California’s new statewide residential rent and eviction control laws change almost 150 years of legal precedent. The new rent control rules are contained in Civil Code section 1946.2 concerning termination of tenancies which now require “just cause” and Civil Code section 1947.12 concerning limitations on rent increases. Landlords must also be cognizant of additional new
Covid-19: Court is limiting all Evictions Unless the Public Safety is at risk
The current law is only staying evictions or unlawful detainer actions for non-payment of rent. Please read this memo: July 14, 2020 Updated Letter to Clients re COVID-19 – UD
Civil trials will probably be continued until after November 1, 2020 if it is a short matter, e.g. court trial. Jury trials will (may) be
No waiver of jury trial even if willfully disobey Court’s Order re jury trial preparation (Guo Zhang Chen v. Lin (Cal. App. Dep’t Super. Ct., Nov. 14, 2019, No. BV 033055)
Waiver of the right to a jury trial cannot be imposed as a sanction. In a Los Angeles unlawful detainer action, the pro per tenant (who was also pro per on appeal) appeared on the trial date without complying with a Los Angeles County Superior Court Civil Division unlawful detainer standing order. The court found
Late Fees in a 3 day Notice Are almost always unenforceable (Excellent analysis by the Court)
The primary published case is Del Monte Properties & Investments, Inc. v. Dolan (2018) 26 Cal.App.5th Supp. 20, 24. In Del Monte the Court held that the landlord must prove that the actual losses caused by late payment of rent were extremely difficult or impracticable to determine. Moreover, an agreement to the term setting
2019 New Laws for Real Estate Issues
Here is a summary of some of the larger new real estate oriented laws for 2019.
- Landlord Tenant: Evictions – Three Days’ Notice Excludes Holidays and Weekends: When counting a three days’ notice to pay rent or quit or a three days’ notice to perform covenant or quit, or in responding to a complaint
Landlord’s Must Disclose if a CASp Report Exists Civil Code Section 1938 requires commercial landlords to state in every lease executed on or after July 1, 2013, whether the property being leased has been inspected by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp) (Civil Code §1938
January 1, 2017, Civil Code § 1938 was expanded to require:
A Certified Access Specialist (CASp) report can reduce the minimum statutory damages and allow for a stay of the lawsuit pending a mediation session with the court. Effective January 1, 2017, revised Code Section 1938 also requires:
- A commercial property lessor shall state on
Air BNB Update on Short Term Rental in the Los Angeles Area
City of Los Angeles: Technically, short term rentals are currently illegal in Los Angeles. ( (Chen vs. Kraft (2016) LA is slow moving but in April 2018 the City Counsel committee approved a measure to allow short term rentals but CAP the number of days that a primary residence can be rented out to
Court may NOT order answer only after denying a motion to quash service
In denying a motion to quash an unlawful detainer summons, the trial court may not restrict a defendant’s responsive pleading to an answer. Van Butenschoen v. Flaker; Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles – filed Oct. 16, 2017 Cite as 2017 S.O.S. 5258 Full text click here
This makes complete sense because the
Code of Civil Procedure § 12a does NOT extend time to exercise a lease option (Gans v. Smull (2003) 111 Cal.App.4th 985
The general “extension rule” of CCP 12a which does apply to 3 Day Notices, does NOT apply to exercise of lease options. In a commercial lease, the civil procedure rule extending period to perform any lawfully required act past holidays, including Saturday, to next non-holiday did not apply to lease between commercial tenants and landlords, so the tenants’ attempt to exercise lease option was untimely, although last day to exercise option fell on Saturday and tenants attempted to exercise option the following Monday.
Continue Reading Code of Civil Procedure § 12a does NOT extend time to exercise a lease option (Gans v. Smull (2003) 111 Cal.App.4th 985
Increasing Rent for Condos under “rent control” Using Costa Hawkins CC § 1954.50 et seq
While most rental properties in California are NOT under rent control, many cities have rent control ordinances that state two or more dwelling units, including condos, on a lot if built before a certain date are under rent control. For example, Los Angeles’s cut off date for rent control is October 1, 1978, Santa Monica