What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA
am requesting legal advice for my small claims case which is scheduled for May 25th @130 pm and the Riverside County Court Hemet branch.
My former tenant is suing for the entire Months rent of December 2006 of $1,000. She for a period of 6 months occupied a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo of mine in Hemet. She is claiming I left her without a bathroom (guest bathroom) and Master bath during the period of cosmetic flooring replacement which she requested. Upon entering the lease agreement, the tenant asked that the flooring be replaced because she did not like carpet in the bathrooms. I wanted to make her feel comfortable so I said, it wasn't financially possible at the time to replace the floor but as soon as I was able, I would.
There was no pleasing this tenant. She was in the home for less then a week before she was complaining that the wand on the blinds in the second bedroom was broken and she wanted the blinds replaced. I didn't want any problems so I replaced them. She then complained that the look of blinds in the master bedroom was not to her satisfaction and she felt it compromised her safety and wanted them replaced. I again, didn't want any problems so I replaced those as well.
I was financially able to replace the flooring at her request in December of 06. I explained to her that I would be doing the work with the help of a friend to make it financially possible to adhere to her request. I told her it would take longer than usual because I was doing the work myself. She said ok. I live and work in San Diego so I asked her if it was ok if sometimes the work was done after 5 pm. She said ok. I was constantly asking her if she was ok with the hours I was coming into work because it would get late sometimes, even when I left the home to purchase more supplies, I would let her know that how long I was expected to be gone and when I expected to return and she said it was ok. I worked on ONE bathroom at a time. I never left my tenant without one bathroom. I began on the guest bathroom. The process of replacing the flooring requires the removal of the toilet. I took a piece of carpet and placed in the shower of the guest bathroom. She was to only use the Master bathroom while the work was being done on the guest bathroom. I then placed the toilet on the carpet in the shower as there was no other logical place to put it. The shower was the most sanitary place. I explained to her it would have to be there until the floor dried from the glue which would take a while. I then after several days repeated the process on the second bathroom.
While the work was being done, she did not complain. It was 1 day after that I received a call from a mediator from Fair Housing. I explained to her that I did this as a courtesy and tried to complete the work in a timely manner. Apparently my tenant told the mediator that because the work took so long at times that she had to go and spend the night with family. I never spoke to Ms. Abejon about the call. I didn't want any more problems. I then shortly after received a letter from her Pre Paid legal attorney which requested I give her a portion of the rent for December back since she was left (according to her) without a bathroom for 13 days.
I received a call from her a few days letter and she wanted to know if I had considered giving her the rent back. I said no because what I did for her was a courtesy. This is what she requested, and she never expressed any concern to me about how long the work took or in the manner in which it took until after the work was completed. I explained that if she had expressed concern to me, I would have found a better way to accommodate her. She said because sometimes we would work late, she and her son would have to go sleep somewhere else. This is false because she was ALWAYS at the property before we left for the night but in any case I asked her for receipts for the places she slept and she said she had none. I don't know where she slept to begin with, Ms. Abejon did not have any furniture in her bedroom.
For a while I didn't hear from her which needless to say was a relief but I decided as soon as I was able, I would giver her notice not to renew her lease with enough time for her to find a new place to live (30 days) in which then, I intended to move back in. On the day she was to recieve the notice (January 31st 2007) she received the notice from the post office and called me. She stayed with me on the phone and pleaded with me to extend the lease. She said she desired to stay and that she hoped it wasn't because of the letter I received from the attorney that caused me to ask her to vacate. She even said she was considering buying the condo as I had mentioned that I may sell it in the future. After 22 minutes on the phone with her pleading, we ended the conversation. I was then served on the day her lease expired with the notice to go to small claims and on this claim it was no longer 13 days she was without the second bathroom, now it's 20 days but she is asking for the whole months rent back. She claims now that I left her without a guest bathroom and a master bath which is false.
This is clearly in retaliation for not extending the lease. I have gone above and beyond as a landlord without argument and no matter what I did, she was not happy. Nothing could please this woman. She has been a problem tenant from the beginning. She would call often complaining of things she wasn't happy with, (cupboard handle broke) she wanted it fixed. Garbage disposal broke, I placed new closet doors in the second bedroom and she complained that they weren't as nice as the glass ones I had so she said she would have to be "extra careful with these". I put in newer appliances for her although the ones that were there worked just fine. Often times, I told her to just take it out of the rent, I never even verified the problems were actually there. I wanted her to feel comfortable and she took advantage.
I spoke to the Home Owner Association President and Property Manager and asked her what a 1 bed/1bath condo goes for and what normal rent is for 2 bed 2 bath in that complex. 1/1's start at $900 and the normal rent for for a 2/2 is $1000. I took the difference of $100 and dividing that for 31 days in the Month of December is $3.22 a day and then I multiplied the time she is saying on the first letter of 13 days which is a total of $41.86 and then $3.22 times the second claim of 20 days which is $64.40. I did the calculations for both days just as a reference.
I have been told the judge tends to side with the tenants....is there anything I should do differently or should know?
THANK YOU!
am requesting legal advice for my small claims case which is scheduled for May 25th @130 pm and the Riverside County Court Hemet branch.
My former tenant is suing for the entire Months rent of December 2006 of $1,000. She for a period of 6 months occupied a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo of mine in Hemet. She is claiming I left her without a bathroom (guest bathroom) and Master bath during the period of cosmetic flooring replacement which she requested. Upon entering the lease agreement, the tenant asked that the flooring be replaced because she did not like carpet in the bathrooms. I wanted to make her feel comfortable so I said, it wasn't financially possible at the time to replace the floor but as soon as I was able, I would.
There was no pleasing this tenant. She was in the home for less then a week before she was complaining that the wand on the blinds in the second bedroom was broken and she wanted the blinds replaced. I didn't want any problems so I replaced them. She then complained that the look of blinds in the master bedroom was not to her satisfaction and she felt it compromised her safety and wanted them replaced. I again, didn't want any problems so I replaced those as well.
I was financially able to replace the flooring at her request in December of 06. I explained to her that I would be doing the work with the help of a friend to make it financially possible to adhere to her request. I told her it would take longer than usual because I was doing the work myself. She said ok. I live and work in San Diego so I asked her if it was ok if sometimes the work was done after 5 pm. She said ok. I was constantly asking her if she was ok with the hours I was coming into work because it would get late sometimes, even when I left the home to purchase more supplies, I would let her know that how long I was expected to be gone and when I expected to return and she said it was ok. I worked on ONE bathroom at a time. I never left my tenant without one bathroom. I began on the guest bathroom. The process of replacing the flooring requires the removal of the toilet. I took a piece of carpet and placed in the shower of the guest bathroom. She was to only use the Master bathroom while the work was being done on the guest bathroom. I then placed the toilet on the carpet in the shower as there was no other logical place to put it. The shower was the most sanitary place. I explained to her it would have to be there until the floor dried from the glue which would take a while. I then after several days repeated the process on the second bathroom.
While the work was being done, she did not complain. It was 1 day after that I received a call from a mediator from Fair Housing. I explained to her that I did this as a courtesy and tried to complete the work in a timely manner. Apparently my tenant told the mediator that because the work took so long at times that she had to go and spend the night with family. I never spoke to Ms. Abejon about the call. I didn't want any more problems. I then shortly after received a letter from her Pre Paid legal attorney which requested I give her a portion of the rent for December back since she was left (according to her) without a bathroom for 13 days.
I received a call from her a few days letter and she wanted to know if I had considered giving her the rent back. I said no because what I did for her was a courtesy. This is what she requested, and she never expressed any concern to me about how long the work took or in the manner in which it took until after the work was completed. I explained that if she had expressed concern to me, I would have found a better way to accommodate her. She said because sometimes we would work late, she and her son would have to go sleep somewhere else. This is false because she was ALWAYS at the property before we left for the night but in any case I asked her for receipts for the places she slept and she said she had none. I don't know where she slept to begin with, Ms. Abejon did not have any furniture in her bedroom.
For a while I didn't hear from her which needless to say was a relief but I decided as soon as I was able, I would giver her notice not to renew her lease with enough time for her to find a new place to live (30 days) in which then, I intended to move back in. On the day she was to recieve the notice (January 31st 2007) she received the notice from the post office and called me. She stayed with me on the phone and pleaded with me to extend the lease. She said she desired to stay and that she hoped it wasn't because of the letter I received from the attorney that caused me to ask her to vacate. She even said she was considering buying the condo as I had mentioned that I may sell it in the future. After 22 minutes on the phone with her pleading, we ended the conversation. I was then served on the day her lease expired with the notice to go to small claims and on this claim it was no longer 13 days she was without the second bathroom, now it's 20 days but she is asking for the whole months rent back. She claims now that I left her without a guest bathroom and a master bath which is false.
This is clearly in retaliation for not extending the lease. I have gone above and beyond as a landlord without argument and no matter what I did, she was not happy. Nothing could please this woman. She has been a problem tenant from the beginning. She would call often complaining of things she wasn't happy with, (cupboard handle broke) she wanted it fixed. Garbage disposal broke, I placed new closet doors in the second bedroom and she complained that they weren't as nice as the glass ones I had so she said she would have to be "extra careful with these". I put in newer appliances for her although the ones that were there worked just fine. Often times, I told her to just take it out of the rent, I never even verified the problems were actually there. I wanted her to feel comfortable and she took advantage.
I spoke to the Home Owner Association President and Property Manager and asked her what a 1 bed/1bath condo goes for and what normal rent is for 2 bed 2 bath in that complex. 1/1's start at $900 and the normal rent for for a 2/2 is $1000. I took the difference of $100 and dividing that for 31 days in the Month of December is $3.22 a day and then I multiplied the time she is saying on the first letter of 13 days which is a total of $41.86 and then $3.22 times the second claim of 20 days which is $64.40. I did the calculations for both days just as a reference.
I have been told the judge tends to side with the tenants....is there anything I should do differently or should know?
THANK YOU!