Hi, I'm a Italian citizen that come for a temporary time to live in California. I rent a month to month furnished apartment in Woodland Hills, in a residential complex.
I had receive a 3 day notice to pay the rent or quit. I do have some questions and I hope someone can help me out, I'm not US citizen or resident, just a tourist, let say, I come in USA for open a new LLC.
Follow my questions:
1) I rent the apartment on my personal name 3 months ago, I gave $1000 cash deposit and first month rent. After I open and registered my new LLC company with the State of California 2 month ago, I asked in oral way the apartments manager to change the lease agreement to a corporate one, for use my company like the tenant.
She first start to make me problems, but after some days she confirmed to me that the lease and the name in them system was switched to my company name and not anymore at my personal name.
The reason I asked her to make that change was of course for tax reason and deductions reasons, my company is a home based company and have like legal address the apartment address I rented from them, like this I will be able to deduct the rent expensive like "office" home one from my USA tax.
2) One month ago they accepted a business company check for pay my rent of $2790 a month. This month they refuse the check and asked me to pay by cash, I do refuse to pay by cash, because I believe that I have all the right to pay my rent using my business check and also because they do accept the month before it without any problem. The check I issued for pay the month before was paid to them without any problem.
3) I was complaining with them about something I discovered just some weeks ago about the apartments complex that no one never told me or my wife, we do have a little child of 21 months, I believe was in our right to know when we rent the apartment, about any healthy or safety problem concerning the private area inside the apartment complex. Like I said nobody said anything about that when we rented the place and or even later. In one of the little back door of the complex that we never used before, stay a sign with the written:
This area inside the apartment complex can give healthy damages, birth defects, pregnancy problems and more, I do not remember the exact phrases but anyway, it's also wrote that the management have informed who rented a apartment about the specific healthy risk... Nobody never inform us, in a oral or written way, they said to go to www.prop65apt.org for specific details. I was on that website and I cannot find anything that give me a answer about which risk me, my wife and my child we can have living here.
Nobody of the management answer to my oral request to have some explanation.
4) This month I was going to pay my rent using a business check like last month, they refuse me it and asked me to paid in cash, I argue with the leasing manager and I said that they don't have any reason to refuse my check and asking me to pay in cash.
I also discovered after I spoke with another manager, that the rent was never switched to corporate to my USA company name like I asked in oral way before, the other manager confirmed me that was!!
I was argue about this too, because for me means to lose money that I can deduct like home business rent expensive from my tax form.
I refuse to pay cash, to pay until they will not change the rent to my company name like I asked 2 month before.
5) I also complained with the management in oral way about the elevator in our building, my wife and child one time they fall down because the elevator was not working correctly, I told the management about that, I also told them that the elevator have a expired temporary permission to run... My child beat her head when she fall in the lift, she had bruises and long head screech, but me and my wife, we didn't take her to hospital because she was seems anyway ok...
6) They serve me a 3 day notice to quit or pay, but they put it on the floor in the front of my apartment door, they never mail to me it or give it directly on my or my wife hands. I do believe that they must mail me it or?
7) They also give to my wife hands 5 days ago a UNLAWFUL DETAINER-EVICTION. The defendant name on it is only mine, not my wife or child.
Was given correctly?
My point is:
I do believe that the management and lease manager when we rent the apartment was need to inform us about any healthy risk when we will decide to live on the complex.
The lease manager told me in oral way that the rent agreement and name on the rent was switched to my company name and be a corporate lease and not private like before, but she lies to me...
The lease manager accept a business check of my company for pay the rent the month before, but she refuse it for the current month rent, asking me to pay ONLY in cash.
The 3 days notice of pay or quit was never mail to me at my apartment address.
I asked them to refund me partial money of the rent because of all this problems above, I refuse to pay cash and they make me lose money because I cannot deduct the rent expensive at my USA LLC home based company.
What I can do for protect myself? I'm not US citizen or resident like I said, I don't know the law and I will really like to have someone can give me some serious advice and help.
I need to answer to the court today 02/07/2011 at the UNLAWFUL DETAINER_EVICTION and I don't have a lawyer...
CAN ANYONE HELP ME?
Thank you in advance
P.S. excuse me for my English

