My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: California
Hi,
I am renting a home in an area of the ongoing Los Angeles 'station fire', which has burned 110,000 acres & forced thousands of people from their homes. Last night, the fire marshall insisted that all of the residents on our street evacuate the neighborhood, and said that it was far too dangerous to stay. The fire was within a half mile of our rental house. We were forced to stay in a motel, and will not be allowed by the fire marshall to return to the house until the mandatory evacuation order is lifted. My question is, are we responsible to pay rent for the days that we were not able to live in the house due to the mandatory evacuation order? It is very expensive to rent hotel rooms, and additionally to board our dog. Can we deduct those amounts from the rent? I am concerned that the landlord may dispute our right to withhold rent for those days, and do not want to start a controversy with them.
Thank you for your help

