Eviction Notice

**joeyg** · 07-05-2011, 10:08 PM

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: CA

I have an eviction notice from manager, 30 days, for "complaints"

saying that i was screaming (when I wasn't, just regularly talking)
"assaulted" kid, (didn't do, neighbors let kids run around everywhere and kids block my way, try to walk around kid)
making nose at 4am (have to get ready for work, bound to make some noise)
interrupted laundry (person left laundry in machine, needed to use the machine so I moved their clothes)

I believe that the people are consipirying to kick me out, as the manager is off-site. They are littererly complaining about everything! Is there anything I can do?

**CPO_MK** · 07-06-2011, 05:55 PM

Your best bet is to document everything, get witnesses if at all possible to as many of the "complaint" incidents as possible, and file your contest on the eviction prior to the end of the notice.

Given that you are in CA, I have some other questions for you though:

a) Do you have a periodic rental agreement or a lease? If you have a lease, then the landlord must have cause to evict you prior to the end of the lease. It sounds that your landlord has given cause, but this should be a 3-day notice, not a 30-day - check it carefully to ensure you don't accidentally mess yourself up by missing the deadline.

b) For certain issues, such as the "interrupted laundry" - how does the landlord know it was you? Was there someone who saw you move the clothes? Did the person come back to finish their laundry while you were in there doing yours in the same machine? All of this is very subjective.

I would strongly suggest that you document everything, gather any and all witnesses you can, and make sure you contest the eviction with the management prior to the end of the notice (document this as well as their response); ask to see what evidence they have. They might not agree to show you but they'll have to present it in court later if it goes that far. If you miss the deadline on the notice and the landlord proceeds with an unlawful detainer (the actual eviction from the courts), then you will have five calendar days from when you're served with that notice to file your claim with the court. If you file this contest in time, you will be able to remain in the unit until the case is decided by the courts (but I would pay your regular rent into a brand new bank account, used for no other purpose, so you can show good faith on paying the rent).

Keep in mind that in CA, if the landlord accepts rent after a Notice to Quit is issued, the Notice is vacated and a new notice must be issued, thereby starting the clock all over again.

Our office actually very recently (within the past month) dealt with an extremely similar issue, only ours was more complicated as the manager was on-site and it was a HUD-contract building.

**joeyg** · 07-07-2011, 04:09 PM

Quoting CPO_MK

Your best bet is to document everything, get witnesses if at all possible to as many of the "complaint" incidents as possible, and file your contest on the eviction prior to the end of the notice.

Given that you are in CA, I have some other questions for you though:

a) Do you have a periodic rental agreement or a lease? If you have a lease, then the landlord must have cause to evict you prior to the end of the lease. It sounds that your landlord has given cause, but this should be a 3-day notice, not a 30-day - check it carefully to ensure you don't accidentally mess yourself up by missing the deadline.

b) For certain issues, such as the "interrupted laundry" - how does the landlord know it was you? Was there someone who saw you move the clothes? Did the person come back to finish their laundry while you were in there doing yours in the same machine? All of this is very subjective.

I would strongly suggest that you document everything, gather any and all witnesses you can, and make sure you contest the eviction with the management prior to the end of the notice (document this as well as their response); ask to see what evidence they have. They might not agree to show you but they'll have to present it in court later if it goes that far. If you miss the deadline on the notice and the landlord proceeds with an unlawful detainer (the actual eviction from the courts), then you will have five calendar days from when you're served with that notice to file your claim with the court. If you file this contest in time, you will be able to remain in the unit until the case is decided by the courts (but I would pay your regular rent into a brand new bank account, used for no other purpose, so you can show good faith on paying the rent).

Keep in mind that in CA, if the landlord accepts rent after a Notice to Quit is issued, the Notice is vacated and a new notice must be issued, thereby starting the clock all over again.

Our office actually very recently (within the past month) dealt with an extremely similar issue, only ours was more complicated as the manager was on-site and it was a HUD-contract building.

now that i review it, its notice for vacancy (30 days) not eviction. for the similar issue, what was the outcome? I can't really document anything since the complaints were a month ago. what else should i do? the manager seems to side with the complainers and not with me, i figure that is not fair.i dont think i have any lease agreement, i have lived there over 7 years, as soon as these new neighbors moved in they stated to complain about everything. The laundry issue was they left it in the machine, i needed to use the machine, so i moved the laundry out, i know i probably shouldn't have done that, but how is that such a big deal that i get notice of vacancy?

**CPO_MK** · 07-07-2011, 04:15 PM

The 3-day Notice to Quit in our particular instance was issued in April but gave as its cause complaints that had been made back in September. In this case the management waited about a month after the 3-day notice (they did refuse to accept rent) before filing the unlawful detainer. The tenant in this case hired a local tenant advocacy agency - one that takes payment on contingency and works to settle with the management to avoid the expense of a drawn out process and jury trial (though I personally find this particular agency's methods questionable) - who was able to win the case for the tenant at trial. In this situation it was very similar - a group of residents and the On-site manager seemingly conspiring to have the one tenant evicted, lodging false complaints and having selective enforcement of lease provisions and building rules. The tenant has since moved, but of her own accord to be away from the harassment-filled atmosphere, not via eviction.

**joeyg** · 07-11-2011, 01:41 PM

i know that they will contact the old landlord, and the landlord will tell them of all these complaints, how will that impact my ability to rent an apartment?

**CPO_MK** · 07-11-2011, 05:29 PM

It all depends. Most landlords will take these sorts of things on a case-by-case basis; what you can do is "preempt" that phone conversation by telling the prospective manager up-front that there were issues, and that you suspect the complaints made against you were false but have no proof. Some managers might take this as a sign that you're trying to make yourself look like a better tenant that you really are, while some might take it as a sign of openness and honesty that is usually a good thing. Particularly if you have other past landlords they can call that are problem-free, this could actually be a good thing...but it is a case-by-case basis and depends on what your prospective landlord decides is and is not acceptable.