Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
We recently rented a vacation home that was infested with ants all over the inside of the house. Owner offered to spray outside, but it did nothing to remove the ants from the inside rooms. We explained to owners it did not resolve the problem. Asked for a refund or discount since we left the property. Owner said they would do nothing but spray outside and give no refunds or discounts. We decide to leave since the ants were crawling all over the rooms and on our children! Owners knew about the problem and never disclosed any information to us ahead of time. How can we get our money back?
3 Answers from Attorneys
You may be able to sue for fraud, but you would need to prove that they knew of the ant problem before they rented the place to you.
Your rental agreement would probably be held to contain an implied (unexpressed) warranty of habitability, and an infestation of ants could possibly render the place not fit for human habitation. Various kinds of vermin infestations are typical situations that render rental dwellings uninhabitable, and I suppose ants would fall into that category. Therefore, you might want to consider filing a small-claims court lawsuit demanding return of your deposit or prepayment of rent.
I recommend that legal novices who are planning to file a small-claims action first obtain and read, or at least browse through, one, or better two, of the paperback self-help law books on the general topic of "how to prepare, file, win and collect" in California small-claims court. Studying up on the procedures will save time in the long run. Be sure that you use books directed towards California courts, laws and rules.
Finally, give some consideration to where any lawsuit needs to be filed and tried. It's very possible you'll have to use the court in the county where the vacation home owner lives, or where the home is situated.
By suing in small claims court for breach of agreement if under $10k, or Superior Court if more than that.
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