Protecting Tenant Rights during an Eviction
The majority of people living in Los Angeles do not own homes because of the high cost of ownership. It makes the majority of these people renters, and they make up 64% of the population. Very few tenants know their rights, which makes landlords take advantage of and violate these rights.
The state of California is working hard to build affordable housing, but this is not something that can happen overnight. A short term solution is required, and the recently established Assembly Bill 1482 will help limit rent increase to 5%. Also, another bill AB 1481 has been drafted, and it will require landlords to provide proof or cause before evicting clients.
Every tenant has the right to live in a clean, livable home and where rents are not hiked without any reason. There are many recent stories of rent strikes where tenants feel that the units they are living in are not worth the amount they are asked to pay. Due to that, Assembly Bill 1482 and the AB1481 are meant to protect renters from inflated rents and prevent tenants from being evicted without a good reason respectively.
Eviction in Los Angeles
Cases of removal in LA are very many, considering that it is highly populated. The process of eviction can be very stressful, especially for the tenants who don’t know their rights. A lot of legal measures have been put in place to protect such tenants.
One of the laws that protect tenants in California includes the California Civil Code 1946 which states that a tenant who has resided in an apartment for more than a year will not receive a notice of fewer than 60 days for ending tenancy from the landlord. It means if your landlord wants to evict you, he or she must give you more than sixty days to prepare to terminate the tenancy. Below are some of the state laws that provide a more in-depth insight into the eviction laws:
- Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO)
According to LAMC Section 151.09, a tenant should not be evicted without notice of between 30- 60 days. However, this is under the Los Angeles municipal code, which slightly differs from California laws.
The first difference is that under the California law (Civil Code Section 827), renters should get a 30-day notice for a rent increase of an amount not above 10% and a 60-day notice for a rent increment of above 10%. On the other hand, LAMC Section 151.07. A.6 states that a landlord can only increase the rent by 3% annually.
On the issue of ending or terminating the tenancy, Civil Code Section 1946 of California law allows a landlord to give tenants that have resided in a unit for less than a year at least a 30-day notice. However, with the LAMC Section 151.09, a landlord is prohibited from evicting a tenant who has resided for less than a year.
For tenants who have resided for more than a year, the Civil Code Section 1946.1 allows a landlord to give a notice of not less than 60 days. LAMC Section 151.09, however, does not permit this too.
- Just Cause in Los Angeles Evictions
To make homes affordable to renters, the rent stabilization ordinance (RSO) has put a Cap on the amount landlords can increase the rent. The landlord also has a set of rules that they must strictly adhere to when evicting a tenant. Just cause eviction includes failure to pay rent to the landlord, renter committing or permitting property damage or illegal drug activity, tenant refusal to sign a new less contract, tenant denying landlord access to the house for purposes of conducting repairs and if the renter is an unauthorized subtenant.
Other reasons why the landlord can evict you is if they want to occupy the unit that you reside in if the grandchildren, children or the parents of the landlord wish to hold the apartment and a resident manager wants to live in the unit you are residing. Keep in mind that your unit is a haven and to feel safe you need to have a peace of mind which can only happen if you know your rights and understand the laws under the rent stabilization ordinance.
The Basic Eviction Process
In California, if a renter fails to pay rent or fails to adhere to the terms of the lease contract, the tenancy can be terminated and the person evicted. However, for eviction to occur, the due process must be followed.
First, the landlord must establish grounds for the eviction. He or she should file a lawsuit against the renter, which is called unlawful detainer action. However, before presenting the wrongful detainer action, the landlord must notify the tenant that he or she dead something wrong that might lead to eviction.
If a tenant is late on rent payment, the landlord can give a three-day notice for the amount to be made or for the tenant to quit. According to Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. 1161(2), if the notice is not honored and the rent is not paid, or the person doesn’t move out within three days, the landlord can file for an unlawful detainer action.
When a tenant receives notice of rental agreement violation and fails to act, the landlord can go to the superior court in the county where the unit in question is located and file a suit. The process begins by the landlord filing a complaint which contains factual information or reasons why the eviction should be done and a request to the court to evict the tenant. The claim must also ask the court to pass judgment to the renter for failure to pay rent.
Then the court writes to the tenant through summons a notice requesting the renter to file a written response to the court within a specific period. The landlord serves the complaint and calls to the renter and then submits a proof of service to show that the papers were served to the tenant. The process of unlawful detainer action might take a month which might seem long for a landlord who has gone for a long time without pay, but you should be warned not to send additional notices because they will open a new case.
After being served, you should file a response within five working days. Failure to do so means you have defaulted and the clerk of the court will set a date for the hearing where the landlord will provide enough evidence to prove that you defaulted. It means you will lose the case hence a good reason to respond in time.
The plaintiff or the respondent might request for a court date, which is often set between 10-20 days after the request. The tenant must appear in the trial to increase the chances of a better ruling. If there is an objection by the tenant, the landlord must respond to these objections first, but if the tenant files an answer, the case goes directly to trial.
If the ruling after the trial is in favor of the plaintiff, the court will issue a Writ of Possession. It allows the sheriff to visit the unit and lock out the renter in case he or she fails to move out five days after the ruling. Moreover, the court might order the tenant to pay unpaid rent and other court fees.
Don’t let your rights be violated during the eviction. Always make sure that during the evacuation, the landlord has a Writ of Possession from the court and that the sheriff is present at the time of ejection. Without these two conditions, you should file a suit against the landlord for violating your rights but first, consider consulting a Los Angeles eviction Attorney for guidance.
Tenants Deserve a Right to Counsel for Eviction
Some renters become homeless, whereas they were wrongfully evicted, especially when they can’t hire a Los Angeles Eviction attorney. Something must be done to protect the right to counsel of these tenants because it will be much cheaper to get them an attorney than to help them after they have become homeless.
The city council of LA is considering creating a program that will keep poor tenants in their homes by funding their legal representation when facing eviction and hiring lawyers to represent them. Although something is being done to reduce homelessness, more and more families are thrown out due to evacuation or skyrocketing rents.
Advocating for taxpayer-funded attorneys is going to improve tenant representation significantly and will see to it that their rights are protected. In most eviction lawsuits, the plaintiffs who are the landlords have a California eviction attorney representation, but the renters don’t which means tenants aren’t protected from wrongful eviction.
85% of tenants facing unlawful detainer action show up without legal counsel, and a number of them don’t even file a written response or show up at all in court meaning they have defaulted the case. The ruling in such cases goes in favor of the plaintiff which means even though the RSO laws are implemented, they don’t help most of the tenants since they don’t have help to understand and enforce them.
Just like in New York, Los Angeles should provide taxpayer-funded attorneys to ensure tenant protection laws are enacted. NGO’s try advising struggling tenants, but often this doesn’t help a lot since they can only help a few leaving a more substantial percentage out.
In a place like New York where they enacted the Right to Counsel law for poor or low-income renters in 2017, the evictions dropped by 11% between 2017 and 2018 in areas where the law was enacted. In places where it wasn’t adopted, the deportations increased by 2%. Among those who found legal representation, 84% remained in their homes, which shows most people are evicted because they are not legally represented.
Introducing the same program in Los Angeles by funding the existing legal aid groups will help, to a great extent, low-income renters since they will not pay to get an attorney. High-income earners would, however, have to pay for these services. With counsel for eviction, landlords who take advantage of tenants or violate their rights because they don’t understand their rights were being forced to honor these rights.
What is Wrongful Eviction in Los Angeles?
A large percentage of tenants who are wrongfully evicted are those who are highly vulnerable. The majority reside in low-income units or housing, and once they are displaced from their homes, it becomes tough for them because they don’t have the money to get them back on their feet. A tenant or renter will qualify for wrongful eviction if:
- The landlord sends threat
If the landlord verbally threatens to harm or intimidates you to the extent you decide to vacate the property that qualifies as a wrongful conviction.
- The landlord shuts off your utilities
You cannot live in a home without water or electricity. Some landlords use this technique of shutting essential services in a unit like water and power to evict you. When these utilities lack, tenants vacate their illegal units.
- The landlord fails to serve you with a notice
Every landlord in California should give a notification to the renter before eviction. It will, therefore, be wrong for a landlord to come out of nowhere and ask you to leave the property without prior notice.
- The locks for your unit are changed
Some residential managers change the locks of tenants without giving notice or waiting for the notice period to expire. When your locks are changed without a Writ of Possession or the presence of a sheriff, then you should report to the authorities or seek guidance from a Los Angeles Eviction Attorney.
- Landlord removes belongings from your unit
In a legal eviction where the court has issued a Writ of Possession, the landlord must wait for at least fifteen days before disposes of your belongings. It is against the law to get rid of the tenant’s item before the period provided by the court lapses.
What Tenants Should do After Being Wrongfully Evicted
Eviction is not the same as relocating since relocating is exciting. Being evicted, on the other hand, is stressful, especially for those renters that are economically disadvantaged. Don’t let landlords take violate your rights, contact eviction attorney for support.
Experienced eviction attorneys have much experience, and their fees are on a contingency basis. It means you don’t pay until they win the case, and if you lose, they don’t get any money.
Defenses for Eviction Cases
If you are facing an unlawful detainer action, you can argue to justify fighting the eviction. The first defense for such a case is if your landlord attempted self-help eviction. It is illegal eviction, and it occurs when the landlord fails to fail complaints with the court and instead decides to displace you out of the unit.
According to Cal. Civ. Code 789.3, a tenant can sue the landlord for attempted self-help eviction. You are changing of locks and shutting off utilities and the most common tactics used in self-help eviction. If your landlord happens to do one of these things, don’t be afraid to go to the authorities and even file a lawsuit.
Landlord evicts tenant improperly is the next defense. In the California Code, specific guidelines and rules have been put in place which landlords must follow during the eviction process. If the procedure of eviction is not followed to the letter, then the evacuation is termed invalid.
The procedure of eviction should include sending the tenant a notice of non-rent payment to a tenant. The announcement is for requesting the renter to clear the pending rent within three days or vacate the home. If a landlord goes to court directly without giving you the notice first, then the case will be thrown out because it didn’t follow the due process.
Again, if the tenant pays the rent in full within the period of the notice, then the case is not supposed to proceed according to Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. 1161(2). With a stamped receipt of payment from the landlord, the tenant shouldn’t worry even if the landlord decides to continue pursuing the case.
According to Cal. Civ. Code 1941, 1941.1 and 1941.3, the landlord is required to maintain the rental unit according to the standards set by the California state. If these standards are not fully adhered to, one can withhold rent according to Civ. Code 1992. In case he or she decides to proceed with filing a lawsuit, your defense should be the landlord failed to maintain the property.
One can also defend themselves according to the federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it unlawful for a landlord to discriminate against tenants based on race, gender, religion, disability, or age. When a landlord uses any of these to try and evict you, you can use discrimination as your defense.
Finally, it is good to acknowledge that the state of California is doing a lot to ensure affordable and proper housing in Los Angeles, which has the highest number of eviction cases. In addition to this, they should enact more laws to protect tenants and create programs that will ensure tentants understand their eviction rights to reduce homelessness and wrongful eviction.
