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Tenants' Basic Rights
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From the moment you begin your search for housing, you should know that you already have rights as a tenant.
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Table of Contents
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BEFORE MOVING IN
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Discrimination: As a tenant, state fair housing laws require that landlords make decisions based on qualifications relating to tenancy and not on any other factors. You are protected against discrimination based on color, religion, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or public assistance status. Families with children are also a protected against discrimination.
Application Fees: If you are interested in a residence and decide to submit an application, you may be charged an application fee to cover the manager's costs of obtaining information about you and your financial background. To cover these costs, the fee may not legally exceed $30, and any payment should be accompanied with a receipt and copies of any credit reports they obtain.
Security Deposit: Property providers may ask for no more than two times the monthly rent for unfurnished units and three times the monthly rent for furnished units. All of your security deposit is fully refundable at the end of your at the end of your term.
Types of Contracts: Make sure you carefully read and understand your contract before you agree to it. There are three basic ways rental agreements are usually made: lease, written rental agreement, and oral rental agreement. In the end, which of these you decide to live with will be determined by your personal circumstances and on what the landlord is willing to offer you. However, if you are looking for secure housing for the entire year, then a lease is the best option for you.
Oral agreements are legal as long as they cover a year or less. The period between payments determines how much notice you will have about rental increases or evictions. The advantage of an oral agreement is its informal nature; these agreements tend to have fewer terms and rules than written contracts. The disadvantage is that they are only legal and enforceable for up to one year, and they lack the clarity of a written agreement. You should still ask for any of the landlord's promises in writing as an added protection.
Leases and Written Rental Agreements are essentially the same except that leases fix all the terms of the agreement so that no changes can be made for a given period of time, usually a year. Under a written rental agreement (also known as a "month-to-month" agreement), everything is written down but the time period of your tenancy is indefinite. For example, under a lease, your rent cannot be raised within the time period stated in the contract. In a month-to-month agreement, the landlord can raise your rent as long as you are given 30- or 60-days notice (See Rent Increases).
Nothing contained in either agreement can undermine a tenant's basic right to a habitable unit (see Habitability). Be sure to read and understand the entirety of the contract before you sign. The contract will address relevant issues such as your responsibilities as a tenant and the landlord's responsibilities.
Spanish Language Note: If a lease or month-to-month agreement is negotiated primarily in Spanish, then the landlord must give the tenant a written Spanish translation of the lease or rental agreement before it is signed.
Initial Inspection: An inventory and condition report should be completed within the first few days of your tenancy. Every tenant has a right to a move-in and a move-out inspection with the landlord to inventory the condition of the premises.
For UCSB students, you may also opt to have the Community Housing Office video tape the conditions of your apartment before move in and after move out, to ensure that you are not charged for any damage which you should not be responsible for. They are located in the UCEN Room 3151.
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DURING TENANCY
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Privacy Notice: Note that after the property has been rented, no one, including the manager or property provider, may enter without the tenant's permission, except in circumstances that pose an immediate threat to safety, to health, or to the property itself.
Habitability: As a tenant, you have the right to live in a safe and secure home. Specifically, a property manager must provide:
- waterproofing and weather protection
- functioning plumbing or gas facilities
- a working water supply capable of producing both hot and cold water
- heating facilities
- electrical lighting with wiring
- building and grounds that are in every part clean and sanitary
- an adequate number of garbage receptacles and floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good condition
Landlords are also required to provide a deadbolt lock on your main exterior doors as well as window locks. You can view this Habitability link (PDF) for a more detailed look at habitability.
Mold: If you suspect that mold in your rental unit is making you sick, take care of yourself first--notify the landlord and try to work with him/her to clean it up. To learn more about what resources are available to you, visit the County of Santa Barbara Environmental Health Services mold resource page.
Repairs: The landlord has a duty to repair or maintain the premises to a safe and habitable level and to abide by the terms of any contract. When requesting repairs, note that you must give management permission to enter your home and perform any requested repairs. If a landlord fails to repair units to a habitable condition, there are three further steps that can be taken: Repair and Deduct, Abandonment, and Rent Withholding. However, they should be used with caution and only after contacting Isla Vista Tenants Union or, for UCSB students Community Housing Office or Legal Resource Center. You can find more details in this Repair and Deduct, Abandonment, and Rent Withholding remedies guide (PDF).
Rent Increases: Rent may not be increased during a fixed term lease unless the lease allows it. In most cases involving month-to-month agreements, a landlord may raise the rent by serving a 30-day written notice. However, if the total increase is more than 10% of any monthly rent charged during the previous year, the landlord must serve a 60-day notice.
If you live in "Section 8" housing, in most cases the rent may not be increased to an amount of more than 30% of your income (after certain deductions are taken). A rent increase is invalid if you live in an area covered by rent control and it exceeds the amount allowed by the rent control ordinance. A rent increase is also invalid if the landlord imposed it in order to retaliate against the tenant's exercise of a legal right or if it was imposed in a discriminatory fashion.
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LEAVING THE UNIT
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Evictions: The following issues will be discussed regarding evictions: illegal evictions, notice to end a fixed-term lease, notice to end a month-to-month agreement, and three-day notices.
Notice to End a Fixed-Term Lease. When a fixed-term lease expires, you are supposed to move out right away, unless your city has a rent control ordinance that requires the landlord to have just cause to evict you. If you don't move, the landlord may file an eviction lawsuit immediately, without first serving any notice to you.
Notice to End a Month-to-Month Agreement. To terminate a month-to-month tenancy for reasons other than nonpayment of rent or breach of a rental agreement term, the landlord must normally serve you with a notice that simply says that you are to get out in 30 or 60 days. Tenants who have resided continuously in the rental unit for a year or more are entitled to 60 days' notice; others get 30 days. The notice need not state why the landlord wants you out, unless a rent control ordinance requires that the notice state just cause to evict.
If your landlord receives rent or other payments from the Department of Housing & Urban Development or a local or state program on your behalf, you are entitled to a 90-day notice.
Three-Day Notices. The landlord can serve you with a three-day notice if you or another tenant has violated the terms of your lease or rental agreement. Three basic types of such notices are:
- pay rent or quit
- perform covenant (correct violation) or quit
- unconditional notice to quit
To be effective, three-day notices must be properly served to you. First, the landlord must try to find you and hand it to you. If s/he is unable to do so, he may then hand it to "a person of suitable age and discretion" in your home or work and also mail a copy to you. If s/he can't find a person to leave it with, s/he may post on the door and mail a copy to you.
Illegal Evictions. The most basic thing a tenant should know is that California law clearly states that if a landlord wishes to evict a tenant, s/he must first go to court, giving the tenant prior notice of the court proceedings. S/he cannot legally take the law into his/her own hands by locking the tenant out, taking the tenant's belongings, removing doors and windows, cutting off the utilities, or harassing the tenant in any way if the tenant stays after the period named in an eviction notice. This is commonly known as a "Self-Help Eviction" which is an illegal practice. It is also illegal for a landlord to retaliate against a tenant for having exercised any right under the law (e.g. the right to complain to health authorities). Retaliation includes reducing services, giving a 30-day or 60-day rent increase or termination notice or even threatening to do so.
Departing Inspection: In order to avoid disputes over your deposit, California law requires that the apartment be left in the same condition it was in when you moved in. However, you are not responsible for "reasonable" wear and tear in your apartment. Even though it may be difficult to distinguish between regular wear and tear versus damage, you can view the Wear and Tear vs. Damage guide (PDF). Following this Cleaning Checklist (PDF) will also help guide you in the cleaning process.
Returning Your Deposit: Under California Law, your landlord is required to return your security deposit within 21 days of your move out along with an "itemized statement" in writing saying why he is retaining part or all of the deposit. Your landlord may legally use the deposit to remedy defaults in payment of rent, to repair damage to the premises by you, to clean the premises, and if allowed in the rental agreement, to pay for the tenant's failure to restore or replace personal property. If your landlord feels that this is not enough, s/he may sue you for any excess damages. For more information about deductions from your deposit and other rights you have as a tenant, you can visit the California Department of Consumer Tenant Guide (PDF).
If your landlord fails to return your deposit within 21 days, you should take the following steps:
- Ask the landlord over the phone or in writing why there has been a delay, send the landlord a certified letter requesting that your deposit be retuned with an itemized report for any deductions.
- Seek a third party for mediation between you and your property manager. For UCSB students, if the landlord still refuses, you can contact Community Housing Office at ucsbcho@housing.ucsb.edu for mediation services. For non-UCSB students, please contact the Isla Vista Tenants Union.
- If you would like to investigate grounds for legal action, UCSB students can contact A.S. Legal Resource Center at (805) 893-4246 to set up an appointment and non-UCSB students should contact Isla Vista Tenants Union.
For some help in writing a deposit dispute letter, here are some Sample Deposit Dispute Letters (PDF).
When One Tenant Moves Out Early: When two or more co-tenants rent under the same rental agreement or lease, the landlord does not have to return or account for any of the deposit until all of the tenants leave. If you move out early, however, your landlord might voluntarily work out an appropriate agreement and return your share of the security deposit.
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