably. According to Barbara Zeidman, director of Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Division (RSD), “Any time an owner overcharges a tenant for rent, we look to the owner to ‘make the tenant whole.’ That is, to restore to the tenant any monies that were collected in error and to stop the illegal act of over-collecting.”

“To proceed,” Zeidman said, “You should first talk to the owner. Ask him to stop collecting the money and return the excess money he has collected. If that doesn’t work, file a complaint with the RSD at (213) 624-RENT. Remind the owner that overcharges can also leave him liable for triple damages under the law.

3--Yes. Retaliatory evictions are illegal under state law, Civil Code Section 1942.5. It prohibits a lessor from taking retaliatory actions against a renter who asserts his rights for up to 180 days.

It says “(a) If the lessor retaliates against the lessee because of the exercise by the lessee of his rights under this chapter or because of his complaint to an appropriate agency as to tenantability of a dwelling, and if the lessee of a dwelling is not in default as to the payment of his rent, the lessor may not recover possession of a dwelling in any action or proceeding, cause the lessee to quit involuntarily, increase the rent, or decrease any services within 180 days.”

Also, under the RSO, the owner must prove “just cause” in order to evict, meaning that a “relative” had better exist.

Tenant Feels Bill for Carpet Cleaning High

Q: On June 30, 1989, I vacated my Covina rental residence, a three-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath house. My gripe is that I believe that my landlord overcharged me on carpet cleaning; $153 for cleaning and an extra $80 to put a Du Pont, Teflon Stainshield on it.

The reason I am complaining is that I lived there for five months, two weeks and two days. I feel that this is “normal wear and tear,” as provided for in Civil Code Section 1950.5. I am thinking of filing a Small Claims Court action. What is your advice? If I want to file, do I have until June 30, 1990, to do so?

A: Civil Code Section 1950.5 says, “(e) The landlord may claim of the security only such amounts as are reasonably necessary to remedy tenant defaults in the payment of rent, to repair damages to the premises caused by the tenant, exclusive of ordinary wear and tear, or to clean the premises, if necessary, upon termination of the tenancy.”

While the code doesn’t precisely define “normal wear and tear,” most Small Claims Court judges have decided that when it comes to carpet, drapes and painting, it’s three years. However, that applies to replacing carpets and drapes and to repainting, not to cleaning or repairing any of them.

This “normal wear and tear” concept does not usually apply to cleaning, especially if the owner can prove that this expense was necessary after only five months. Thus, as for the carpet cleaning, you’re probably out of luck, unless you sue and the owner cannot back up the expense with a receipt or, perhaps, unless the Stainshield wasn’t previously used on the carpet. If you decide to sue, don’t wait until June 30. June 29 is the deadline for filing your action.

Postema is the editor of Apartment Age Magazine, a publication of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, an apartment owners’ service group. Mail your questions of any aspect of apartment living to “Rentformation,” Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90005-3995.