Landlord Won't Provide Painting Services Promised Before Lease Renewal
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: California
If a landlord responds to an email asking if he would accent paint a wall, if we renewed the lease, and he responds, "Yes, I can" (also via email), can he then renege on this promise after we signed in lease because he said, "Yes, I can" and not "Yes, I will" ?
TIA.
Re: Landlord Won't Provide Painting Services Promised Before Lease Renewal
At the outset, the question is, "What are you going to [try to] do about it?" Let's say we establish that the landlord promised to paint the wall -- it's clear that he does not intend to do so. So, you're looking at a wall that is the same color as the other walls in the room, but has all of the functionality you would expect from a wall -- separating areas of the apartment, holding up the roof, separating the outside from the inside. It's certainly not a health or safety issue, it's not a material breach, and it's difficult to quantify actual economic damages.
Further, you have to look at your lease agreement. It's possible that when you signed the renewal, you agreed that there were no promises made between you and the landlord other than those that were included in the lease.
But those impediments aside, I disagree with the notion that the landlord's semantic games could get him out of an enforceable commitment to paint the wall. The intent of the question was clear, and the response was given with an understanding both of what the tenant wanted and with the hope of inspiring the tenant to sign a lease renewal. If all other impediments can be overcome, I would expect a court to find that the landlord promised to paint the wall.