Landlord won't give me a contract or receipt of payments made

[Aliciaz]

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

I've been renting an apartment in Los Angeles for 2 1/2 years, and always had a good relationship with my landlord. I'd also been looking for another studio situation to work in and for when my mother or friends were in town visiting, so when my landlord asked if I would be interested in a small studio just around the corner from my apartment, it sounded perfect.

He told me that he had a lot of interest in it and that I would need to decide quickly, so I agreed to a month-to-month contract beginning on the first of the month. Although it was already near the end of the month he never seemed to be able to find a time to meet with me to sign the contract, and so finally said that he would drop it off in my mailbox for me to sign, and that he would then pick it up, sign it, and drop me off a copy. He also said to leave checks for the first month's rent and partial security deposit. Because of the short notice, he'd agreed to let me pay $2000 security up front, and then the remaining $400 the following month.

I did all of this and then waited to receive a copy of the contract. I figured he was super busy and so didn't ask him about it again until 3 months had passed. When I did, he said that 'an employee' had dropped off the contract that I'd signed, and that it was not correct and that he would be printing out and dropping off another one for me to sign. I was not so happy with this ~ having already agreed to the terms of the first contract and paying rent on these presumed terms for 3 months ~ but I didn't want to start waves, so thought I'd just wait until seeing the new version. It's now been over over 7 months since I began paying rent on this property, and he has yet to give me a copy of the contract that I signed, nor a new contract, nor any receipts for the security deposit that I've paid so far. I've not yet paid him the remaining $400, asking him to please first get me a receipt for the $2000 that I've already paid.

In the third month that I was here, I also asked if he would speak with a neighbor who also rents from my landlord, regarding letting their 3 very large dogs to run around the property unsupervised, and allowing them to defecate in our shared back yard(this neighbor moved into a front house about 2 months after I moved in). He said he would speak with them, but so far has not. He then said that if I had 'renter's remorse' I could still "let go of the house". I.e: move out.

I realize that I probably should not have agreed to him just dropping off a contract and picking up my checks in this way, but having rented from him for a couple of years with no problems, I never thought that this would be an issue.

So my questions are;

1) In light of the fact that I have 8 months of cancelled/cashed checks, on which I've always specified what they were for...i.e. 'rent at White Elm Dr, June, '14', etc. ~ do I have any legal status as a renter in this situation?

2) Should I go ahead and give him the remainder of the security deposit that I owe him, even if he has not or will not give me a receipt of payment(I also specified on these checks what they were for)?

3) Is there an obvious, and/or dubious reason why he would avoid giving me a contract which I am not aware of?


Thanks so much for any advise on this matter.

 

[LdiJ]

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

I've been renting an apartment in Los Angeles for 2 1/2 years, and always had a good relationship with my landlord. I'd also been looking for another studio situation to work in and for when my mother or friends were in town visiting, so when my landlord asked if I would be interested in a small studio just around the corner from my apartment, it sounded perfect.

He told me that he had a lot of interest in it and that I would need to decide quickly, so I agreed to a month-to-month contract beginning on the first of the month. Although it was already near the end of the month he never seemed to be able to find a time to meet with me to sign the contract, and so finally said that he would drop it off in my mailbox for me to sign, and that he would then pick it up, sign it, and drop me off a copy. He also said to leave checks for the first month's rent and partial security deposit. Because of the short notice, he'd agreed to let me pay $2000 security up front, and then the remaining $400 the following month.

I did all of this and then waited to receive a copy of the contract. I figured he was super busy and so didn't ask him about it again until 3 months had passed. When I did, he said that 'an employee' had dropped off the contract that I'd signed, and that it was not correct and that he would be printing out and dropping off another one for me to sign. I was not so happy with this ~ having already agreed to the terms of the first contract and paying rent on these presumed terms for 3 months ~ but I didn't want to start waves, so thought I'd just wait until seeing the new version. It's now been over over 7 months since I began paying rent on this property, and he has yet to give me a copy of the contract that I signed, nor a new contract, nor any receipts for the security deposit that I've paid so far. I've not yet paid him the remaining $400, asking him to please first get me a receipt for the $2000 that I've already paid.

In the third month that I was here, I also asked if he would speak with a neighbor who also rents from my landlord, regarding letting their 3 very large dogs to run around the property unsupervised, and allowing them to defecate in our shared back yard(this neighbor moved into a front house about 2 months after I moved in). He said he would speak with them, but so far has not. He then said that if I had 'renter's remorse' I could still "let go of the house". I.e: move out.

I realize that I probably should not have agreed to him just dropping off a contract and picking up my checks in this way, but having rented from him for a couple of years with no problems, I never thought that this would be an issue.

So my questions are;

1) In light of the fact that I have 8 months of cancelled/cashed checks, on which I've always specified what they were for...i.e. 'rent at White Elm Dr, June, '14', etc. ~ do I have any legal status as a renter in this situation?

2) Should I go ahead and give him the remainder of the security deposit that I owe him, even if he has not or will not give me a receipt of payment(I also specified on these checks what they were for)?

3) Is there an obvious, and/or dubious reason why he would avoid giving me a contract which I am not aware of?


Thanks so much for any advise on this matter.

I cannot think of any particular dubious reason...although its weird that he won't at least give you a receipt for the security deposit. It may be sheer laziness.

 

[Aliciaz]

Perhaps it's not legit?

I cannot think of any particular dubious reason...although its weird that he won't at least give you a receipt for the security deposit. It may be sheer laziness.

Thanks for your reply. The only thing I've been able to come up with, as to why he might be avoiding signing a contract with me, is that there could be something wrong with the studio, making it somehow not legal to rent. Although it is more than 25 years old, it shares a wall with the front house ~ so perhaps he never got proper permits to build it? But I have no idea how I would find this out, and I'd also not want to piss him off ~ since I still rent my other apartment from him.

 

[STEPHAN]

Why don’t you use your „accountant“ as a reason to ask for documentation?

You “accountant” is getting on your nerves to get some receipt for your bookkeeping. This way it is not really you asking for it and people usually have reality on this stuff.

 

[Aliciaz]

Re: Why don’t you use your "accountant“?

Why don’t you use your „accountant“ as a reason to ask for documentation?

You “accountant” is getting on your nerves to get some receipt for your bookkeeping. This way it is not really you asking for it and people usually have reality on this stuff.

Good idea...I'll try this on Monday.

In the meantime, I'm still wondering if I have any legal status as a renter. I found a couple things in the California Landlord/Tenant Handbook, but the section that would most likely have to do with my issue... namely:Oral Rental Agreement, seems to be worded a little strangely ~ it almost seems like there may be a typo in it, so I'm having a difficult time trying to decipher what it means. I'm particularly having trouble understanding the first paragraph, from the words: "...even though it is not in writing..."

Would you maybe want to have a go at it for me?

Oral Rental Agreements
In an oral rental agreement, you and the
landlord agree orally (not in writing) that you
will rent the rental unit. In addition, you agree
to pay a specified rent for a specified period of
time —for example, a week or a month. This kind
of rental agreement is legally binding on both
you and the landlord, even though it is not in
writing unless a tenant and a landlord agree to
the lease of a rental unit for more than one year,
the agreement must be in writing.55 If such an
agreement is not in writing, it is not enforceable.
If you have a valid oral agreement and later
have a disagreement with your landlord, you will
have no written proof of the terms of your rental
agreement. Therefore, it’s usually best to have a
written rental agreement.

However, even if the agreement is oral, the
landlord must give you a written statement
regarding the name, street address, and phone
number of the landlord or agent for receipt of
legal notices; the contact information for the
person who is to accept the rent; and how the
rent is to be paid (for example by cash, check or
money order.)

It’s especially important to have a written
rental agreement if your tenancy involves special
circumstances, such as any of the following:
• You plan to live in the unit for a long time (for
example, nine months or a year);
• Your landlord has agreed to your having a pet
or water-filled furniture (such as a waterbed);
or
• T he landlord has agreed to pay any expenses
(for example, utilities or garbage removal) or to
provide any services (for example, a gardener).


Any insights or other clarification would be great.

Thanks again for your thoughts and time!