Notices must be served properly, by adults

Question: I live in a large apartment complex. All the tenants received rent increase notices this past weekend. The resident manager’s children, who are about 14 or 15 years old, taped the notices to each door. Are the notices valid?

Answer: The written notices themselves may be valid, but the manner in which they were served was not proper, which means they are not binding until properly re-served.

Because notice servers may be required to testify in court, they must be 18 or older. Also the person posting the notice must make at least one attempt to personally hand the notice to each tenant before relying on the “post and mail” method.

Even if the servers were the appropriate age, when a notice isn’t handed to a tenant, a copy of it also must be mailed to the parties at the address where the notice was posted. First-class mail is sufficient.

Additionally, when rent increase notices are mailed, the effective time period is increased by five days. This means an increase of 10% or less will be effective in 35 days. An increase of more than 10% becomes effective in 65 days.

‘Amenities’ are not landlord’s problem

Question: The apartment manager of the complex where I am considering renting a unit told me that even though the unit has a stove and refrigerator, the landlord will not be responsible for repairs if one of them stops working. The stove and refrigerator are old but currently work. Doesn’t the landlord have to repair the items if they break?

Answer: In your case, since the manager has stated the landlord would not repair these items, the landlord is not required to do so if they stop working. State law defines these items as “amenities” and does not require a landlord to provide or repair them. Washers, dryers and microwave ovens are also examples of amenities.

It is only when a landlord or manager refers to one of these items during the “rental presentation” that the item becomes an implied part of the tenancy and must be repaired by a landlord.

Additionally, if a landlord has repaired or attempted to repair an amenity item, the landlord is considered to have made a promise to keep the item working properly.

If future repairs of these items is a high priority for you, and you want to rent this unit, perhaps the landlord would be willing to set up a repair pact that satisfies both of you.

Applicant’s history

missing something

Question: I am an apartment manager. Recently a prospective tenant’s application had a large gap in her employment and housing history. When I pointed this out to her, she was unable to give me a good explanation so I dropped it for the time being. I believe she may have been in some kind of rehabilitation program. Can I ask her for documentation about this missing time or should I just decline her without pursuing this issue?

Answer: As an apartment manager it is important for you to be able to use your application form to get an idea of a prospective tenant’s employment and housing background. If an applicant is unwilling to provide information related to a certain time period, you are allowed to decline her based on this lack of information, but only if you would do the same for every applicant who showed such a gap.

State and federal fair-housing laws require you to apply the same standards to all applicants. Under these laws, alcoholism and past drug addiction is considered a disability, and it is illegal to refuse housing to someone because of a disability. Your hunch that she was in a rehab program can play no part in refusing her the apartment.

It is also illegal to ask an applicant about disabilities.

This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental-housing mediation service. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, but cannot be answered individually. For housing discrimination questions, complaints or help, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212 or the Southern California Housing Rights Center at (800) 477-5977.