hi
i live in lake tahoe area of cailfornia. i have a heating problem my landlord wont help me with. I have a few small holes in the doors and the ceiling beam that go through my walls have light coming through the sides. now i can leave the heater and wood stove on all night and i still wake up to a freezing house. and my heating bill is out of control. i cant afford it and i am cold and my landlord wont do anything about it. does anyone no of any or anything i can do. landlord also wont let me out of lease unless i give up my security deposit.

thanks for any help

jake

In California, the law requires a Landlord, in a residential tenancy, to maintain the dwelling so as to keep it in a habitable condition. The Landlord is also generally responsible for other "non-habitability" item repairs. The tenant will be responsible for damages they caused by abuse or misuse of the property.

Habitable, or "Tenantable" means the dwelling is free from substantial defects that affect the health and safety. Cosmetic defects generally do not qualify as habitability items.

Some rental agreements attempt to make the tenant responsible for this maintenance. These provisions are generally not valid although under very limited circumstances, a tenant may accept a rental with certain defects in exchange for compensation.

The general standards for habitability are set out in a law known as Civil Code section 1941.1, which states:

A dwelling shall be deemed untenantable for purposes of Section 1941 if it substantially lacks any of the following affirmative standard characteristics: (a) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors. (b) Plumbing or gas facilities, which conformed to applicable law in effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working order. (c) A water supply approved under applicable law, which is under the control of the tenant, capable of producing hot and cold running water, or a system which is under the control of the landlord, which produces hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate fixtures, and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law. (d) Heating facilities, which conformed to applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order. (e) Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment which conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order. (f) Building, grounds and appurtenances at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin, and all areas under control of the landlord kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin. (g) An adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and rubbish, in clean condition and good repair at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, with the landlord providing appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter, and being responsible for the clean condition and good repair of such receptacles under his control. (h) Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.

In California, when the unit contains substantial defects, the tenant has options, which include:

1. Demand repairs, preferably in writing, and after a reasonable time, if the landlord does not repair the item, repair it and deduct the cost from the rent.

2. Withhold the rent pending repairs.

3. Move out and declare the lease to be terminated.

Contact your city's Dept. of Building Inspection & schedule an inspection - not only of the obvious needed repairs, but of the entire unit. If your place is as bad as you've described, your landlord will be issued a NOV (Notice of Violation) which, for issues like heat and water, the landlord is given a very short (48-72 hours) amount of time to correct the violation(s), after which, the city usually begins to assess hefty penalty fees. Sometimes the city will even go so far as to put a lien on the property and prohibit the landlord from collecting rent on a property that has been deemed untenable.

For more detailed information, check out the Ca. Dept. of Consumer Affairs' California Tenants Handbook - A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landlords Rights and Responsibilities. Here's the link: http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/catenant.pdf

Good luck!

so does anyone know how to get thie housing inspector to come to you house. do you pay money?
or anything special or just call em up

thanks jake.

anyways my hot water heater just froze because A. it is outside in a shed and B. there was no insulation around it.

i had to argue with my landlord.

she actually told me i should leave the stove on low to keep more heat in my house

You should be able to find your local Department of Building Inspection in the city government section of your phone book. It may be called something else, like City Building Inspection Dept., but you should be able to figure it out. You just might have to do a little investigating to find the right phone number, but once you do, it'll be well worth the effort.

City services, such as building inspection and the city police dept. are government-funded agencies designed to enforce various Civil Codes, etc. There is never a charge for any of their services.

anyways my hot water heater just froze because A. it is outside in a shed and B. there was no insulation around it.


HI, I don’t have time to read your full complaint but as for your water heater not having insulation. with the new water heaters, putting a wrap around them can actually void the warranty and actually damage them.