Do we have any rights?

[songbird289]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CALIFORNIA

Hello, my husband and I are renting a condo. The owners of the condo are using a property management company, and so the property manager is the person we need to go through for everything. The property manager had told the owners before they moved out to get certain things fixed before we moved in. They did not do this. So, needless to say, we moved in to a condo with broken blinds, an extremely thin carpet with staples poking through it all over the place, broken outlets, and a disgusting AC filter that is way overdue to be replaced. In July, we requested that this things be fixed. It is now almost October, and nothing has been fixed yet. The property manager claims that the owners are not responding to his attempts at communication. My husband and I are growing very frustrated. In the state of California, do we have any legal rights? We understand that these are not emergency maintenance conditions. However, waiting more than two months for small things to be fixed or replaced is not acceptable, either.

Thank you so much!

 

[FarmerJ]

The blinds are a cosmetic issue but things like broken outlets, call your cities housing inspections desk and tell them you have complained and they still are broken. Air conditioner filter it would be easier to change it your self or use a vacuum cleaner on it. Carpet , if the carpet staples could cause a injury then show them to the city housing inspector. At this point if the owner is ignoring repair request they cannot ignore a inspectors work order with out a consequence being that inspections could condemn it if the owner will not comply on a side note here be prepared to have a fight for your deposit funds so take pics now of the things that needed repairs or showed a lot of wear and tear and plan on more pics right before you move.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Options for you are outlined in the attached:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/repairs.shtml

I'd suggest the "repair and deduct" route; blinds can be replaced; big box stores such as Lowes/Home Depot carry filters (write down the size you need) and if you're talking about broken outlet covers...they also can be found at these big box stores.

At any rate, review the attached and follow the instructions.

Gail

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CALIFORNIA

Hello, my husband and I are renting a condo. The owners of the condo are using a property management company, and so the property manager is the person we need to go through for everything. The property manager had told the owners before they moved out to get certain things fixed before we moved in. They did not do this. So, needless to say, we moved in to a condo with broken blinds, an extremely thin carpet with staples poking through it all over the place, broken outlets, and a disgusting AC filter that is way overdue to be replaced. In July, we requested that this things be fixed. It is now almost October, and nothing has been fixed yet. The property manager claims that the owners are not responding to his attempts at communication. My husband and I are growing very frustrated. In the state of California, do we have any legal rights? We understand that these are not emergency maintenance conditions. However, waiting more than two months for small things to be fixed or replaced is not acceptable, either.

Thank you so much!

Let me respond with a hypothetical parallel. Suppose that instead of leasing the condo you had purchased it.

Further, that the person you think you "need to go through for everything" was acting as the sellers' real estate agent.

That during the negotiations the real estate agent informed you that he had told his client sellers "to get certain things fixed before you moved in". Paper work is completed, the deal goes through, but no mention of certain things needed fixing. Things that go unfixed.

Now in that analogy where do you think you would stand with respect to holding the sellers legally responsible to do the fixing? I'll tell you. The same as here. Empty handed. Empty handed unless there was a stipulation in the signed lease agreement committing the owners to do the repairs. Hence the "merger doctrine" *

What the property manager may have told the owners is without legal significance.


[*] All prior negotiations and agreements are deemed merged in the writing.