Despite Increase, Lease May Benefit Renter

Robert Griswold | Steven R. Kellman | Ted Smith
22-Nov-1998 Sunday

This column on issues confronting renters and landlords is written by Certified Property Manager Robert Griswold, host of Real Estate Today! (KOGO Radio, 1 p.m. Saturdays) and by attorneys Steven R. Kellman, director of the Tenants' Legal Center, and Ted Smith, principal in a law firm representing landlords.

Q: I signed a one-year lease for a condo 14 months ago and have been residing in it since then. Under the contract's holdover paragraph, there is no increase in rent. I was sent a new one-year lease to sign, and it included a holdover provision of $200 more a month. I do not wish to sign it. I am told that if I do not sign this lease my rent will increase by $200 next month. Am I obligated to sign this lease or pay this increased amount?

A: Kellman: The $200 increase in month-to-month rent is designed to force you to sign the long-term commitment. It is probably valid as long as you were given a proper written 30-day notice to raise the rent.

You are certainly not obligated to sign the proposed lease, although maybe you should. Such "blackmail" tactics to get long-term commitments are not nice, but may be legal.

In San Diego, a landlord may currently charge whatever rent he or she chooses (except in certain subsidized housing and mobile home parks).

Further, a landlord may have a different rent for month-to-month occupancy compared to a long-term lease. Such a pricing policy must apply equally to all tenants. If you are unfairly singled out, it could be illegal.

The good news is that such an offer may actually be to your benefit.

Unless your landlord is living in a cave, he or she must know that there is an abundance of potential tenants. In today's market, a long-term lease is not needed to protect landlords against long vacancies.

Such a lease, however, would give you valuable benefits over a month-to-month agreement. Your rent should be fixed, and you will not need to worry about those pesky 30-day notices to raise your rent or terminate your tenancy.

Further, if you needed to move before the expiration of the lease, you or your landlord may find it rather easy to get replacement tenants.

Smith: As the landlord's attorney, let me put it to you this way: You don't have to do anything.

You can move if you want to, but you can't stay if you don't want to pay.

Your landlord has every legal right to raise the rent. There is no ceiling in California on either the maximum or frequency.

Q: When my one-year lease expired, I talked to my landlord and we agreed to extend the lease for one year with a rent increase of $75 per month and a promise that she will fix a nagging plumbing problem. Later on, she sent me a letter trying to describe our agreement. However, she did not mention the plumbing repair. Also, she did not ask me to sign a new lease. Can I give her a one-month notice and leave before the one year is over? If my verbal agreement is binding, then what about her verbal promise to fix the plumbing?

A: Kellman: The law allows agreements to lease property for one year or less to be made orally without the necessity of a written contract. Leases for a period of over a year must be in writing. You have agreed to the lease and should honor your word.

If the landlord has not repaired the plumbing, you have certain rights, as do all tenants with plumbing problems. You may ask for the repair to be made. If no response comes to your request, and you have waited an appropriate length of time depending on the severity of the problem, you have an option to pay for the repair and deduct the cost from the rent.

Unless the problem causes a serious breach of the lease, you may not declare the lease broken and move.

Further, one-year leases may not be terminated with a 30-day notice. I suppose that the situation may be different if you specifically agreed to a one-year lease if she repaired the plumbing. Since this does not appear to be the case, you should honor your obligation and she should honor hers.

Smith: It'll be up to the court to decide whether you have a written or a verbal lease at this point. Either way, it's legally valid with the $75 per month raise. A verbal one-year lease is valid, but the landlord could have a tough time proving it in court.

As to the plumbing, California landlords must meet minimum standards of habitability. While it may be true that plumbing problems fall within that, you mentioned that it's not an urgent problem.

Only the worst defects in rental property constitute a violation of the habitability law. Therefore, I recommend that you not make the mistake of trying to withhold rent based on this problem.

IF YOU'RE A TENANT OR LANDLORD, the authors stand ready to answer your questions in this column, although letters cannot be answered individually. Write them at: Rental Roundtable, Homes Section, San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191. Or you may e-mail them at rgriswold@retodayradio.com

Back to 1998 Rental Roundtable Index

Robert Griswold and the Real Estate Today! radio show strongly support the intent and the letter of all federal and state fair housing laws. As a reminder to all owners and managers of real estate, note that all real estate advertised is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise "any preference, limitation, discrimination because of race, color, national origin or ancestry, religion, sex, physical disability, or familial status, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination." Additional state and/or local fair housing laws may also apply. Be sure to inform all persons that all dwellings offered or advertised are on an equal opportunity basis.

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Revised and Updated - Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, PCAM, GRI, ARM
Griswold Corporate Center
Griswold Real Estate Management, Inc.
5703 Oberlin Drive, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92121-1743
Phone: (858) 597-6100
Fax: (858) 597-6161
Email: rgriswold.ret@retodayradio.com