Move-Out Inspection

First, when you rent a place, you need to know that you have a right, by law (CCP 1950.5) to request a pre-move out inspection, about two to three weeks BEFORE you move out.  This gives you, the tenant, a chance to go over any damages in the unit with the appropriate person so you can have a chance to fix them to protect your security deposit.

Also, take MANY, MANY pictures.

In a nutshell, this is some of what happened to me.  The property manager of the place I rented from, Duran Rentals, did the walk through inspection with me on the day we were vacating.  She was very rushed about it.  She walked around the back of the house (my daughter SAW her), and NEVER said anything about the furniture items we had left by the dumpster (there is no way you can walk behind the house and not see the furniture we left by the dumpster!).  The next day, I got a NASTY email from her saying the neighbors complained about it and if I didn't move the items, they would do it and just charge me out of my security deposit, which I was ok with.  She did mention "illegal dumping" is a crime.  I emailed her back telling her I knew my rights and I probably would not get arrested for that.  She emailed me back threatening to call law enforcement on me if I did not remove the item by a certain date.

This woman also accused me of "locking my cat up", which is a form of animal abuse.  Needless to say, I have provided all this documentation to my attorney as this is foul and vindictive treatment that no tenant should ever have to endure!

Illegal Rent Increases from Slumlords

I lived at 123 Madden St., #B, Willits, CA 95490, with my family for 11 years.  It flooded at my house EIGHT of the 11 years we lived there.  After the last flood, I was tired of dealing with it (the last one was the worst because water got into my garage, ruining items we had in there).  I emailed the City Manager to find out if that area had been declared a flood zone by FEMA and sent a copy of the email to the landlord.  Due to the flood having damaged the insulation that was then under the house, the landlord had to get the proper permits from the city (Which cost him money) to move the insulation to the attic of the house.  

I then got a notice of proposed rent increase, to be effective in April of 2013, which is illegal according to CA Civil Code 1942.5.  I tried to reason with the then property manager, telling her that was illegal.  I also have a disability for which the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 says I am allowed to have my service / companion animal in my home with me FREE of pet fees.  The landlord's attorney he had then wrote me a letter quoting the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1968, which had been outdated!  On top of this, the rental agreement I had with them has a clause in it that says if there is damage to the unit that is of NO fault of the tenant and the tenant agrees to stay in the unit, the tenant is entitled to a reduction in rent (this is state law).  I had to take the landlord, Duran Rentals, to court just to get the reduction in rent, which is totally ABSURD as that was my right under the law!

As I have said before and I will continue to say, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!!!

Duran Rentals property manager accused me of "locking my cat up", which is a form of animal abuse. Does this look like I abuse animals? Of course, it was only an unsubstantiated accusation as she has NO proof as anyone who knows my character (such as my neighbors, friends, family, etc.), all know I absolutely adore animals. What a BIG LIAR!

If you know anything about animal behavior, you know that animals can sense who are good hearted people and those who are not. This is my mom's cat who was abused by whoever had him before my mom. I can just about guarantee if I was an animal abuser, this little guy would be afraid of me, which you can clearly see he is not.

Tenant Defense Information for Abusive Lanldords

As I keep on doing more research on the hostile, vindictive treatment I have and am enduring from my previous landlord, Duran Rentals, I found this resource for those out there that find themselves in the same or similar situation I find myself in.  Check out this link here for information on your rights as a tenant:

http://tenantdefenders.com/problems-with-the-landlord/.

As I have said before, you have to KNOW your rights to be able to defend yourself as slumlords are NASTY, VINDICTIVE property owners that don't know and recognize the rights of tenants!

Update to Landlord Retaliation by Duran Rentals

For those of you who read my blog, you know some of the illegal HELL I have endured by Duran Rentals, whom I rented from for the past 11 years.

Well, here is an update:  I got the documentation back today from them on the damages my family and I supposedly caused in the property and the property manager, in her documentation to me, actually accused me of "locking my cat up in the house".  Here is what she said, in quotes, from the email she sent me"  "This is the worst case of animal urine and feces damage I have ever witnessed to a home caused by pet owner negligence from locking their animals inside a dwelling for 11 years and allowing the animal (cat) to urinate and crap all over the floor thoroughout the home.".  I have two things to say in my defense here:  I had to put my cat down in 2013 due to him having gotten liver disease (which they have documentation of).  Furthermore, when an animal or a person gets sick with certain diseases, they lose control of their faculties, which is exactly what happened to my cat, that is why I put him down.  However, he did NOT urinate and drop feces throughout the whole house, like they say.  It is just a bunch of LIES!!!

Secondly, I find it irnoic how they say I owe them money from the $1200 security deposit my family and I paid when we moved in considering I landscapped the backyard, spending over $400 from my own pocket, which they give me NO credit for.  I also find it ironic how they fail to recognize the fact I built an outdoor litter box for my cat in the backyard.

These people don't know the housing laws, don't recognize tenant rights under state and federal laws and victimize people like me who do stand up for their rights.  Case in point:  the tenant who lives at 123 A Madden, the house in front of the one my family and I lived in, was without her washer and dryer after the December 2012 floods.  She did not email the City Manager and the landlord as I did, and is NOT being treated ill as I am.

Again, I say KNOW YOUR RIGHTS under ANY and ALL circumstances, but especially when it comes to dealing with slumlords!!!!

BEFORE you rent, KNOW your rights under state and federal law!!!

For those of you who follow my posts, I just wrote in the past two days about the HORRIBLE treatment I have received from my past landlord.  So, I wanted to publish the email I got from the property manager, showing where she threatened to call the cops on me.  Here is the first email the property manager sent me:

Duran Rentals	Jul 2 (7 days ago)
to me

July 2, 2014

Dear Pat,

Your backdoor neighbors who live at 125 Madden Lane #B have reported to me by phone call this morning that you dumped several items on the ground beside their house somewhat next to the dumpster, including (but not limited to) 2 box springs, a mattress, 2 entertainment centers, a vacuum, a shop vacuum, a television, a computer screen, a  wheelbarrow full of “crap”, and a dresser.  THIS IS NOT COOL and you should have disclosed this to me when we met for the move out inspection yesterday at 2:00 p.m.  These items were out of my sight during the inspection so I did not notice them.  Photographs of these items have already been taken, and  you will be charged for the cost of our labor and expense to clean it up.  I was very casual about the condition you left the duplex in yesterday, but you not being honest about dumping a lot of your large garbage items on our property is a bit unsettling.  Consider this e-mail a preliminary itemization of what will be deducted from your deposit. 

As we discussed yesterday you will also be charged for our cost to clean up the additional garbage you left in the back yard including a dishwasher, a barbeque, 2 long pieces of wood, a patio table metal base, and all cigarette butts strewn about the front and back yards.  And, in the interior of the home, you will be charged for the missing dining room ceiling light fixture, the 2 missing kitchen cabinet doors, replacement of all torn and damaged screens (which was pretty much every one on the house other than one or two), the cost to cover up the deep dark colors you painted the interior of the residence and the garage, and for removal of the 3 shelves/coat racks you attached to the walls in the living room and bedroom.  The refrigerator still needs some light cleaning as well, as does the garage door, etc.  And, there was a lot of food compost material left on the ground in the back yard that will have to be picked up.   There are also  unprofessionally-patched (holes in the walls caused by you and patched by you during your tenancy) hole(s) in the sheetrock walls that will be repaired by a drywall professional.  And, as we discussed yesterday you cut out carpet behind the door in the first guest bedroom where your cat urinated and I immediately noticed the room smelled of cat feces and urine; so we will be addressing the issue of whether or not the subflooring is saturated with cat urine also once the carpet and padding is removed.

Everything will be documented by photographs, and we will begin the process of repairing all items listed as soon as possible. 

Most of the items you dumped next to the dumpster Solid Waste of Willits will not accept in their household waste garbage dumpsters so all of these items will have to be driven to the landfill in Willits or Ukiah.  I am giving you the opportunity to return to Madden Lane and pick up the large garbage items you left behind 123 Madden #B and the garbage you placed beside 125 Madden #B.  The man and woman living in the residence at 125B Madden Lane behind the residence you leased from us at 123B Madden Lane are very upset that you dumped all of your furniture and large items of garbage in their side yard!  The man told me he had to move some of the garbage you dumped just to park his car! 

I told you yesterday that I would attempt to get you as much of your deposit back as possible, but in consideration of everything mentioned above and the manpower and expense it will take to deal with the condition you left the premises in, it’s unlikely.

I don’t want to go back and forth with you by e-mail discussing all of these items, but the facts contained in this e-mail stand, and I will get back to you when I have a better idea of the total costs we will have to pay out to repair all damage and for dump fees.  Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Diana Simmons

Duran Rentals, L.L.C.

P.O. Box 681

Redwood Valley, CA  95470

(707)462-8085

Here is the second email she sent me that day:

Duran Rentals	Jul 2 (7 days ago)
to me

Pat,

In fact, illegally dumping garbage is a crime!

Diana

Here is the reply email I sent her:

Patricia Bennett <pattyb4261@gmail.com>	Jul 2 (7 days ago)
to Duran, Joanna

Diana...I have just earned my AA degree in criminal justice so I know you have to PROVE intent, and as I said in the earlier email, it was NOT our intent to do anything illegal...the help I hired two weeks ago did NOT SHOW.

Plus, I am friends with some of the police officers on the Willits Police Force and they do know my character, so it is highly doubtful they would arrest me, so BACK OFF.

A copy of this email will go to my attorney as well.

Ms. Bennett

Here is the next email I sent the property manager:

Patricia Bennett <pattyb4261@gmail.com>	Jul 2 (7 days ago)
to Duran, Joanna

Something else you need to know...when the kitchen cabinets were damaged by my son, I DID go to Ace Hardware in Willits and actually ordered a new set of doors to go on there (you can verify this information with Jennifer, who is the employee at Ace I dealt with), however, the doors were the wrong size.  I then found out the cabinet doors were originally ordered by Home Depot in Ukiah so I went there to buy more doors.  I was told by an employee there they no longer carry that particular model.  My apologies for not contacting your company then to figure out a solution but I DID intend to repair the damage.

My son had also kicked in the hall bathroom door, which you knew nothing about as I was able to rep[lace that door.  So again, PLEASE do NOT accuse me of trying to be dishonest as that is NOT my character.

As I said earlier, my attorney will get a copy of ALL these emails.

Ms. Bennett

Here is the third email I got from the property manager:

Duran Rentals	Jul 2 (7 days ago)
to me

July 2, 2014

Pat Bennett:

Like I stated in my e-mail sent to you at 10:51 a.m. this date, I am offering you the opportunity to remove your garbage off the ground of our adjacent real property; that opportunity (window of time) expires at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, July 7, 2014.  The July 7 deadline gives you ample time to collect your unsightly debris and dispose of it in a lawful manner.   If ALL of the garbage you illegally dumped is  not removed from our property by 10:00 a.m. on July 7, 2014, I will report the incident to Willits Police Department,  you will receive a written citation and then you can then appear before a judge, and/or pay the imposed fine for illegal dumping and/or restitution to the property owner ordered by the judge on behalf of the State of California.    

The persons living at 125 Madden Lane #B are offended by your careless act and having to NOW look at the mess of debris you left in their yard.  PLEASE have some respect for others, and clean up your mess.

I do not have any more time to deal with this matter today, but I look forward to working with you so that this matter can be resolved.  It is my hope that when I get back to work on Monday morning and contact the persons living at 125 Madden #B, they inform me that you have taken the garbage away.  If you absolutely cannot get the van up there to take the garbage away, perhaps you can pay someone to do it for you.  I just spoke to Ed Cardillo (our maintenance man) who said he will  do the job for you for a fair price, and you pay the dump fees.  He said he will not accept a check, and that you must pay him in cash.  His cellular phone number is (707)671-6414.  I gave Ed a breakdown of all of the items you dumped on the ground, so he has an idea of what the job will entail.  Please give Ed a call at your earliest convenience.  Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation.

Diana Simmons  

From: Patricia Bennett [mailto:pattyb4261@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 12:03 PM
To: Duran Rentals
Cc: Joanna B
Subject: Re: 123 Madden Lane #B, Willits, CA

So, as you can see, in the first email this woman sent me, she said I'd be charged for the furniture waste that was left by the dumpster, indicating it was ok.  Then, in the second email she sent me, she stated "illegal dumping" was a crime, then in the third email she sent me, she stated she would call the police on me, I would get a citation, and be made to pay restitution to the property owner if I did not remove the items by her deadline.  How vindictive!  This is why I say KNOW your RIGHTS!

I know it's been a LONG time since I posted here.  However, I have some new information I'd like to share with my readers.  BEFORE you rent a new place, make sure you know your rights under the state laws you live in and make sure the landlord knows them, too so you won't find yourself dealing with the crap I've had to deal with.

In the duplex I lived in for the past 11 years, it flooded there 8 of the 11 years I lived there.  The last time it flooded, in December of 2012, I was a flood victim, having to evacuate my home as water came into the garage and almost into the house.  I wrote an email to the city manager and the landlord, due to the fact I had gotten tired of having to deal with this flooding, especially considering the fact I could SEE the water by looking in the heating vent in my bathroom.  (I remember one year it flooded and I could see the water in the floor vent, I called the owner and told him, and he actually had the nerve to tell me to put something heavy, such as a book, over the vent to keep the water from coming into the house.  Is he really so ignorant that he doesn't know that a book won't stop forceful water from coming up into a house????).   As a result, due to the insulation and heating ducts then having been underneath the house, the house was actually uninhabitable as defined by California Civil Code 1942.5.  Under this statute, the landlord CAN'T stop services or increase the rent.  I then got a notice of proposed rent increase in February of 2013, to be effective in April of that year, which according to CA Civil Code 1942.5, is illegal.  Plus, my rental agreement stated if there was damage to the unit that was NOT the fault of the tenant or the tenant's family or visitors, then the tenant would get a reduction in rent.  I also have a disability and according to the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988, people with disabilities are entitled to have their companion/service animal in their home with them free of pet fees.  I went back and forth with this man's attorney and the attorney is so incompetent that he quoted the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1968 to me in his letter to me!!!!  This man should NOT be practicing law anymore!   As a result, I actually had to file a lawsuit against this property owner to get what was mine according to the law!

Then, last week when the property manager did the walk out inspection with me, she did go behind the house, but claims in an email to me that she did not see the furniture waste my daughter and I had to leave by the dumpster due to my hired help not showing up.  She then sent me a nasty email stating she would report me to the police if I did not move the items, AFTER she'd sent me the first email stating I'd be charged for their time to dump the items, indicating it was ok.   This is NOT good business as it is vindictive and threatening.   It should NOT be like this as landlord's need to abide by federal and state law and when you have good tenants like me, we need to be treated with respect.  This property owner I refer to owns the Madden St. duplexes on Madden St., between Commercial and East Valley in Willits, California.  He also owns properties in Lake County and other properties in Willits.  This property owner needs to be brought to justice!