can a person renting in calif. not pay rent if the landlordfails to fix things such as the stove not working?

Answer 1

Consult a lawyer. But I would imagine you would get evicted pretty quickly.

Answer 2

Normally stop paying rent is not advisable. If you have told the manager/owner about the problem make sure that you document it very carefully.

Put the problem on paper. Inform the owner/manager in the third letter that you will repair the problem with a professional and what ever the professional charge will be taken from the rent.

The main thing is to document the problem with the owner/manager and then a letter telling them you intend to have the problem done by a professional with the repair cost coming out of the next months rent.

The problem is most people confront the landlord/mamager and a yelling match start. Don't get involved in this type of activity, put it to paper and be very professional about it. They will get the message.

I hope this has been of some help to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 3

Yes, but the landlord will file the lawsuit to evict you. At the trial (the Unlawful Detainer proceeding), you will need to demonstrate (with evidence) that you did "pay" your rent via the receipts from the repair person. If the repairs do not exceed the amount of rent and your landlord will not accept the partial rent (prior to the eviction) then you have a problem because a landlord is not obligated to accept a partial rent payment either. I would place the remainder of the rent into a money order to demonstrate to a judge in a legal proceeding that you infact did have the funds to pay the rent and see where the "chips fall."

Answer 4

If you have notifed in writing to your landlord, the conditions of the stove, they have 30 days to comply. Include in the letter if they do not fix it, you will hire someone to fix it and take it from what you would pay in rent. If there is no compliance in 30 days, hire the person to fix it, keep the receipts, with a check of the amount after deduction for the work done to the stove.
My mom is an apartment manager, she gave me this tip for my upstairs bathtub when it flooded my kitchen and ruined my food.
Good luck Hon!

Answer 5

You have to give notice to the landlord that something needs to be fixed. The landlord needs to fix this item in a reasonable amount of time. If he/she fails to do so, then you hire a licensed person to do the job and deduct the repairs from the rent. However, before you do so, I would give the landlord 48 hour notice that you will do so. I would also send a certified letter to the landlord stating that something is broken as soon as you discover it broken.

I am a landlord to a few rentals and a property manager (among other things) in California.

Regards

Answer 6

Of course!!
Those who say no, are obviously not familiar with the law!! (people think they know it all, lol)

You will need to document it and stop paying rent, make the necessary repairs, make a copy of the bill and let him know, you have deducted such amount, due to repairs that were made, make sure you make a copy of the letter, receipts, labor, etc. and send it certified mail, if he trys to throw you out, you'll need to let him know that by law you have the right to take such action and if he doesn't like it, you'll need to go to court, judge will rule on your favor. visit any of the hud, websites under the housing department in California, or www.socrates.com

Answer 7

You sure can... and a landlord can evict a person in Calif for not paying rent. However, by jumping through the proper legal hoops, you can have the work done for you, and stick your landlord with the bill. Feel free to shop around for a really expensive plumber once you've dotted all your "I's and crossed all your "T"s.

Answer 8

First of all you need to realize that all behaviour in real estate transactions are governed by two sets of laws. One is federal and one is the law of the state that you reside in with the municipality that you live in within the state adding more to it. For rentals and in your case, the standards by which the renter and the landlord are measured can be found in California's landlord tenant laws therefore here are the links to your state's laws from our research department and you will be able to research the answer you are looking for directly from the horse's mouth.
LAWS: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html See Chapter 3 of Business & Professions Code for Real Estate.
STATE’S WEB SITE: http://www.dca.ca.gov/
LANDLORD TENANT ACT: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=72145723910+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
Home owner and renter assistance programs: http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/hra/index.html
Real Estate Disclosure requirements: http://www.dre.ca.gov/disclosures.htm
Earth Quake zone disclosures: http://www.consrv.ca.gov/CGS/rghm/ap/disclose.htm
Armed with all this research information I'm sure you can find all the answers that you are looking for and probably some that you were not aware of.
Buena Suerte

Answer 9

In NYC, the courts allow you to take deductions for things that don't work. One month, the landlord owed me money because I had no heat or hot water.

Tell your landlord that you will have the stove repaired and deduct it from your rent or buy a toaster oven and deduct that. Landlords are busy and lazy. I know I am.

Answer 10

i advise you to pay the rent...but document EVERYTHING...take pictures...record phonecalls...and make sure you send in your complaints to your landlord in writing and keep a copy. if they still dont fix anything...consult a lawyer and report him to the housing committee.