Ann Arbor Real Estate Attorney

San Diego Landlords: Beware Of Eviction Control When Terminating A Month-to-month Tenancy

Mercifully, San Diego does not have rent control. Unfortunately, San Diego does have its close relative-the unwelcome mother-in-law of rent control-better known as eviction control or “for cause” eviction.

San Diego’s eviction control ordinance substantially impacts a landlord’s right to end a month-to-month tenancy. Moreover, the ordinance can be a trap for the unwary landlord unfamiliar with its mandatory notice provisions. A notice terminating a month-to-month tenancy that does not comply with the eviction control ordinance could cause the inexperienced landlord to lose his eviction case at trial and have to start the eviction process all over again.

What is San Diego’s eviction control ordinance? The ordinance applies to every tenancy of two years or greater duration. When a tenant has lived in your rental property for two years or more, you may only terminate his month-to-month tenancy, or refuse to renew his lease, for certain specified reasons. On the face of it, the authorized reasons in the ordinance don’t seem unreasonable. As examples, a landlord may only terminate the tenancy for things such as nonpayment of rent, breach of lease, tenant use of the property for an illegal purpose, or landlord withdrawal of the premises from the rental market just to name a few.

The ordinance’s restrictions wouldn’t appear too onerous to most landlords since a landlord’s typical reasons for terminating a tenancy match those permitted by the eviction control ordinance. However, the ordinance’s mandates do not end there. The ordinance further requires that the landlord serve on the tenant a notice setting out the reason or reasons for terminating the tenancy at the same time that the landlord serves the 30-day notice, 60-day notice, or 3-day notice, whichever the case requires.

In other words, to comply with San Diego’s eviction control ordinance, you must first have a permitted basis for terminating the tenancy. In addition, you must serve a separate notice on the tenant setting forth that permitted reason at the same time that you serve the notice terminating the tenancy. Thus, a tenant who is protected by the eviction control la
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w should get two notices, one terminating the tenancy (the 3-day, 30-day, or 60-day depending upon the case) plus another notice setting forth the reason authorized by the eviction control ordinance.

Additionally, to be valid, both notices must be served according to law, i.e. they must be personally served on the tenant or served through a valid substitute service or post and mail service. I can’t tell you how many landlords I have seen in my practice make the mistake of not complying with the eviction control ordinance. In fact, nearly every client I see who has tried to terminate a month-to-month tenancy with a 30-day or 60-day notice either didn’t comply with the ordinance or didn’t serve it right.

The consequences for the landlord to not terminating the tenancy right can be dire. At a minimum, the landlord will suffer the lost time and inconvenience of having to serve a new notice. If the landlord has sued on a bad notice, the consequences can be worse. The tenant will win the eviction case and the landlord will have to start the entire process over again, thus losing more time, rent, plus costs and attorney’s fees. If you want to end a month-to-month tenancy, or not renew a tenancy, on some ground other than non-payment of rent, you should consult a lawyer to make sure that you comply with San Diego’s eviction control ordinance.

By: Howard F. Burns, Esq.

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Howard F. Burns, Esq.
Law Office of Howard F. Burns
8880 Rio San Diego Drive, Ste. 800
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 243-1757
www.lawofficeofhowardfburns.com

Mr. Burns is a real estate, business, and employment litigation attorney in San Diego, California. He has been a lawyer for over twenty years during which time he has successfully represented landlords in hundreds of eviction cases.

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I have worked in the human services field for years and I am well aware of the fact that most people don’t know that there are legal aid services available. When people need legal advice they can turn to a variety of legal aid services. Most of the states in the US offer legal aid services to people who cannot afford to pay for lawyers. In each state there is a different division of legal aid services, they may be located by regions, counties or cities. It is good to know that legal aid services include many different services.

Usually when you need to have an attorney answer a specific question over the phone, you don’t have to pay for their services. However, you should be very careful and absolutely sure that you are speaking with the right guy. For example, if you need a legal advice about a crime you shouldn’t talk to a real estate attorney and in case you need information about taxes a criminal attorney won’t help you. It is vital to know that each area of legal service is divided into areas of expertise.

In case talking over the phone is not good enough, then you will have to hire the attorney to help you solve your case. This is when you can turn to the legal aid services in your state. You can get legal advice and representation at a discounted price or sometimes completely free of charge if you are not able to pay anything. There are states which provide public defenders for criminal cases. Sometimes these services are divided into separate offices. In some states legal aid services handles only civil matters and family court cases. For instance, the legal aid service in my city offers help for divorces for women who are victims of domestic violence. The local office also protects the civil rights of vulnerable adults.

Maybe you are wondering how legal aid services can be free of charge. This is possible when the attorneys working on the case do the work pro bono which means that they donate their time to represent the person in court. Sometimes local or state governments hire attorneys to provide services to individuals in the community. It is great that there are legal aid services because this is the only chance that the poor will be able to protect their rights and will get legal advice. However, when you turn to the local legal aid services office you should be ready for long waiting as the attorneys working there have very heavy case loads.

Before any attorney in such offices provide you with whatsoever legal service you will have to give your financial information in beforehand to insure you qualify for legal aid services. There are different income guidelines for the different states. If you go to one of the offices for legal aid services you will also be informed if they can take the particular case that you need legal representation for or not

About The Author

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning legal and laws. Get the information you are seeking by visiting http://www.lawinformationonline.com/legal-information/legal-issues/utilizing-legal-aid-services.html.

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