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Tenant Rights when a unit is found to be illegal and subsequently deemed unsafe/ uninhabitable?
Anonymous3 views1 answers
What is the landlord's financial responsibility to tenant when he has knowingly allowed a tenant to occupy an illegal unit? That illegal unit, where tenant has lived for 3 years, was recently inspected and then deemed structurally unsound. What happened in this case was the landlord constructed an additional room, that is not on the approved plans for the house, nor was it designed with a structural engineer. He then rented it out the room as part of a larger, illegal unit. The makeshift retaining wall he created himself is now showing signs of caving in. Can tenant hold landlord responsible for fraud, damage to personal property and for relocation costs? Is there a minimum/maximum allowed?
I am a tenants' lawyer in San Francisco.
In California, if the unit is illegal, the fair market vaule of the unit is $0. Since it keeps the rain off of the tenant, it usually worth something. Since the tenant would not have moved if he know the unit was illegal and the landlord concealed the illegality so the rent would rent, that is fraud, which exposes the landlord to paying punitive damages, not just out of pocket and emotional distress damages. Call me at 415-673-6000 if you want to discuss this matter.
This is not legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. This merely a discussion of general legal principles; the nature of this communication is such that not enough information is available to give specific advice. If you want further information, you should contact a lawyer with experience in your area of interest.
