Your Home Is Your Sanctuary – Protect It
As a tenant in California, you are afforded certain rights regarding the place in which you live. One of the most basic and most easily violated rights is habitability.
If you have habitability concerns about your housing, contact me, Aaron Darsky, Esq., to discuss your options.
Your Right To Have Livable Housing
Most residential leases across the country include an implied warranty of habitability. Tenants have the right to live in habitable spaces, and landlords have a legal responsibility to maintain those spaces. When a rental property falls into serious disrepair, property owners must be held responsible for bringing the property back up to California building codes.
A Responsibility For Proper Maintenance
While the cleanliness of the rental property is usually the responsibility of the tenant, the landlord should be responsible for such maintenance tasks as:
- Keeping hallways, stairwells and exits clean and free of obstruction
- Preventing needless interruption of basic utilities, including water, electricity, heat and plumbing
- Removing hazardous materials promptly and safely
- Providing reasonable protection against criminal activity
- Maintaining the building’s structural integrity
- Handling rodent or insect infestations promptly and safely
Your right to habitability extends to major problems that make your rental space unlivable. For instance, stained walls or a broken heater in July would not affect the livability of your space, but walls coated in lead paint or a broken air conditioner in July would.
Why Is Habitability A Concern?
Failing to provide a habitable space violates your tenants’ rights, but habitability has a broader implication when it comes to rent-controlled living spaces. Without the ability to increase their profits from year to year, landlords are less invested in paying for the cost of repairs and maintenance of rent-controlled units. As these properties become less habitable, tenants leave, providing opportunities to raise rent prices significantly.
Is Your Rental Becoming Uninhabitable? Call Now.
If your rental property is suffering from major issues impacting its livability, you need the help of a knowledgeable California tenants’ rights lawyer. Call me, attorney Aaron Darsky, at 415-231-7963 to discuss your living situation and learn how we can begin defending your rights today. You can also reach us using our online form.