privacy

[lwt]

I am currently renting a house in CA. My
Landlord has decided to take care of the
yard himself. For the past month he
shows up anytime he wants without any
notice. (not even to say he is here)!
Sometimes he will water the yard for
more than an hour,often twice a day. We
have to pay the water bill. He has said
before that if he took care of the yard
that he would raise our rent by a
hundred dollars. He also has workers
coming onto the property with out
notice to make outdoor improvements.
They start working without knocking on
the door or letting us know they are
her, let alone who they are. What legal
rights do we have in this case?

 

[Tracey]

Unless your lease requires you to keep the lawn watered, L is stealing your water by watering the lawn. Write L a letter instructing him not to water the lawn again unless he is willing to pay the entire water bill. Also, figure out how much his past watering has cost you and demand reimbursement.

How is he going to raise your rent? Do you have a lease or are you month to month? It's bad faith for him to threaten to raise your rent for yard work when he doesn't give you any chance to do the work yourself.

L has to give you 24 hours notice before entering your property. I don't know if "entry" includes walking onto your lawn and having landscapers in. Inform him (in the same letter) that you expect 24 hours notice before he or any worker enters your lawn. If he sends workers to your house without proper notice, you will call the police and charge them with trespass.

Check the CA landlord tenant act to see what kind of damages you get for abuse of access. It's usually 1-3 months rent + attorney fees + costs.

If you're on a month to month lease, just turn off the water or remove the hose so that he can't use it without permission. He still has to compensate you for the water he's used on the lawn.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.