Kitchen sink is cracked; the managers’ request is not

Question: The managers of my apartment building annually inspect to see what items in the apartment need to be fixed, if any. They want to charge me for a new kitchen sink because mine is cracked and had been newly installed when I moved in two years ago. I don’t know how the crack appeared, and it just seems to get larger as time goes on. The other apartments where I lived waited until I moved out before billing me for damages or repairs. For what other repairs might I be liable?

Answer: You are liable for damages that exceed what is defined by the courts as “normal wear and tear.” This is a somewhat nebulous concept. Not all courts agree on the time frames of just what constitutes normal wear and tear.

That said, kitchen sinks are not supposed to crack within the first two years after their installation. A crack in a 2-year-old, ostensibly new, sink -- barring earthquake, meteor or some other reasonable explanation -- goes way beyond normal wear and tear. I can’t conceive of a court seeing it any differently, particularly given that you have no explanation for how it may have happened.

It’s possible that one of your guests damaged the sink and didn’t tell you about it. If so, you are liable for the damage because you are responsible for your guests’ actions.

As for your question about other repairs for which you might be responsible, you are liable for any other damages above and beyond normal wear and tear that you or your guests may have caused during your tenancy.

Rent increase includes garage

Question: I pay $1,250 per month rent for a one-bedroom unit in a Los Angeles duplex, plus $100 per month for the attached garage. My two-year lease is up on Feb. 15.

The new owner wants to renew the lease at $1,417.50, a 5% increase based on $1,350 -- $1,250 rent and $100 for the garage. Can the increase be based on the garage rent as well?

In addition, can the new owner increase the rent in the middle of the month, e.g., effective Feb. 16? The rent is due on the first of the month. When I moved in, I paid the original landlord $625 for the balance of the first month’s rent and $50 for the garage because I started renting in the middle of February 2006.

Answer: I assume that your unit is covered by the rent control law of the city of Los Angeles. Under the annual rent adjustment provision of the law, rents can be increased by 5% (until July 1, at which time the rent increase amount decreases to 3%) if they have not been increased for that purpose during the previous 12 months.

Given the fact that your lease is up -- it has been two years since you had a rent increase, well over 12 months -- and the amount of the increase is 5%, which is legal, this is a legal rent increase.

The timing of the increase is legal as well.

Just as you can move in and pay prorated rent in the middle of the month, you may be assessed a rent increase in the middle of the month at the end of a lease and pay its prorated amount for the first partial month. The rent due date is irrelevant.

As for the garage, it sounds as if it is a part of the rental, meaning that a 5% rent increase for it is also legal.

If that’s the case, you are fortunate.

Here’s why: If the garage were rented on a separate agreement, and not as a part of the overall rental, the owner could raise the rent to its market level, which could well be over 5%.

Kevin Postema, editor of Apartment Age magazine, can be reached at Apartment Age, 621 S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90005. Or e-mail him at aptlifeaagla@aol.com.