West Marin has struggled with a housing crisis for decades, but a recent report commissioned by the Committee for Housing Agricultural Workers and Their Families brought it to the forefront of everyone’s minds. This explainer focuses on tenant rights and the legal actions residents can take to protect themselves from unlawful housing practices in Marin County. It will cover rent increases, evictions, mobile homes, repairs and retaliation. The Light compiled information from the California Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice, Marin County and Legal Aid of Marin.
Do I have any rights as a tenant?
Yes! Once you occupy a unit for more than 30 days, you have rights under the California Civil Code and Marin County ordinances. A formal lease agreement is encouraged but not necessary for tenants to exercise their rights.
State and county laws protect both citizens and undocumented individuals alike. Your citizenship status does not impact your ability to exercise your rights as a tenant. The California court system is not concerned with a tenant’s citizenship status, meaning that all tenants are encouraged to access it.
Do the same rules apply to mobile homes and recreational vehicles?
Yes. Mobile homes and recreational vehicles (R.V.s) are protected under California’s Mobilehome Residency Law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law and Marin County ordinances.
In West Marin, mobile homes and R.V.s are categorized as dwelling units under county ordinances. There are strict guidelines and requirements in place to protect these units from illegal evictions and health and safety violations.
Is my rent increase valid?
Because West Marin does not have rent control, a landlord can legally increase rent by 10 percent or more in one year.
When increasing rent by 10 percent or less, landlords must communicate the change in rent at least 30 days before the increase takes effect. For rent increases greater than 10 percent, landlords must communicate the change at least 90 days before the increase takes effect.
Landlords must provide formal written notice—such as a certified letter—for a rent increase to be valid. Verbal communication via phone calls, texts and emails are not sufficient.
A rent increase notice must contain an effective date, the current and new rent amounts, payment details, contact information, a notice period and a notice of tenant rights. Rent increases can be invalidated if a landlord fails to include the notice of tenant rights. This information must also be provided in the lease agreement or in a written notice signed by the resident to ensure that tenants are aware of their rights.
If your rent is increased by more than 5 percent in a year, you can request mediation services through Marin County’s Mandatory Mediation Program. Once a request is made, both tenants and landlords are required to attend and discuss the issue.
Despite these strong protections, West Marin residents typically do not challenge an unlawful rent increase because they feel it is just not an option, said Lucie Hollingsworth, the senior housing attorney at Legal Aid of Marin. Going against your landlord is generally taboo, and some residents who have challenged their landlords “reported being blackballed from work and housing, and had to leave the area,” Ms. Hollingsworth said. But several others have succeeded. “Whether it’s an acceptance, or fear, there is certainly no sense of entitlement,” she said.
How can I get heat in my house if my landlord refuses to fix it? What can I do about leaks and mold? Are landlords required to address rodent and insect infestations?
Landlords must address any conditions that pose a threat to the health and safety of tenants as outlined in California Civil Code. Landlords must provide safe and working plumbing, heating, electrical equipment, floors and stairs, waterproofing and windows and doors with working locks. They must keep the property free of roaches, rats and other vermin.
In reality, units may not always be up to these standards before a new tenant moves in. This is either due to negligence or damage that occurred during a vacancy period. Regardless, it is the landlord’s responsibility to make the unit habitable once a tenant fills a vacancy.
If you are experiencing a health and safety issue, ask your landlord in writing to make repairs, and always remember to keep copies of your repair request. Tenants are encouraged to document issues with photographs and videos. This will often satisfy the burden of proof requirement in a court case.
Tenants should contact their local code enforcement office or health department if the landlord refuses to make repairs.
Landlords could face an affirmative action lawsuit—such as the one filed by former residents of the Tacherra ranch in Bolinas—if they unlawfully collect rent for uninhabitable units. Property owners cannot charge rent for inadequate housing.
How do I make repair requests if my landlord threatens to retaliate?
West Marin residents frequently ask Legal Aid of Marin: “Can I please have heat?” Yet a request like this made to a landlord “can land them in a position where they lose their job and their housing all in one day. And they can even find themselves in the hands of ICE,” Ms. Hollingsworth said. When a tenant asks for repairs, and instead receives an eviction notice in return, this is an example of retaliation. It may also be a form of discrimination.
Under California Civil Code, it is illegal for landlords to retaliate against you for exercising your rights as a tenant. Tenants facing health or safety violations have the right to request repairs.
Undocumented individuals should note that a landlord can never threaten to disclose their immigration status to law enforcement or third parties in an attempt to remove them from the premises. In fact, landlords cannot ask tenants or prospective tenants about their immigration or citizenship status, according to California Civil Code.
Any harassment or retaliation is illegal under California law. Landlords are prohibited from retaliating or discriminating against tenants based on citizenship, immigration status, primary language, age, medical condition or any other personal characteristics.
In West Marin, landlords will sometimes deny applicants with children. This practice violates the Fair Housing Act, a federal law that protects tenants against discrimination based on six protected classes, including familial status. Households with children under 18 years old are protected until the child becomes a legal adult. The Fair Housing Act exempts senior living units from the familial status clause in order to restrict occupancy to tenants above a certain age.
Discrimination can also include providing one tenant with less favorable terms than another and targeting certain tenants for eviction. According to Legal Aid of Marin, the few West Marin tenants who have sought legal assistance have faced extreme retaliation and harassment.
What can I do if my landlord threatens to evict me?
Only the court has the power to evict tenants. It is illegal for landlords to force you out of your rental unit without undergoing a formal eviction process through the court; as a result, they cannot change the locks, shut off utilities or remove your personal belongings from the property without facing legal consequences.
Once a landlord files an eviction in court, it is important that you respond before the specified date. The court may order an eviction if you fail to respond and present your case. Make sure to inform a lawyer or the court of any health or safety violations. Providing documentation will strengthen your defense and affect your landlord’s ability to evict you.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a “just cause for eviction” ordinance in 2019 that requires landlords to provide tenants with a reason for a lease termination, but it is only narrowly applicable in West Marin. The ordinance applies only to single-family-zoned properties that have at least three dwelling units. It does not apply to properties with government-subsidized rent or permitted ADUs or JADUs, properties occupied by on-site property managers or owners, or properties in developments where at least 49 percent of the units are restricted as affordable.
Examples of just cause for eviction include not paying rent, breaking a clause or term in the lease, using the premise for unlawful purposes, engaging in criminal activity, refusing to allow lawful entry to the premises and the landlord withdrawing the unit from the rental market. A landlord must provide the tenant with a three-day notice to resolve any of these just-cause eviction reasons when applicable.
A property withdrawn from the rental market can be sold without tenants, repurposed for non-residential use, demolished or converted for personal use by the landlord. Evictions related to this process are subject to the same rules as any other eviction and require a 120-day notice.
The just cause ordinance also established a rental registry that requires landlords to register their units with the Marin County Rental Registry and annually update occupancy status. In fact, all landlords must also have a valid permit to operate from the county Environmental Health Services division and a valid rental business license from the Department of Finance.
A landlord cannot evict a tenant if they are not registered and do not have a business license or health permit. Most people are unaware of this fact.
If a landlord cites health and safety concerns as the reason for an eviction, the property owner must first prove that the unit requires substantial repairs that cannot be made with a tenant present—and obtain building permits for the work. In these cases, landlords must pay the tenant’s relocation expenses in the amount of one month’s rent.
A red-tag eviction is similarly protected. If a property is red tagged, a landlord must pay two months of fair-market rent within 10 days from the moment a red-tag eviction notice is served.
It is illegal for landlords to lie about the reason for evicting a tenant. Anyone with reasonable doubt about the legitimacy of their eviction should contact an attorney.
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