August 5, 20131. We leased a home atXXXXX Oceanside,

California law makes landlords responsible for certain kinds of repairs, although landlords ultimately are legally responsible for assuring that their rental units are habitable. Before renting a rental unit to a tenant, a landlord must make the unit fit to live in, or habitable. We have not withheld any rent to date. We have had no contact from the owner regarding the existing water damage and black mold since July 5th.
Suzanne is scheduled to have a medical examination on August 9th for symptoms of toxic black mold.
3. What are the legal consequences for the failure to disclose a prior occupant of the rental unit died in the unit within the last three years. Marie Jebavy, the broker for The Real Estate Consultants, denies having knowledge of the death. Mr. Parry, a real estate broker, did have knowledge.
We incurred moving costs of over $4,000 to move into this house. We are very satisfied with the house but not the conditions we are living in.
What are your recommendations to resolve and rectify this critical situation?


Response: You can break the lease without penalty if you no longer wants to live at the premises because of the real estate agent’s failure to disclose the death of a prior Tenant. You may also demand that the Landlord pay for your relocation costs. If you want to stay, you can demand the reduction in rent and amendment of the lease to reflect the rent reduction. As for the repairs, you have a right to get the repairs done in a reasonable time, which is usually 30 days or less, but it can be shorter period if this is an emergency, which appears to be the case here because of the mold. If the Landlord fails to make the repairs, you have three options: (1) repair and deduct; (2) abandonment (vacate the premises; (3) rent withholding (stop paying your rent).

In repair and deduct remedy, you would make the repairs and deduct the amount from your rent if the cost of the repairs is one month rent or less. This remedy covers substandard conditions that affect the tenant's health and safety, and that substantially breach the implied warranty of habitability.

The basic requirements and steps for using the repair and deduct remedy are as follows:

• The defects must be serious and directly related to the tenant's health and safety;
• The repairs cannot cost more than one month's rent;
• The tenant cannot use the repair and deduct remedy more than twice in any 12-month period.
• The tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair.
• The tenant must inform the landlord, either orally or in writing, of the repairs that are needed.
• The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the needed repairs.

The next remedy is to break the lease. This is called the abandonment remedy. In order to use the abandonment remedy, the rental unit must have substandard conditions that affect your health and safety, and that substantially breach the implied warranty of habitability contained in every rental agreement and lease that the leased premises must be all times during the rental period be fit for human habitation. Your situation meets these requirements See California Civil Code Section 1942.

The basic requirements and steps for lawfully abandoning a rental unit are:

• The defects must be serious and directly related to the tenant's health and safety;
• The tenant or the tenant's family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair;
• The tenant must inform the landlord, either orally or in writing, of the repairs that are needed;
• The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the needed repairs. Reasonable time is usually 30 days or less. but a short-time would be considered in case of emergency repairs.

Before you move out, you need to give a written notice to your Landlord/management that you are moving out because of the needed repairs, which pose a health hazard, that have not been made despite your repeated requests and because of the safety issue. Make a copy of this letter because you would need it to defend yourself if or when the Landlord sues you for breach of the lease.

The last one would be to withhold the rent. However, the landlord may file eviction action against you for non-payment of rent. You would then defend the eviction action by showing that the landlord failed to make the needed repairs and you therefore stopped paying your rent. By law, a tenant is allowed to withhold some or all of the rent if the landlord does not fix serious defects that violate the implied warranty of habitability. In order for the tenant to withhold rent, the defects or repairs that are needed must be more serious than would justify use of the repair and deduct and abandonment remedies. The defects must be substantial—they must be serious ones that threaten the tenant's health or safety.

The basic requirements and steps for using the rent withholding remedy are:

• The defects or the repairs that are needed must threaten the tenant's health or safety.
• The defects must be serious enough to make the rental unit uninhabitable.
• The tenant, or the tenant's family, guests, or pets must not have caused the defects that require repair.
• The tenant must inform the landlord either orally or in writing of the repairs that are needed.
• The tenant must give the landlord a reasonable period of time to make the repairs.

See California Civil Code Sections 1942, 1942.5, 1941. You may also read California Supreme Court case of Green v. Superior Court (1974) 10 Cal.3d 616 [111 Cal.Rptr. 704]

http://www.caltenantlaw.com/Habitability.htm

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=civ&group=01001-02000&file=1940-1954.1

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3179538080603208112&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr

You need to keep copies of all notices sent to your landlord regarding the repairs and safety issues to use in your defense if and when the Landlord sues you for breach of lease or files eviction action against you. You must also keep copies of your receipts for payment of the costs to fix up the premises, if any.

Finally, if the toxic mold is found to be responsible for the illness of the co-Tenant, co-Tenant can sue the Landlord for damages.