Subtenant's Rights with Regard to (Purported) Master Tenant
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: California (Alameda County)
This one seems quite complicated -- but I'm sure you landlord/tenant attorneys hear that all the time!
My sister arguably** entered into a one-year lease on a house in Castro Valley, an unincorporated town within Alameda County. The lease allows for up to three people to live in the house. My sister (hereafter "Sis") inherited one presumed subtenant from a prior master tenant and, with the landlord's approval, rented a room to another subtenant. Everyone in the house pays their rent to Sis and she forwards it to the landlord (hereafter "Landlord"). Castro Valley has no rent control ordinance or provision for relocation expenses, as far as I can tell.
**I say that Sis arguably entered into the lease because although she initialed the pages of the lease agreement, she never signed it. Which leads to my first questions: is the lease valid and enforceable? Is Sis a master tenant?
Returning to the tale of woe:
Several months into Sis's tenancy, Landlord informed her that the "inherited" subtenant (hereafter "Trouble") had gone to the zoning board to find out if she was living in an illegal unit. Lo and behold, she is indeed -- and the zoning board has now hit Landlord hard with fines that accrue on a daily basis as long as Trouble continues to live in the unit. Trouble has commenced complaining to Landlord and Sis about mold in the unit (there appears to be none) and about people ostensibly using chemicals in the plumbing which adversely affect her allergies. She also appears to be sending herself certified mail with Landlord's return address on it. That shoe has not yet dropped.
Landlord, who is disabled and lives on a low income, went into panic mode. Landlord informed Sis that Landlord has no reasonable choice but to evict Sis and all of the subtenants so that Landlord can bring the illegal unit up to code. Several days later, Landlord suggested to Sis that Sis break the lease early without penalty rather than allowing herself to be evicted, as an eviction could ruin her credit and her ability to rent elsewhere. Based on Landlord's advice, Sis sent Landlord email stating that she "needs" to break the lease as of December 1st and that she hopes that Landlord will not penalize her. Landlord responded to Sis by email, stating that she "accepts [Sis's] notice"that she is ending the lease. Landlord also advised Sis to inform her subtenants that they must leave the premises by December 1st. Sis has done so, although so far only by email.
Further questions:
-- What rights (if any) does Trouble have against Sis?
--Would Sis be in better shape if she allows herself to be evicted? Can she still do so?
--Does Sis have the right to terminate utilities on December 1st when she vacates the premises?
Both Sis and I would truly appreciate any words of wisdom that you can offer!
Re: Subtenant's Rights with Regard to (Purported) Master Tenant
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zpditenant
**I say that Sis arguably entered into the lease because although she initialed the pages of the lease agreement, she never signed it. Which leads to my first questions: is the lease valid and enforceable? Is Sis a master tenant?
1 - Is the lease valid and enforceable?
Yes, it is. You don't have to sign a contract to have a contract. Initialing a contract is the same as signing.
2 - Is Sis a master tenant?
Probably. Can't guarantee it but if she assumed the duties of a master tenant in accordance with the terms of what she initialed, probably yes.
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zpditenant
Returning to the tale of woe:
Several months into Sis's tenancy, Landlord informed her that the "inherited" subtenant (hereafter "Trouble") had gone to the zoning board to find out if she was living in an illegal unit. Lo and behold, she is indeed -- and the zoning board has now hit Landlord hard with fines that accrue on a daily basis as long as Trouble continues to live in the unit. Trouble has commenced complaining to Landlord and Sis about mold in the unit (there appears to be none) and about people ostensibly using chemicals in the plumbing which adversely affect her allergies. She also appears to be sending herself certified mail with Landlord's return address on it. That shoe has not yet dropped.
Landlord, who is disabled and lives on a low income, went into panic mode. Landlord informed Sis that Landlord has no reasonable choice but to evict Sis and all of the subtenants so that Landlord can bring the illegal unit up to code. Several days later, Landlord suggested to Sis that Sis break the lease early without penalty rather than allowing herself to be evicted, as an eviction could ruin her credit and her ability to rent elsewhere. Based on Landlord's advice, Sis sent Landlord email stating that she "needs" to break the lease as of December 1st and that she hopes that Landlord will not penalize her. Landlord responded to Sis by email, stating that she "accepts [Sis's] notice"that she is ending the lease. Landlord also advised Sis to inform her subtenants that they must leave the premises by December 1st. Sis has done so, although so far only by email.
Further questions:
-- What rights (if any) does Trouble have against Sis?
--Would Sis be in better shape if she allows herself to be evicted? Can she still do so?
--Does Sis have the right to terminate utilities on December 1st when she vacates the premises?
What rights (if any) does Trouble have against Sis?
Under the circumstances and without reading the lease that she initialed, possibly the same rights as she would have against the owner.
--Would Sis be in better shape if she allows herself to be evicted? Can she still do so?
Eviction is bad. Sis has it in writing that the owner releases her from her obligations. Best to go with that.
--Does Sis have the right to terminate utilities on December 1st when she vacates the premises
Sorry, probably not. It's illegal for a landlord to shut off utilities to a tenant. It's not really clear whether Sis is a "sublessor" or not but if the utilities are in her name there could be some fallout. She should arrange to have the owner put the utilities in his name as of 12/1. She does, of course have the option of closing the utilities and hoping the owner steps up. She'll be taking her chances though. No way to predict the result
Re: Subtenant's Rights with Regard to (Purported) Master Tenant
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zpditenant
is the lease valid and enforceable? Is Sis a master tenant?
It's not possible to answer these questions intelligently without reading the lease and knowing all of the relevant facts and circumstances. That said, at least the first question seems to be moot since both the landlord and your sister seem agreeable to a termination of the lease.
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zpditenant
What rights (if any) does Trouble have against Sis?
Nothing in your post suggests any such rights exist. However, it's impossible to be sure about that because it's quite unclear what you meant when you wrote that your sister "inherited one presumed subtenant from a prior master tenant."
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zpditenant
Would Sis be in better shape if she allows herself to be evicted? Can she still do so?
These questions don't raise any legal issue, but I'm sure she can, and I would think it obvious that forcing an eviction would not be a good thing -- especially when the landlord is willing to terminate the lease voluntarily.
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zpditenant
Does Sis have the right to terminate utilities on December 1st when she vacates the premises?
This ties into the baffling reference to an "inherited . . . presumed subtenant," so this question also isn't intelligently answerable without some clarity about that.
Re: Subtenant's Rights with Regard to (Purported) Master Tenant
Thank you for your input! To clarify: my reference to "'presumed' inherited subtenant" was meant to indicate that Trouble had been a resident of the house for 3-4 months before Sis arrived on scene. Trouble used to pay rent to the prior leaseholder. When Sis entered into the lease with Landlord she was told that Trouble was already living there and would pay rent via Sis. The term "presumed" was attached bc I wasn't sure whether Sis was legally considered to be a master tenant and Trouble a subtenant when I drafted the post.