Renting and Tenant Rights

If you are renting a property, the time will come when you need to move somewhere else. Most of the time, you may leave the property voluntarily the end of the agreed-upon lease period. Someday, however, you might be evicted by the property owner. A landlord can evict for practically any reason with enough notice, but it’s not likely to be the discovery of a bad credit history.

Common Reasons for Eviction

The possible causes of an eviction can be segregated into two categories: when the tenant is to blame and if he’s not. If the tenant is not in breach of the lease, a landlord can terminate the lease because she desires his apartment back. It might be that she wishes to use it for some other purpose or just chooses to not rent it for personal reasons. If the tenant committed any fault on his end, the landlord may then evict for lease violations. Common causes of flooding include late rent payment, apartment damage and falsifying information in your rental application.

Pre-Rental Considerations

Before rentinga landlord looks at both your credit history and a landlord leasing database that records your rental background in previous apartments. Entries to this tenancy score report continue for seven years, then perish from the leasing record. A landlord takes both into consideration during the application process. This data also helps her choose a deposit amount and whether a co-signer is required. A low-quality ranking from one of these landlord screening services might lead to denial of your initial application but can not result in eviction after the truth.

Bad Credit Rating and Eviction

Generally, eviction does not occur due to a bad credit score provided that the landlord rents the property utilizing a legally binding rental agreement and application. A bad credit score can be a problem throughout the leasing process, but not after the fact. The landlord makes the decision to rent understanding your credit situation and utilizes that information to create a decision. If he does take the application, he can control the state maximum security deposit as insurance from late payment. Since this information is prior knowledge he’s obtained on his own, it’s then difficult to claim that the tenant lent the information and penalizing eviction.

Time Frame

If the landlord chooses to split the lease rather, most states require advance notice of 30 days for a month-to-month rental, or 60 days for a year rental. For a week-to-week rental, the landlord should provide one week’s advance notice. Lease termination by the landlord is lawful for any reason and comes with no negative legal or credit ramifications of flooding. If the tenant has not vacated the property after receipt of the lease-termination notice, the landlord may evict through lawful means.

Prevention/Solution

To avoid any openings due to poor credit, it’s best to be up front with a landlord before she even checks your report. Give to put down an extra deposit, or provide positive references from friends and supervisors to maximize your credibility and confidence. If at all possible, take some steps to clean up your credit before attaining the application stage. Careful personal finance direction goes a very long way in preventing a great deal of hassle, particularly when you’re outside to rent a property.

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Ideally, a landlord and tenant will have a mutually beneficial relationship, where the landlord receives timely lease and the tenant obtains the exclusive right to possess a rental unit. The state of California has clearly defined rules and regulations regarding the rights of both tenants and landlords along with the protections afforded to each party, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Know your rights before deciding to lease from a landlord as a tenant.

Unlawful Discrimination

Tenants have the right to be considered a candidate for tenancy irrespective of group or personal characteristics. Safe group characteristics include race, religion, sex, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, source of income or disability. Personal characteristics not related to the duties of tenancy, such as physical appearance may not disqualify a tenant. Married couples and domestic partners also have to be treated equally in terms of financial qualifications to lease a dwelling, based on DCA.

Habitability

Tenants have the right to a rental dwelling that’s habitable, or fit to live in, based on DCA. This usually means it complies with state and local building codes and will be appropriate for humans to occupy. Examples of conditions that may cause a device to be considered uninhabitable contain lead hazards, lack of running water or heat or insufficient trash receptacles. Landlords are bound to repair issues.

Security Deposits

Landlords are permitted to require a tenant to provide a monetary security deposit to be utilized as compensation for any damages to the house. According to DCA, landlords are permitted to utilize security deposits for outstanding rent, cleaning prices or repairs. A tenant has the right to receive the safety deposit within an itemized statement detailing also why and exactly what prices are being deducted, or 21 days of moving out. If the landlord does not refund the deposit or speak with the tenant within 21 days, the tenant has the right to receive a complete refund.

Rent Increases

Lease in effect between a landlord and tenant’s kind decides the legal rights of telling for any possible lease increases. Any rental with a duration of over 30 days provides the tenant protection from a rent increase until the conclusion of the rental, unless otherwise defined. Periodic lease agreements, like those for a month or week at a time, demand notice be provided to the tenant 30 days prior to the date the lease is due to be increased.

Lease Terminations

For month-to-month tenants, 30 days is the minimum requirement for landlords to supply indicating a petition to terminate the tenancy. Tenants that have dwelt in a unit for at least a year must receive 60 days’ notice prior to a lease termination. Landlords have the right to give renters three days’ notice to vacate if rent is outstanding, conditions of the rental are broken or unlawful activities are committed by tenants.

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A lien is a claim on a property for an unpaid debt or other obligation of the operator. If you’re owed money for work on the house, the most appropriate course of action is to negotiate with the proprietor and work out a payment program. If this proves impossible, and you want to place a lien on a house, there are procedures to follow and deadlines to meet. Every state has its lien law, and prior to taking this step you should become knowledgeable about it.

Preliminary Notice

In most states you need to provide a notice to the proprietor of your intention to file a lien. As a notice, this is known in California. It should be furnished no later than 20 days once you begin to provide any advantage to the property in the kind of renovations, improvements or repairs. The notice will maintain your rights to file a lien for no longer than 20 days ahead of the date it’s served and runs through the completion of the contracted work.

Considerations

If you were hired directly by the property owner, the contract used to arrange the work serves as the lien notice. In cases like this, service of a preliminary notice is unnecessary. Back in California, subcontractors who don’t contract directly with the owner, and who don’t file a lien on work worth greater than $400, are subject to disciplinary action by the registrar of contractors.

Recording the Lien

After you have completed work, you have a limited amount of time within which to file your lien with the clerk of court or other public recorder. Back in California, this filing must be done with the county recorder after all the work is completed, or until you’re excused from staying work. The deadline runs in 90 days. If you’re a subcontractor, this time period goes to all work done under the principal contract.

Notice of Completion

If the owner records a notice of completion within 10 days of this work being completed on the property, the 90-day deadline becomes a 30-day deadline (for subcontractors) or 60 days (for main contractors) in the date of the proprietor’s recording.

Foreclosure

After recording the lien, you have to submit a suit in civil court to enforce it. Back in California, this is known as a lien foreclosure, and you have 90 days from the date you’ve recorded the lien with the county recorder to document it. The suit must name all parties holding an interest in the property, to the best of your knowledge. This includes owners, creditors, and anyone else who has recorded a lien. If you fail to file the suit, the lien is considered void.

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Virtually every landlord eventually faces the need to evict a tenant. It’s almost never an easy task, and it produces a lot of animosity between the tenant and landlord. State laws also make certain the steps that landlords need to follow to evict a tenant. Failure to follow the appropriate processes can prolong a undesirable tenant’s stay and might lead to fines to the landlord. In California, for instance, using unlawful means to evict a tenant can lead to liability and can lead to fines up to $100 per day to the time that the tenant was evicted. In most states, evictions demand the participation of a court. Landlords, however, have choices when it comes to how they evict tenants.

Three-Day Eviction Notice Process

Under certain states, landlords can evict tenants after issuing them a three-day notice of intent to evict. This notice is permitted by state law when a tenant fails to meet the conditions of the rental agreement. Most frequently, the notice comes out of the tenant’s failure to pay rent. The notice can also be issued when a tenant is determined to be engaging in criminal activity, such as drug dealing, that proves harmful to the owners of the property. When the notice is served, the tenant has three times to look after the violation to the rental agreement. By way of instance, the tenant would need to pay the due rent. If payment is not made, the matter goes to another measure, which is a court filing of an official complaint. The court filing causes a summons, which provides the tenant official notice from the local courthouse that he is going to be evicted. This starts the eviction procedure, and the tenant is given the option of accepting the eviction or contesting it through the courts.

30-day Notice Terminating Tenancy

When a landlord wants to evict a tenant, he’s the option to do this even when the tenant doesn’t violate the rental agreement. Certain conditions, however, have to exist. Basically, the rental agreement shouldn’t have a set ending period. The agreement in such cases is from month to month or week to week. When these conditions apply, the landlord must file a 30-day notice that he is terminating the tenant’s rental agreement. This offers the tenant 30 days to proceed. If the tenant fails to maneuver inside the 30 days, then the landlord can file a legal complaint with the courthouse, which then issues a summons to the tenant. This begins the formal eviction procedure, and the tenant can select whether to fight the eviction in court.

Sheriff’s Eviction

When a landlord files a legal complaint, the landlord should answer the summons so as to contest the eviction in court. Failure to reply to the summons within five days leads to a default judgment, and the tenant is called for at this stage to vacate the property. Following a default judgment is attained, a sheriff’s notice is sent notifying the tenant that he must vacate the property. The tenant then has the time to vacate before the sheriff proceeds to force an eviction. Back in California, a sheriff’s notice is sent one to five days after a default judgment and a sheriff’s eviction takes place six to eight times after the sheriff’s notice is sent.

Court Eviction

Sometimes, filing a legal complaint is not enough to evict a tenant. Tenants have the right to file a motion to strike or even a motion to quash the summons. Tenants can also file an answer to the jury or judge stating why the eviction should not occur. At this point, the landlord should continue through the procedure. If the tenant files a response, the case goes to trial. The trial then decides whether an eviction is required. If this is so, the tenant is served with a sheriff’s notice and have to vacate the premises. Attempting to do so causes a sheriff’s eviction. If the tenant wins the situation, the landlord can’t evict the tenant. When the tenant files a motion, the court holds a hearing to determine whether the case should go to trial. If the hearing is determined in favor of the tenant, the landlord should establish new reasons for evicting the tenant. Basically, this implies re-starting the eviction procedure.

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According to Black’s Law, a property rental is a long-term lease of property. The lease lasted for as long as 99 years. Modern ground leases are frequently entered into for much shorter time frames, from five to 35 years. The term”ground lease” just describes the transaction, as it is merely the property that is leased. Any buildings built or enhancements made on the property revert to the landlord at the end of the contract.

Lease Conditions

A couple of the primary decisions made between the landlord and tenant demand how long the lease will last and how much the monthly lease will be. The tenant and landlord also agree upon fundamental problems, such as when and in which the obligations have to be made and what happens in the event a payment is late or missed.

Improvements

A ground lease arrangement normally permits the construction of a building on the property, paid for by the tenant. Additionally, it stipulates what’s going to occur to the construction in the expiration of the lease. It’s made clear that, even though the building was constructed at the expense of the tenant, it will legally belong to the landlord when the lease ends, unless otherwise agreed to upon at the contract. There are rare cases where the contract lays out a strategy for the tenant to be reimbursed the cost of the construction at the close of the lease.

Taxes and Maintenance Fees

A ground lease generally spells out that taxes and other fees incurred over the property and buildings throughout the lease period are the obligation of the tenant, and that the landlord won’t assume any expenses. These costs also extend to insurance and utilities payments, maintenance expenses and real estate taxes.

Sub-Let Policy

While it doesn’t need to, the lease arrangement may supply the tenant with the right to sub-let part of the property and to collect rent from the sub-tenant.

Conditions of Termination

Terms for conclusion of a ground lease may consist of expiration of the lease period, breach of agreement by either party, with the property for illegal purposes, premature surrender of their property by the tenant, willful destruction of their property by the tenant and default of lease or non-payment of taxation by tenant.

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Foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender takes back ownership of a home or property for nonpayment of a home mortgage. A homeowner who fails to make payments on time and in full as specified by the home mortgage agreement could be subject to an action of foreclosure. Lenders must follow specific legal processes in order to foreclose on a home.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

Non-judicial foreclosures occur when a court action is not required under state law. In states like California, where deeds of trust are used, the deeds and the mortgage loan documents generally contain language that gives the lender the ability to market the real estate in the event the mortgage payments cease. This is known as a”power to market” clause. The creditor must file a notice of default at the recorder’s office in the county where the land is situated 90 days prior to moving forward in the non-judicial foreclosure process, according to section 2924 of the California Civil Code. After 90 days, the creditor has to publish a notice of sale in newspapers or other public places in the property’s county for 14 days. This notice must have a statement of the goal to foreclosure, property address, and the name of the borrowers. The lender must send a note to the debtor along with other creditors that have an interest in the property, like another mortgage agent, at least 20 days before the date of the public auction. The proprietor could stop the foreclosure by paying all arrears up to five days ahead of the date of the auction and gets the right to postpone the sale for one day. There are no rights of redemption, or the right of the homeowner to purchase the property back from the Realtors, in non-judicial foreclosures in California.

Judicial Foreclosure

Judicial foreclosure is not uncommon in states where deeds of trust aren’t used, such as New York, but this kind of foreclosure is used in California when acts of trust do not contain power of sale clauses. This type of foreclosure requires the creditor go through legal proceedings in court. A creditor must file a notice of intent to foreclose to open a court proceeding. This document is Called a notice of pendency of action, or Lis Pendens, per section 872.250 of the California Code of Civil Procedure. Much like non-judicial event, the lender must notify all parties, publish a notice of sale, and adhere to the time frames for book and other matters about the foreclosure per section 2924 of the California Civil Code. The creditor must obtain a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, a court order signed by a judge that legally allows the foreclosure to proceed to a sale at auction. In a judicial foreclosure, the owner has the right to purchase back the land in the winning bidder for one year following the date of the sale.

HOA Liens

Liens of homeowner’s associations, or HOAs, could be foreclosed on by the institution. Homeowner’s institutions are corporations in proposed developments, like condominiums, to which every homeowner pays fees for solutions. In California, the HOA must file a lien for past due fees in the county recorder’s office where the land is situated. A copy of the lien document has to be mailed to the unit owner and other interested parties, like the mortgage creditor, within 10 days of the listing of the lien. Thirty days after the lien is recorded, the HOA can petition the court for a judicial foreclosure, or use an authorized deductions to get a non-judicial foreclosure. A trustee can only be used in the event the prosecution had been identified in the lien document, along with his name and address, per section 1367 of the California Civil Code. Homeowners are granted the right to redeem the land for 90 days following a non-judicial foreclosure by the HOA, per section 1367.4(c)(4) of the California Civil Code.

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A variety of forms are used in a property sale. A real estate agent is generally enlisted to help in the sale and is responsible for ensuring all forms are executed. Unless otherwise negotiated, the vendor is usually the one responsible for paying the real estate agent’s commission if the home sells. States have various laws that govern the selling of property, and at times require various forms. It’s wise to hire an attorney to review all forms before signing them.

Exclusive Listing

Prior to set your house, a real estate agent will require you to complete and sign an Exclusive Right to Sell Contract. Essentially, the contract says you will pay a specified commission to the real estate agent upon the sale of the home. It also states you will use only the named property agent to sell your property.

Franchise Disclosure

In the event the real estate brokerage you’re working with has a connection with a third party franchise, the brokerage must disclose this connection. Sometimes a brokerage might have a monetary interest in a lending, name or other company that a vendor might decide to use in the real estate trade. The brokerage must produce a form suggesting the third party interest, and sellers must sign, admitting the connection.

Seller’s Disclosure

Federal property laws require vendors to complete a Seller’s Disclosure and State of Property Addendum. The form requires vendors to disclose the present condition of the house, details regarding HVAC and other systems, and problems with the property where the vendor is aware.

Lead-Based Paint

Sellers of homes built before 1978 must complete and sign a Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Addendum. The form requires vendors to disclose or deny knowledge of lead-based paint on the house. Buyers are required to acknowledge receipt of this information and determine if they will waive the opportunity to execute lead-based paint inspections.

Multiple Listing Service

Often sellers are required to complete a Multiple Listing Service, or MLS, form. It details the description and place of this house to be listed for sale. MLS is a somewhat standard service provided during the U.S.. It encircles certain metro areas and enables the sharing and viewing of property listings by property professionals and others who subscribe to this ceremony. The MLS form assists the real estate agent in correctly listing the home in the MLS system.

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The association between a landlord and a tenant can on occasion be tested by conditions, misunderstandings or bad communication. You may realize which you will need to report the landlord to get violent or abusive behavior, unsafe conditions or financial misdealing, to a higher authority. Agencies are offered for your protection as well as to aid you in finding a resolution to the conflict.

In the event that you believe that you are in risk of abuse, call 911. This is applicable whenever your landlord actually comes to a door or informs you he’s coming and threatens you in any way. Allow the police sort out the circumstance. You may have the ability to take the landlord to court by filing a complaint against him, and keeping him from harming another tenant in the future.

Record every communication you have had with your landlord when it comes to unsafe conditions on your building, including broken windows, leaking plumbing or poor wiring. Section of your leasing contract is that he’ll continue to keep the house in a livable condition. You cannot go to the government and complain that a landlord is doing something wrong, if you can’t prove you’ve complained to the landlord . Otherwise, the court will excuse him”for not knowing there was a problem.” List the essentials of every communication, even recording phone calls, time and the date. Wait a few days to follow up and complain again. You may then call your regional building inspection bureau to send out an inspector, in case your landlord is still stalling, and the inspector will force him to repair the damages.

Contact your regional health department to report that your apartment has an infestation of rodents like mice, rats, bats, roaches, ants or any other disease-carrying creature, in addition to any suspected or visible mold. This should only be done as soon as you’ve communicated with your landlord, maintaining a written record of every communication and allowing enough time for the landlord to take action.

Stop by your city, county or town office and discover out how your county manages financial misdealings in case you have proof that your landlord isn’t being honest in his trades with you. Different jurisdictions have different means of dealing with fraud and misconduct . Do not be scared to report your landlordby reporting him you may have the ability to stop him from accepting any additional benefit of you or other tenants.

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Quitclaim deeds are legal tools for co-owners of a house to reassign full ownership of their property to only one of them. Because quitclaim deeds are frequently used between spouses, though, it’s essential for the parties to be fully away what every one of them is losing or gaining in terms of common law dower rights which will be automatically negated because of submitting the quitclaim.

Quitclaim Deeds

If co-owners of a property, often a husband and wife, wish to transfer ownership of the house to just one of them, they do this by submitting a quitclaim deed. This deed is simply a valid, notarized statement that lists one of the co-owners as the”grantor” and another as the”grantee.” Additionally, it lists the property under states and question whether a financial transaction took place in exchange for the shift in ownership.

Dower Rights

Colonial America brought with it a practice from England known as”dower rights.” Property holders were typically men. Property ownership at a man’s death was transferred to his eldest surviving son or, if there was no son, to his eldest daughter’s husband. Dower rights promised that upon her husband’s departure she’d still continue to have the right to reside in the house in which she was living, or that she’d benefit financially from the property’s sale so she’d have any income to live on. In early America, dower rights equates to a one-third interest in the house and any income generated from it. What this meant was that if a husband died and there were claims by others against the house to settle his debts, any property he held could not be foreclosed or forced into sale while his widow still lived, because she’d unassailable dower rights in the house. Dower rights persist America to the day, even though they’re also now applied to widowers as well as widows. These rights are strong enough that mortgage lenders won’t grant a property loan to one spouse solely unless the non-owner spouse signs away their dower rights. The creditor doesn’t wish to maintain the position, if it need to foreclose on the house, to need to wait to settle it because that the non-owner spouse steps forward and claims dower rights.

Releasing Dower Rights

In the case of a quitclaim deed association involving two spouses, the grantor is releasing any dower rights which would have been bestowed to the grantor throughout common law on the grantee’s death. Thus, a grantor must consider carefully the potential future consequences for submitting a quitclaim deed.

Dower Rights and Inheritance

In reality, most spouses now won’t claim dower rights because they usually are called in the deceased’s will as getting a much larger (or complete ) share in the deceased’s property. In cases like this, the surviving partner will waive any dower rights forthcoming in order to take full advantage of their inheritance instead. Quitclaim deeds are frequently used in divorce settlements, and grantors of such deeds need to understand that registering the deed means signing away dower rights, which further means there will be no entitlement to the property for the grantor upon the ex-spouse’s (grantee’s) death.

Contesting the Quitclaim Deed

The grounds upon which a grantor (or heir of a grantor) may competition a quitclaim deed are if the deed was signed under duress, or if the deed did not meet the legal requirements for its filing (e.g., it had been signed [forgery], the property description was left blank, etc..)

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