Q:
I am a landlord and my tenant normally pays me the rent in person. A person I
have never met is trying to pay the rent on behalf of my tenant. The check has the name of the third party on
it and I do not want to create a tenancy with this new party. Do I have to accept it?
A: It depends. As of August 28, 2018,
residential landlords are required to accept rent from a third party if the
third party provides the landlord with a written and signed acknowledgment
stating the following: 1. the third
party is not a tenant; and 2. accepting the rent does not create a landlord-tenant
relationship with the third party. If you do not receive this acknowledgment,
then you are not required to accept the third-party payment.
Q:
I am a landlord and my tenant has not paid their rent. I served the tenant a three-day
notice to pay rent or quit on Friday. When does my notice expire?
A: Currently, to calculate the three-day
notice period, you start with the day after the notice was served and count
three days. The third day cannot fall on a court holiday or weekend and is
pushed to the following business day. In
this situation, the first and second days of the notice period are Saturday and
Sunday. This third days falls on a
Monday. If Monday does not fall on a
court holiday, then the three-day notice will expire that day and you will be
able to proceed with the unlawful detainer (eviction) on Tuesday.
Effective
September 1, 2019, the calculation
of a three-day notice period for non-payment of rent will change. Weekends and
court holidays no longer count towards the notice period. Under the new rule, if a three-day notice is
served on a Friday, then the first day of the notice period is the following
Monday because Saturday and Sunday do not count. Thus, the three-day notice
will expire on Wednesday and you may proceed with the unlawful detainer on
Thursday.
Q:
I filed an unlawful detainer (eviction) against one of my tenants. My tenant
was personally served with the summons and complaint on Thursday. When is my
tenant’s deadline to file a response with the court?
A: When personally served with the
summons and complaint in an unlawful detainer proceeding, the tenant has 5 days
to file a response with the court. Currently,
to calculate the deadline for your tenant respond to the complaint, you start
counting the day after the summons and complaint were served. All days of the week, except court holidays,
count towards the first through the fourth days to respond. The last day to
respond cannot fall on a court holiday or weekend. If your tenant was served on Thursday, then
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday count towards the first through fourth
days. Thus, your tenant must respond to the lawsuit by Tuesday.
Effective
September 1, 2019, the calculation
of a tenant’s deadline to respond will change.
Weekends no longer count towards the response period, like court
holidays. If the tenant is served
Thursday, then Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday count towards the first
through fourth days, unless one of those days is a court holiday. Thus, your
tenant must respond to the lawsuit by Thursday.
Q:
I own an apartment building built in 1974. Am I required to install
water-conserving plumbing fixtures?
Yes. As of January 1, 2019,
all multifamily and commercial properties built before January 1, 1994 must have
water-conserving plumbing fixtures installed. The requirements for water-conserving
plumbing fixtures are as follows: 1. Toilets must use no more than 1.6 gallons
per flush, 2. Urinals must use no more than 1 gallon per flush, 3. Showerheads must
use no more than 2.5 gallons per minute, and 4. Interior faucets must use no
more than 2.2 gallons per minute.
Q:
Is my tenant responsible for notifying me if the water-conserving plumbing fixtures
are consuming more water than permitted?
It depends. You must make sure that
all water-conserving plumbing fixtures are consuming no more water than the
manufacturer’s consumption standard before the tenant takes possession. Unless
the lease states otherwise, the tenant is required to notify you if the water-consuming
plumbing fixtures are consuming too much water.
Q:
My building was built before 1940. Are there any exceptions to the requirement
to have water-conserving plumbing fixtures?
Yes. There are several exceptions to
the requirement to install water-conserving plumbing fixtures in commercial and
multi-family buildings built before 1994. The exceptions are as follows: 1.
registered historical sites, 2. Properties where a licensed plumber certifies
that, due to the age or configuration of the property or its plumbing,
installation of water-conserving plumbing fixtures is not technically feasible,
and 3. A building for which water service is permanently disconnected.
All relevant code sections and
assembly bills are available for review online and on our website
landlordslegalcenter.com.