Frances Miller Campbell's Answers

Renter’s rights if property under Los Angeles Rent Stabilization is sold at auction.

The sale of the property, at auction or otherwise, does not change your rights. If you are in a rent-controlled unit, you may only be evicted for cause, for one of 13 reasons. One of those legal reasons is if the owner wants to move in. HOWEVER, If the new owner wants to move in, he has to hold the property in his own name (and not in an LLC or other business form), and he must own at least 25% of the property. The new owner will not be able to evict you for owner-move-in if there is...

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Renters rights for pest control

Dear Tenant, I am licensed in California. Please note that only licensed attorneys can give you legal advise in the state of California. For an unlicensed person to give legal advice in California is a crime, and I believe that applies equally to website postings. First of all, I see that you are in Los Angeles. You should call the Los Angeles Housing Department (866) 557-RENT and ask for a Code Enforcement Inspection. You should do the same with the Los Angeles County Environmental...

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CA landlord tenant law, can tenant be evicted for being a nuisance

Wow. That's a really broad question, but I'll try to answer it, first in the lawyerly way, and then in the normal-person way. A "nuisance" is, by definition, "Anything which is injurious to health, including, but not limited to, the illegal sale of controlled substances, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property ...." Civil Code section 3479. A landlord can evict you for "...

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As an adult child living with my parents, can they lock me out of the house?

Nope. You cannot be locked out of your residence. That's a self-help eviction, and you could sue anyone who did that to you under Civil Code section 789.3 for $100 per day. Contrary to what the Texas lawyer told you, there is no legal tenancy status called "guest." You are a tenant at will, and as such you have the right to a 30 or 60 day notice before being evicted.

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If someone posts a nude picture of you on the internet without your permission is that illegal?

I certainly disagree with the last poster. I would argue that the publication of those photos IS illegal, and that your guy-friend has committed the tort of invasion of privacy via publication of private facts. Here's how the Supreme Court describes the tort (civil wrong): Applying existing California tort law, the plurality opinion holds that to establish a cause of action for invasion of privacy by publication of private facts the plaintiff must show that a private fact was publicly...

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Apartment building sold at foreclosure this morning. Ex-landlord is demanding access to tenants' units later this week.

Your landlord doesn't own the building and has no more right to enter your apartment than does a perfect stranger. If he tries to enter your apartment, call the police. You might also want to change the locks.

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Tenant rights; late fees etc.

Late fees in rental agreements are absolutely illegal unless (1) they reflect the ACTUAL damage to a landlord arising from the late payment (like less than $1.00), AND (2) the landlord and the tenant have actually negotiated this rate. It is illegal for a landlord to collect rent IF the government has ordered that landlord to make repairs, 35 days have passed and the repair has not been made, the problem was not caused by the tenant and the delay in repair is without good cause. I'm not...

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New landlord evicting all tenants w/ 60-day notice & refusing to refund security deposit for 21 days after tenant's gone...

Dear tenant, If you can get at least ten tenants who want to band together and sue, it should not be difficult to find an attorney to represent you in this case. Because you are in Los Angeles, you should also call the Los Angeles Housing Department at 866-557-RENT and ask to speak to an investigator about the problems associated with the renovation. If the renovation is extensive, the landlord may be required to file a tenant habitability plan with the City and relocate the tenants....

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California law on tenant's rent increase

Dear landlord: You may raise the rent to whatever the market will bear because, as you pointed out, there is no rent control in Pasadena.

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CA landlord tenant law, tenant's rights when landlord raised rent due to tenant's family visiting for a month

Dear Tenant, The other lawyers are correct, expect that if your landlord wants to raise your rent 10% or more, he has to give you 60 days written notice of the increase. If he is raising the rent less than 10%, he has to give 30 days written notice. There is no provision in the law in California that triggers an automatic rent increase because someone comes to visit you.

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