Three Circumstances Where Small Claims Court May Be a Tenant’s Best Option
Circumstances Where Small Claims Court is a Tenant’s Best Option While it’s not unusual for a dispute to arise between a landlord and tenant, most disagreements can be resolved by an email, phone call, or in person conversation. In certain extreme cases of egregious landlord conduct, however, a tenant’s only hope for a resolution […]
Which Cities in the Bay Area Have Rent Control, and Why?
Which Cities in the Bay Area Have Rent Control, and Why? If you want to rent a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, you can expect to pay an average of $3,303.00 a month (Learn more here). That’s a big chunk of monthly income for many Bay Area residents and the reason many individuals and […]
What Are Security Deposits and How Can I Get Mine Back?
What Are Security Deposits and How Can I Get Mine Back? When you enter a lease for a rental unit, odds are your landlord will ask you for a security deposit. While a security deposit may be referred to as a “deposit,” “pet deposit,” or “damage deposit,” the law governing its collection, use, and […]
Why All California Tenants Should Vote Yes on Prop 10
Why All California Tenants Should Vote Yes on Prop 10 Fifteen cities across California have some form of rent control. But in each of these cities, rent control is limited in scope. In Los Angeles, the program is confined to apartment buildings constructed prior to October 1978. Similarly, rent control in San Francisco is limited […]
Understanding Loss of Use (Rent Differential) Damages
Understanding Loss of Use (Rent Differential) Damages In the landlord-tenant context, the term “loss of use” refers to one of the most important measures of money damages available to a tenant wrongfully evicted from a rental unit–particularly in a city with rent control (e.g., San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Mountain View, Richmond, East Palo […]
Tenant Rights That Cannot Be Signed Away in a Lease
Unless you move straight from your parents’ home or college dorm room into a home you already own, odds are you’re probably going to be signing a lease for residential rental property at some point in your life. These multipage documents can be so packed with legalese that tenants often just assume the best and […]
Understanding the Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment
Understanding the Implied Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment Under California law, every residential lease contains two implied promises (or “covenants”) that apply regardless of whether they explicitly appear in a rental agreement. One is the warranty of habitability, which provides that rented properties must meet certain minimum standards of liveability, as set forth in California Civil […]
What to Do Next If You Have a Bed Bug Problem
The Bay Area Is One of the Most Bed Bug-Infested Places in the United States: What to Do Next If You Have a Bed Bug Problem March 20, 2018 By Tenant Law Group, PC Anyone who’s ever lived with bed bugs will likely tell you it was one of the worst experiences of his […]
Five Tips for Tenants in Search of a Rental Unit After an Eviction
Five Tips for Tenants in Search of a Rental Unit After an Eviction February 15, 2018 By Tenant Law Group, PC Getting evicted can be devastating, but it doesn’t mean you can never rent again. If your landlord is attempting to recover possession of your rental unit, you may be able to avoid the […]
What Are Buyouts?
What Are Buyouts? January 17, 2018By Tenant Law Group, PC As individuals continue to flock to the Bay Area, demand for rental housing exceeds supply, driving up rents. Many Bay Area renters live in cities with both rent control and eviction control. Rent control limits how much a landlord can increase rent each year. Eviction […]