My landlord, whom I have done business with for 10 years, this past May 2013, nor his property manager, unfortunately, know the housing laws. Here is what has happened to me:
For the 8th year in a row of the 10 years my family & I have lived in this property, it flooded here for the 8th time in December of 2012! As a result, my garage got flooded, ruining everything we had in there. Plus, we couldn't run our central heat as at that time, the heating ducts and vents were underneath the house and there was standing water under my house for at least 24 days (we live in the mountains, it does snow here and it can get below 20 degrees here!). Due to the fact this had been the 8th year it flooded here out of the 10 years we have lived here, I was tired of this crap and reported the flood damage, by email, to my landlord, the City Manager (who then forwarded my email to the city building inspector) as well as other appropriate agencies only wanting to know whether or not FEMA had declared this as a flood zone.
My landlord did hire a contractor to move the heating and duct work to the attic of my house, however, in January 2013, I was issued a notice of proposed rent increase to be effective April 1, 2013. Knowing my rights, I started researching the housing laws. California civil code 1942.5 states, "(a) If the lessor retaliates against the lessee because of the exercise by the lessee of his rights under this chapter or because of his complaint to an appropriate agency as to tenantability of a dwelling, and if the lessee of a dwelling is not in default as to the payment of his rent, the lessor may not recover possession of a dwelling in any action or proceeding, cause the lessee to quit involuntarily, increase the rent, or decrease any services within 180 days of any of the following:
(1) After the date upon which the lessee, in good faith, has given notice pursuant to Section 1942, or has made an oral complaint to the lessor regarding tenantability.
(2) After the date upon which the lessee, in good faith, has filed a written complaint, or an oral complaint which is registered or otherwise recorded in writing, with an appropriate agency, of which the lessor has notice, for the purpose of obtaining correction of a condition relating to tenantability.". Therefore, I got busy and started writing letters and mailed them to my landlord, certified return receipt, of course, asserting my rights. Due to my landlord's ignorance of the housing laws, I believe, he then got his attorney involved in his attempt to try to get me to back down.
On top of this, my rental agreement I have with my landlord has a paragraph in it stating that since my landlord nor I terminated the contract, and the damage done to the house was of NO fault of mine or my family's, my rent shall be reduced. As of today's date, July 30th, 2013, I have YET to receive my reduction in rent!!! This is known, by law, as breach of contract.
Matters got more ridiculous due to the fact I also have a disability and under federal law, my landlord can no longer charge me pet fees for my dog as under federal law, she is deemed as a service / emotional companion animal and the law says landlords can't charge pet fees for such animals. However, in an attempt for me to back down, my landlord's attorney wrote me citing the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1968 versus the UPDATED Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988!!!! I'd NEVER want that particular attorney to represent me!!! Here is what the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988, a federal law, says about these animals:
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988
1) Refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when
necessary to provide equal opportunity to use and enjoy a residential dwelling
is discriminatory—IE-waiver of a “not pets” rule.
2) Landlords must modify said policies, practices, or procedures to permit an individual
with a disability to use, own, and live with a service and/or emotional support animal
when doing so is necessary to provide a tenant an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the
dwelling.
3) Person who wishes to obtain and live with an emotional support or service animal may
have to present documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, social worker, or other
mental health professional that the animal provides support which mitigates at least one
identified symptom of the disability.
4) Landlords cannot:
Ask a tenant to pay a deposit, fee, or surcharge in exchange for having a service or
emotional support animal, even if they require such a practice from owners who wish to
obtain pets in their dwelling.
5) Require than an emotional support animal have any specific training
6) Require the service or emotional support animal to wear or carry any special collar, harness,
vest, emblem, or other means of identifying it as such.
7) Inquire about he extent of the disability, or ask for detailed medical records for the individual
requesting the service or emotional support animal.
8) A person with a disability may, however, be charged for damages caused to the premises
by their emotional support or service animal.
Well, as of today's date, July 30th, 2013, due to the fact I had to fight with my landlord and his attorney for six months over these issues (I even reported my landlord to the Fair Housing Commission and my landlord still maintained his position), I have YET to pay the proposed rent increase. I expected to get an eviction notice, however, I haven't gotten one, which is good as my landlord has NO LEGAL GROUNDS to serve me with an eviction notice. I now also have a lawsuit pending against my landlord for these issues among a couple of other things.
Now, you may be wondering why haven't I just moved versus dealing with this crap. Well, I have looked for other places here in this town I live in, however, housing discrimination runs deep in the town of Willits. Therefore, I decided to file the lawsuit against my current landlord as I do not have the time, energy or money to fight all landlords in this town that practice federal housing discrimination but I do have the time, money and already put in the energy to fight my current landlord whom I have done business with for the past 10 years! Plus, I am a full-time college student and have a part-time job waiting for me here in Willits that will work around my school schedule so I need to stay here in Willits for the time being.
My point here is, NEVER, NEVER back down to people when you know the law and your are within the law. Instead, ALWAYS, ALWAYS exercise your rights so you don't get taken advantage of!!!! For those of you who are interested in knowing who my landlord is, email me at pattyb4261@gmail.com and I will gladly give you the information!
