Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I live in a fourplex that has been sold. Can the new owner give all tenants a 60 day notice so that she can do repairs?


Asked on 1/07/16, 7:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

First off, a 60 day notice only works if the tenants are on a month to month. If any of them have a lease that will not run out within 60 days, the earliest she can move them out is when the lease is up.

If everyone IS on a month to month, then whether she can evict everyone depends on where the property is located. In most of the state, yes, she can throw everyone out on 60 days notice for repairs, or even for no reason as long as it is not for a reason prohibited by housing discrimination laws. In some cities, however, there are "just cause eviction" ordinance on the books, either as part of a rent control ordinance, or sometimes without rent control included. Under most just-cause eviction ordinances, major renovations do constitute "just cause." However, not all repairs or even remodeling qualify. The work must be so substantial that it cannot reasonably be done with the tenants in place without either violating the tenants rights to habitability and full use of their units, or substantially slowing the work and increasing the cost. So, for example, if there is dry rot in many of the structural parts, and walls have to be pulled off the interior and exterior to cut out affected parts and replace them with solid wood, that is a no-brainer case of just cause to move the tenants out. Upgrading all the ceiling lights to low energy LED fixtures with ceiling fans clearly can be done with little enough disruption to the work or the tenants that it would not justify eviction. So whether repairs and remodeling qualify for just cause depends on the work to be done.

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Answered on 1/07/16, 1:42 pm


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