Cynthia Poer Law

Finally! Landlords should now be able to proceed with evictions for tenants who have been taking advantage of the shutdown without good cause. Nuisance tenants, abusive tenants, destructive tenants and deadbeat tenants are about to see their holiday end. Please feel free to contact this office if I can be of any assistance.

Rent Control is now law in California. The new laws will take effect on January 1, 2020. The new laws do not diminish any of the rent control policies currently in effect in many cities in Los Angeles country. Know your rights and obligations before the laws go into effect. Feel free to contact this office if I can be of any assistance in understanding these changes.

IMPORTANT!!! Statewide Rent Control is about to become a reality. Despite the voters soundly defeating Prop 10 last November, the legislature has now passed AB 1482, which will impose rent control throughout the state of California. All that's missing is the Governor's signature. If you are a property owner or you manage property, find some time in the next few weeks to familiarize yourself with the new law. Make sure you are familiar with the law itself, and not someone's interpretation. There is already misinformation circulating. If you have questions, ask an attorney or other legal adviser. As a property owner, you have protections. Feel free to contact this office if I can be of any assistance.

REMINDER... Effective 9/1/2019, 3-Day Notices and 5-Day UD Summons will no longer include Saturdays and Sundays.REMINDER... Effective 9/1/2019, 3-Day Notices and 5-Day UD Summons will no longer include Saturdays and Sundays.

HOT TIP... ALWAYS put it in writing. One of the easiest things to do is to rely on verbal communication. In a courtroom, however, a verbal conversation is only worth the paper it's printed on. Put any substantive conversations in writing. A tenant calls for a repair? Confirm in writing. You have a chat in the common area about guests or pets. Put it in writing. Follow up every substantive verbal conversation with writing. It doesn't have to be a formal letter. Send an emai...l, or a text message. For example... Hi Tenant...It was nice seeing you today (speaking with you.) I just wanted to follow up on our conversation to confirm that you have agreed to let my plumber into your rental unit tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.. If this is not your understanding of our agreement, please let me know by the end of the day. It's a simple step to make sure that you and your tenant are on the same page. You'll be glad you did. And should you end up in court, you'll have that important record of your conversation.

When submitting documents to an attorney to be filed with the court, always provide good, clean, quality copies. Taking pictures of everything with your phone is fine for Instagram, but not for a court. Copies need to be light, legible and full-sized. If you don't have a scanner or fax machine, you can still go to Kinkos.

Rule of thumb: Always keep copies of every document you serve on a tenant. These are legal documents. You always want a clear copy for your records. And, NO, a picture taken with your cell phone is not sufficient. Keep a clear, paper copy.

Happy Holidays! Remember, the courts are still open on Monday, December 24, 2018 (Christmas Eve) and Monday, December 31, 2018 (New Year's Eve.)

Effective December 3, 2018, e-filing is mandatory for all civil limited filings in Los Angeles county. It will take some time for the individual courthouses to learn the processes. This is a new system for the clerks and court staff. Expect delays when filing any documents through the court system.

Today is December 1, 2018. Today, however, is a Saturday. Monday, December 3, 2018 is the first business day of the month. So, remember, if your tenant's rent is due on the 1st, this month they have through the 3rd to pay. Do not serve any 3-Day Notice to Pay rent until at least Tuesday, December 4, 2018.

This needs to stop!

If you are a landlord, always make sure that you use current notices when serving your tenants. Notices must be specific to California law, and reflect all current requirements of the law. This is a very detail-dependent area of the law. Even a small omission can put your case at risk. Old or generic notices are usually not sufficient. If you're not sure, ask an attorney. Or better yet, have an attorney prepare and serve the notices for you. Your tenants will know you mean business. And, the costs are minimal, and far less than what you would potentially lose in unpaid rent if you had to start all over due to a bad notice. Initial consults are usually free.

Monday, November 12, 2018 is VETERANS' DAY (observed). The courts will be closed. Keep this in mind if serving notices or other legal documents. They cannot expire on a weekend day, or a court holiday. Any notices that would have otherwise expired on Monday will actually expire next Tuesday.