Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I live in an apartment in San Fransisco, and I believe that my lease should be terminated because the premises are unsafe. About a week ago, a man broke into my apartment through the window nearest the fire escape. None of my windows have locks on them, so he opened the window from the outside. In addition, the fire escape was not lowered, so he must have had access to the building. He woke me up at about 5:45am; he was pleasuring himself under my lofted bed and asking me suggestive questions. He also said things that implied that he had been watching my boyfriend and me, prior to this incident. He left after I called the police. I think that this is someone that lives in my building, and he could reenter my apartment and act more dangerously at any time. I have a police report that summarizes all of this.

My landlord has not acted to locate or evict this individual. Are the premises so unsafe that my lease can be terminated?


Asked on 2/28/13, 6:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

No. No defect in the premises that would not get it "red tagged" are sufficient to allow you to terminate a lease without first going through the steps of formally notifying the landlord of the defective condition and giving at least 30 days to cure. Even then, if you have a self-repair and deduct from rent option you must avail yourself of that. It sounds like the defective condition is the lack of locks on your windows that can be reached from the street. That is, in fact, a habitability issue, but you must still make a formal demand for a fix and give at least a few days to fix it; then bring in someone to do it if the landlord won't, and deduct the cost from the rent. Be sure to give notice that you will do so in the demand for the fix. As for the person living in the building, unless you can identify the person and prove they live in the building, the landlord is not obligated to do the police's work for them.

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Answered on 2/28/13, 7:04 pm


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