What is the name of your state? California.
Background:
After 5 years of renting, I recently gave 30 days notice of me vacating my apartment to my landlord. Just yesterday, 3 weeks before my move out date, I got a notice posted on my door for entering the unit to show the unit to prospective tenants. The date on the notice actually had 3 days listed June 10, 12, and 14, and a large window of 11am-5pm for each day. I assume they intend to do this each week until I move out.
I work from home, so I sent them a polite email asking if we can narrow the range down to specific hours in the week so that it won't interfere with my work as much and I can plan around it. In return I received a very rude email stating that they flat out refuse to work out a schedule with me and they are proceeding to show during those hours. Additionally, the email contained a paragraph about how I have been violating the lease because my wife and infant daughter live with me but aren't on the lease (I only got married and had a kid in the last 2 years) and that I owe them extra past rent for them. It further threatens "formal action" if I refuse to comply or try to interfere with the showings in any way.
Legal Questions/Concerns:
1) Is the "Notice to enter premises" with such a huge window even legal? It spans 18 hours over 3 days. According to my research on California Civil Code 1954 (d) (2), they need to give a "date" and "approximate time" of entry, not "dates" and a large time window. Additionally it is clear to me that they don't necessarily even have anyone booked yet, they just want to keep the window open in case somebody asks to see the apartment last minute. This is partially backed up by a sentence in the rude email stating that any appointments that they currently have "or will be booked" will proceed to occur during the times on the notice. This is a clear misuse of code 1954, right?
2) After finally digging up my lease, it is true that it does include a section about me being the only tenant, and that extra tenants are charged 25% extra rent each month per tenant, which in Los Angeles is a HUGE amount extra (for my wife and infant daughter that's $750 extra per month on a $1500 single bedroom!). This is not something I tried to hide, I simply did not remember this clause existed in the lease I signed 3 years prior when I got married and had a kid. However, after doing some research it appears that the Federal Fair Housing Act explicitly forbids charging extra rent to families vs single tenants. Additionally, the landlord's assistant has seen me with my wife and daughter multiple times over the last 2 years and they only bring this issue up now, which to me heavily suggests that A) They knew about this but didn't bother to tell me so they could charge me more rent when I finally move out, and B) They only brought it up now because we are having this dispute and they want to use it to harass and intimidate me. Is this something I can fight against if they try to sue me for past rent?
3) When they do finally start bringing in tenants, I will be present, and I want to tell the prospective tenants about the experience they are putting me through right now, as well as other issues I have had with the management, unit, and neighbors. I will not prevent anyone from entering, nor will I do anything else like trash the place or act crazy to make anyone leave. I simply want to tell the truth and then let them do the showing. I understand there are rules against interfering with showings and potential business in general, but does calmly verbally informing the prospective tenants about your 100% true experience violate those rules?
4) Do I have any legal recourse for any of this? The whole experience so far has already made me extremely uncomfortable and makes me question my privacy, security and enjoyment of the property for these last 3 weeks that I will be renting. Additionally, since I work from home, these potentially frequent entries could affect my work performance which could have consequences for my job. Would I likely find success in small claims court if I bring up the questionable "Notice to enter premises" and subsequent harassment and intimidation? Or any other suggestions about what I can do to protect myself and get compensation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Background:
After 5 years of renting, I recently gave 30 days notice of me vacating my apartment to my landlord. Just yesterday, 3 weeks before my move out date, I got a notice posted on my door for entering the unit to show the unit to prospective tenants. The date on the notice actually had 3 days listed June 10, 12, and 14, and a large window of 11am-5pm for each day. I assume they intend to do this each week until I move out.
I work from home, so I sent them a polite email asking if we can narrow the range down to specific hours in the week so that it won't interfere with my work as much and I can plan around it. In return I received a very rude email stating that they flat out refuse to work out a schedule with me and they are proceeding to show during those hours. Additionally, the email contained a paragraph about how I have been violating the lease because my wife and infant daughter live with me but aren't on the lease (I only got married and had a kid in the last 2 years) and that I owe them extra past rent for them. It further threatens "formal action" if I refuse to comply or try to interfere with the showings in any way.
Legal Questions/Concerns:
1) Is the "Notice to enter premises" with such a huge window even legal? It spans 18 hours over 3 days. According to my research on California Civil Code 1954 (d) (2), they need to give a "date" and "approximate time" of entry, not "dates" and a large time window. Additionally it is clear to me that they don't necessarily even have anyone booked yet, they just want to keep the window open in case somebody asks to see the apartment last minute. This is partially backed up by a sentence in the rude email stating that any appointments that they currently have "or will be booked" will proceed to occur during the times on the notice. This is a clear misuse of code 1954, right?
2) After finally digging up my lease, it is true that it does include a section about me being the only tenant, and that extra tenants are charged 25% extra rent each month per tenant, which in Los Angeles is a HUGE amount extra (for my wife and infant daughter that's $750 extra per month on a $1500 single bedroom!). This is not something I tried to hide, I simply did not remember this clause existed in the lease I signed 3 years prior when I got married and had a kid. However, after doing some research it appears that the Federal Fair Housing Act explicitly forbids charging extra rent to families vs single tenants. Additionally, the landlord's assistant has seen me with my wife and daughter multiple times over the last 2 years and they only bring this issue up now, which to me heavily suggests that A) They knew about this but didn't bother to tell me so they could charge me more rent when I finally move out, and B) They only brought it up now because we are having this dispute and they want to use it to harass and intimidate me. Is this something I can fight against if they try to sue me for past rent?
3) When they do finally start bringing in tenants, I will be present, and I want to tell the prospective tenants about the experience they are putting me through right now, as well as other issues I have had with the management, unit, and neighbors. I will not prevent anyone from entering, nor will I do anything else like trash the place or act crazy to make anyone leave. I simply want to tell the truth and then let them do the showing. I understand there are rules against interfering with showings and potential business in general, but does calmly verbally informing the prospective tenants about your 100% true experience violate those rules?
4) Do I have any legal recourse for any of this? The whole experience so far has already made me extremely uncomfortable and makes me question my privacy, security and enjoyment of the property for these last 3 weeks that I will be renting. Additionally, since I work from home, these potentially frequent entries could affect my work performance which could have consequences for my job. Would I likely find success in small claims court if I bring up the questionable "Notice to enter premises" and subsequent harassment and intimidation? Or any other suggestions about what I can do to protect myself and get compensation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
