Raise is Justified by County Increases

Raise is Justified by County Increases

Robert Griswold | Stephen R. Kellman | Ted Smith
03-Jan-1999 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: Our landlord is trying to raise the rent almost 10 percent. We have been living in the house for a year and a half and this will be the first increase. Our landlord tells us that rents in San Diego have increased 20 percent over the last two years and that we should consider it fair that he's asking for an increase that's half of that.

We've tried to find information on rent increases in San Diego without much luck. Are rents going up this much in San Diego?

A: Griswold: Indeed, rents here have gone up 10 to 20 percent and even more in certain areas. For example, some coastal properties have seen rent increases of more than 30 percent over the last year.

The only way to know for sure if your rental is reasonably priced is to start looking around and see what the asking rents are for a comparable property.

Of course, if you were to find a better deal and move, be sure that you lock in the rate with a long-term lease or you could find that your new landlord suddenly discovers that the rent is too low as well.

Additionally, in making your decision, be sure to calculate the costs of moving. If your research of the rental market indicates that your present landlord is reasonable, see if you can get a long-term lease or at least a written agreement not to increase your rent again for a reasonable length of time.

Q: I recently moved from an apartment complex in La Mesa after living there for four months. The management sent me my deposit refund check and a "move-out report and refund statement." I was charged $157.49 for painting. I have moved four times in the last 18 months and never was charged for paint. I left that apartment cleaner than when I moved in and the only thing wrong was some nail holes from pictures. Do I have a legitimate gripe?

A: Kellman: I agree that being charged for painting after only four months and leaving the unit clean is not right unless you caused excessive wear on the walls.

A guideline suggested by some public housing agencies is that after three years of living in a unit, painting is a normal maintenance expense that should be borne by the landlord.

Some nail holes should be expected. After all, how can you hang a picture without making a hole?

For living in a rental for a period of less than three years, the expense should be prorated against the tenant for necessary painting. If the unit truly needed painting (other than for some nail holes) after only four months, you may be responsible.

If it did not need painting, you may be the victim of an unfair business practice. Some landlords use the deposit to improve the rental unit, but others improve their bank accounts instead of only deducting for legitimate cleaning, damages or painting.

Deducting money from a deposit can be very lucrative. For example, a 100-unit complex with an extra $100 deducted per unit nets a cool $10,000 of additional income.

Many tenants simply won't take any action to dispute the extra $100 charge.

You should demand the return of your money. If you are unable to resolve the matter informally, you can take the landlord to small claims court.

Smith: Hold on, Mr. Kellman! What about those nail holes? You've also ignored the fact that the $157.49 certainly represents a prorate for a partial paint job only. As the landlord's attorney, I am not persuaded that nail holes in the walls should be "ordinary" wear and tear to be absorbed by the landlord. There are other ways to decorate an apartment and, yes, to hang pictures, without damaging the walls.

In my view, the required spackling and painting charges are deductible from the tenant's security deposit. In this case, there were probably pictures hung in various rooms of the rental. Based on this, I believe the $157.49 charge against the deposit to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Q: We are a family with two small children and are renting a two-bedroom apartment in Poway. We are unhappy with the place and the management. Things that we requested to be fixed several times over during the last three months still remain untended. To make matters worse, last night we found a big water puddle in one of our bedrooms that resulted from a cracked wall and water overflowing from the outside rain gutter. We now have mold and mildew in the children's bedroom.

The landlord finally sent someone to try to dry it up, but still has not fixed the cracks. We can hardly sleep in that room due to the bad odor and want to get out of the lease in order to find a better place for our family. We would like to forfeit this month's rent but want to get our security deposit back. But the management says we have to pay for the rest of the lease which is three more months.

What is your advice?

A: Griswold: Breaking a lease is always very risky. Note that the landlord must be given reasonable opportunities to correct the problems. The civil code even allows up to 30 days for some repairs, except for health and safety items.

I would interpret your mold and mildew problem as being a health risk and an item requiring immediate attention. Such conditions can easily provoke an asthma or other respiratory attack.

With three months left on your lease, consider this:

1: Send a written demand letter listing all of the problems and giving reasonable, but short deadlines for the proper repair of each item.

2: Indicate in the letter that any failure to correct the items will lead you to seek cancellation of the remaining term of the lease based on breach of habitability.

3.: Indicate that even if the repairs are made that you will not be extending your lease.

4: Take pictures and keep a brief diary or written log of the problems you encountered to use if there is any legal action required to break the lease or seek your security deposit refund.

5: Contact the local code enforcement or health department and/or your city councilman. The city of Poway is fairly aggressive in this area and the landlord will not want the city inspectors to intervene. This can be very effective.

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 1999 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