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  1. #1

    Default Can Live-in Owner Terminate a Lease for Turning Off Thermostat

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

    My lady and I are renting a room in a five bedroom house. We have been here approximately three months and have been nothing short of considerate, reasonable, and on-time with our rent payments. The owner of the house, who also lives here, has been a "friend"/acquaintance of ours over the past ten years. It was a good setup as the rent for our apartment had increased $500 (Bay Area) and we needed something as a transition into another place of our own.

    Things were going fairly smoothly, until my lady brought up a few items to the owner to look at. Among other things, the refrigerator is not making ice properly and the water pressure on the kitchen faucet is almost nonexistent. There has also been a major ant infestation that is still unresolved after months. Upon being presented with these issues, he angrily snapped back and an argument ensued. He claimed that she complains too much, none of his other tenants ever complained that much, and that these issues are all normal and he doesn't need to do anything about them. He has also sent a strange, longwinded email to all of tenants about not driving over his front lawn when backing out, because the HOA will then charge him landscaping fees, though none of us actually have done so. In fact, the lawn is simply in poor condition because he doesn't water it or maintain it properly. Go figure.

    It reached a boiling point recently when he turned the thermostat on quite high at night because he gets cold easily. She then turned it off in the middle of the night as it was beyond hot in the house. Once again, he angrily confronted her and this time, threatened her with termination of our lease if she does that again. Rather than it being reasonably discussed as adults towards an amenable solution, he is making .

    It is plainly obvious to anyone reading that the owner is acting completely inappropriately. My question, however, is two fold:

    1. Does he or does he not have a responsibility to fix the items mentioned above?

    2. Can he actually terminate our lease agreement from the thermostat being turned off because the house is way too hot to sleep in? She had already asked politely, but unsuccessfully, before this if he could not put it up so high. He declined her request. She had also tried turning on a fan, but the tenant in the next room complained about the fan noise.

    Thank you for your insight.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    16,474

    Default Re: Can Live-in Owner Terminate Lease for Turning Off Thermostat

    I am sorry, but turning off the thermostat in a home where you are renting a room is quite improper in my opinion. If its too hot, and the noise from a fan won't do, then open a window. Or, with the actual heat being on, put something over the register to block the heat from coming into the room.

    Water pressure in the kitchen and the fridge not making ice properly are pretty small things and absolutely do not raise habitability questions. Ants perhaps do raise habitability questions, but only if its serious. Seeing a few ants here and there is one thing, having to deal with swarms of ants constantly is entirely another.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
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    Default Re: Can Live-in Owner Terminate Lease for Turning Off Thermostat

    Quote Quoting Anonymous8883
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    My lady and I are renting a room in a five bedroom house. We have been here approximately three months and have been nothing short of considerate, reasonable, and on-time with our rent payments. The owner of the house, who also lives here, has been a "friend"/acquaintance of ours over the past ten years.
    Do you have a written lease? If so, is it a month-to-month lease or a lease for a particular term? If so, when does the lease term expire?

    Quote Quoting Anonymous8883
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    It is plainly obvious to anyone reading that the owner is acting completely inappropriately.
    Not that it matters, but no, it's isn't plainly obvious.

    Quote Quoting Anonymous8883
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    Does he or does he not have a responsibility to fix the items mentioned above?
    The following assumes nothing in any written lease about any of the things mentioned:

    1. Ice maker -- no obligation.
    2. Kitchen sink water pressure -- no obligation.
    3. Ant infestation -- yes, but this sort of thing is difficult to eradicate completely and is typically dealt with by using spray and/or traps.

    Quote Quoting Anonymous8883
    View Post
    Can he actually terminate our lease agreement from the thermostat being turned off because the house is way too hot to sleep in?
    If you're month-to-month tenants, yes. These are the sorts of problems you're going to encounter when you choose to live with other people -- and especially when you choose to live in someone else's home. If you want complete control over the temperature, get your own place.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Can Live-in Owner Terminate Lease for Turning Off Thermostat

    Actually, there could easily be a duty to repair the water flow to a kitchen sink. Landlords do have a duty to maintain plumbing.

    "Not making ice properly" suggests that the fridge is making ice; but even if we assume that it stopped working after you moved in, and that the landlord has a duty to repair appliances provided as part of the rental arrangement, the failure to repair an ice maker in an otherwise working refrigerator is not going to constitute a material violation of the lease.

    As was previously indicated, if you're a month-to-month tenant your tenancy can be terminated upon proper notice (generally 30 days or, if you've been a tenant for more than a year, 60 days); if you're in a rent control community you can check to see if you have any additional protections under the governing ordinance.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    1,026

    Default Re: Can Live-in Owner Terminate Lease for Turning Off Thermostat

    Just a suggestion...the low water pressure with the kitchen faucet may be due to nothing more than a clogged aerator at the end of the faucet. Most faucets typically have these and they can catch small pieces of "gunk" and reduce the water flowing out of the faucet. They are easily unscrewed by hand or with a pliers and once rinsed out and screwed back in may resolve this issue. Takes 1 minute to go through the process.

    Gail

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