abandon/abandonment - the
tenant's remedy of moving out of a rental unit
that is uninhabitable and that the landlord has
not repaired within a reasonable time after
receiving notice of the defects from the tenant.
amount of
advance notice - the number of days' notice
that must be given before a change in the tenancy
can take effect. Usually, the amount of advance
notice is the same as the number of days between
rent payments. For example, in a month-to-month
tenancy, the landlord usually must give the
tenant 30 days' advance written notice that the
landlord is increasing the amount of the security
deposit.
appeal- a request to a
higher court to review a lower court's decision
in a lawsuit.
Application for Waiver
of Court Fees and Costs - a form that tenants
may complete and give to the Clerk of Court to
request permission to file court documents
without paying the court filing fee.
arbitration- using
a neutral third person to resolve a dispute
instead of going to court. Unless the parties
have agreed otherwise, the parties must follow
the arbitrator's decision.
arbitrator - a
neutral third person, agreed to by the parties to
a dispute, who hears and decides a dispute. An
arbitrator is not a judge, but the parties must
follow the arbitrator's decision (the decision is
said to be "binding" on the parties).
(See arbitration.)
assign/assignment -
an agreement between the original tenant and a
new tenant by which the new tenant takes over the
lease of a rental unit and becomes responsible to
the landlord for everything that the original
tenant was responsible for. The original tenant
is still responsible to the landlord if the new
tenant doesn't live up to the lease obligations.
(See novation; compare to
sublease.)
California Department
of Fair Employment and Housing - the state
agency that investigates complaints of unlawful
discrimination in housing and employment.
Claim of Right to
Possession - a form that the occupants of a
rental unit can fill out to temporarily stop
their eviction by the sheriff after the landlord
has won an unlawful
detainer (eviction) lawsuit. The occupants
can use this form only if: the landlord did not
serve a Prejudgment
Claim of Right to Possession form with the
summons and complaint; the occupants were not
named in the writ of
possession; and the occupants have lived in
the rental unit since before the unlawful
detainer lawsuit was filed.
credit report - a
report prepared by a credit reporting agency that
describes a person's credit history for the last
seven years (except for bankruptcies, which are
reported for 10 years). A credit report shows,
for example, whether the person pays his or her
bills on time, has delinquent or charged-off
accounts, has been sued, and is subject to court
judgments.
credit
reporting agency - a business that keeps
records of people's credit histories, and that
reports credit history information to prospective
creditors (including landlords).
default judgment
- a judgment issued by the court, without a
hearing, after the tenant has failed to file a
response to the landlord's complaint.
Demurrer - a legal
response that a tenant can file in an unlawful
detainer lawsuit to test the legal sufficiency of
the charges made in the landlord's complaint.
discrimination (in
renting) - denying a person housing, telling
a person that housing is not available (when the
housing is actually available at that time),
providing housing under inferior terms, harassing
a person in connection with housing
accommodations, or providing segregated housing
because of a person's race, color, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry,
source of income, age, disability, whether the
person is married, or whether there are children
under the age of 18 in the person's household.
Discrimination also can be refusal to make
reasonable accommodation for a person with a
disability.
escrow account -
a bank account into which a tenant deposits
withheld rent, to be withdrawn only when the
landlord has corrected uninhabitable conditions
in the rental unit or when the tenant is ordered
by a court to pay withheld rent to the landlord.
eviction - a
court-administered proceeding for removing a
tenant from a rental unit because the tenant has
violated the rental agreement or did not comply
with a notice ending the tenancy (also called an
"unlawful
detainer" lawsuit).
eviction notice
(or three-day notice)
- a three-day notice that the landlord serves on
the tenant when the tenant has violated the lease
or rental agreement. The three-day notice usually
instructs the tenant to either leave the rental
unit or comply with the lease or rental agreement
(for example, by paying past-due rent) within the
three-day period.
fair housing
organizations - city or county organizations
that help renters resolve housing discrimination
problems.
federal stay - an
order of a federal bankruptcy court that
temporarily stops proceedings in a state court,
including an eviction proceeding.
guest - a person who does
not have the rights of a tenant, such as a person
who stays in a transient hotel for fewer than
seven days.
habitable - a rental
unit that is fit for human beings to live in. A
rental unit that substantially complies with
building and safety code standards that
materially affect tenants' health and safety is
said to be "habitable." See uninhabitable
and implied
warranty of habitability.
holding deposit
- a deposit that a tenant gives to a landlord to
hold a rental unit until the tenant pays the
first month's rent and the security deposit.
implied warranty of
habitability - a legal rule that requires
landlords to maintain their rental units in a
condition fit for human beings to live in. A
rental unit must substantially comply with
building and housing code standards that
materially affect tenants' health and safety. The
basic minimum requirements for a rental unit to
be habitable are listed in the Dealing
With Problems section.
initial
inspection - an inspection by the landlord
before the tenancy ends to identify defective
conditions that justify deductions from the
security deposit. The landlord must perform an
initial inspection if the tenant requests it.
item of
information - information in a credit report
that causes a creditor to deny credit or take
other adverse action against an applicant (such
as refusing to rent a rental unit to the
applicant).
landlord - a business
or person who owns a rental unit, and who rents
or leases the rental unit to another person,
called a tenant.
lease - a rental
agreement, usually in writing, that establishes
all the terms of the agreement and that lasts for
a predetermined length of time (for example, six
months or one year). Compare to periodic rental
agreement.
legal aid
organizations - organizations that provide
free legal advice, representation, and other
legal services in noncriminal cases to
economically disadvantaged persons.
lock out - when a
landlord locks a tenant out of the rental unit
with the intent of terminating the tenancy.
Lockouts, and all other self-help eviction
remedies, are illegal.
lodger - a person who
lives in a room in a house where the owner lives.
The owner can enter all areas occupied by the
lodger, and has overall control of the house.
mediation - a process
in which a neutral third person meets with the
parties to a dispute in order to assist them in
formulating a voluntary solution to the dispute.
Memorandum to Set Case
for Trial - a court document that notifies
the parties in an
unlawful
detainer lawsuit that the case has been
set for trial. This document also states whether
the plaintiff (the landlord) has requested a jury
trial.
Motion to Quash
Service of Summons - a legal response that a
tenant can file in an unlawful detainer lawsuit
if the tenant believes that the landlord did not
properly serve the summons and complaint.
negligence/negligently
- a person's carelessness (that is, failure to
use ordinary or reasonable care) that results in
injury to another person or damage to another
person's property.
novation - in an
assignment situation, a novation is an agreement
by the landlord, the original tenant, and the new
tenant that makes the new tenant (rather than the
original tenant) solely responsible to the
landlord.
periodic
rental agreement - an oral or written rental
agreement that states the length of time between
rent payments - for example, a week or a month -
but not the total number of weeks or months that
the agreement will be in effect.
Prejudgment Claim
of Right to Possession - a form that a
landlord in an unlawful
detainer (eviction) lawsuit can have
served along with the summons and complaint on
all persons living in the rental unit who might
claim to be tenants, but whose names the landlord
does not know. Occupants who are not named in the
unlawful detainer complaint, but who claim a
right to possess the rental unit, can fill out
and file this form to become parties to the
unlawful detainer action.
prepaid rental
listing services - businesses that sell lists
of available rental units.
relief from
forfeiture - an order by a court in an unlawful
detainer (eviction) lawsuit that allows
the losing tenant to remain in the rental unit,
based on the tenant's convincing the court that
the eviction would cause the tenant severe
hardship and that the tenant can pay all of the
rent that is due, or to otherwise fully comply
with the lease.
rent control
ordinances - laws in some communities that
limit or prohibit rent increases, or that limit
the circumstances in which a tenant can be
evicted.
rent withholding
- the tenant's remedy of not paying some or all
of the rent if the landlord does not fix defects
that make the rental unit uninhabitable
within a reasonable time after the landlord
receives notice of the defects from the tenant.
rental agreement
- an oral or written agreement between a tenant
and a landlord, made before the tenant moves in,
which establishes the terms of the tenancy, such
as the amount of the rent and when it is due. See
lease and periodic rental agreement.
rental
application form - a form that a landlord may
ask a tenant to fill out prior to renting that
requests information about the tenant, such as
the tenant's address, telephone number,
employment history, credit references, and the
like.
rental period -
the length of time between rental payments; for
example, a week or a month.
rental unit - an
apartment, house, duplex, or condominium that a landlord rents to a tenant to live in.
renter's insurance
- insurance protecting the tenant
against property losses, such as losses from
theft or fire. This insurance usually also
protects the tenant against liability (legal
responsibility) for claims or lawsuits filed by
the landlord or by others alleging that the
tenant negligently
injured another person or property.
repair and deduct
remedy - the tenant's remedy of deducting
from future rent the amount necessary to repair
defects covered by the implied warranty of
habitability. The amount deducted cannot
be more than one month's rent.
retaliatory
eviction or action - an act by a landlord,
such as raising a tenant's rent, seeking to evict
a tenant, or otherwise punishing a tenant because
the tenant has used the repair and deduct
remedy or the rent
withholding remedy, or has asserted other
tenant rights.
security deposit -
a deposit or a fee that the landlord requires the
tenant to pay at the beginning of the tenancy.
The landlord can use the security deposit, for
example, if the tenant moves out owing rent or
leaves the unit damaged or less clean than when
the tenant moved in.
serve/service - legal
requirements and procedures that seek to assure
that the person
to whom a legal notice is directed actually
receives it.
sixty-day notice
- a written notice from a landlord
to a tenant telling
the tenant that the tenancy
will end in 60 days. A sixty-day notice usually
does not have to state the landlord's reason for
ending the tenancy.
sublease - a
separate rental agreement between the original
tenant and a new tenant
to whom the original tenant rents all or part of
the rental unit. The new tenant is called a
"subtenant." The agreement between the
original tenant and the landlord remains in
force, and the original tenant continues to be
responsible for paying the rent to the landlord
and for other tenant obligations. (Compare to assignment.)
subpoena - an order
from the court that requires the recipient to
appear as a witness or provide evidence in a
court proceeding.
subtenant - see sublease.
tenancy - the tenant's
exclusive right, created by a rental agreement
between the landlord
and the tenant, to use and possess the landlord's
rental unit.
tenant - a person who
rents or leases a rental
unit from a landlord.
The tenant obtains the right to the exclusive use
and possession of the rental unit during the
lease or rental period.
tenant
screening service - a business that collects
and sells information on tenants, such as whether
they pay their rent on time and whether they have
been defendants in unlawful
detainer lawsuits.
three-day
notice - see eviction
notice.
thirty-day notice
- a written notice from a landlord
to a tenant telling
the tenant that the tenancy
will end in 30 days. A thirty-day notice usually
does not have to state the landlord's reason for
ending the tenancy.
uninhabitable - a
rental unit
which has such serious problems or defects that
the tenant's health or safety is affected. A
rental unit may be uninhabitable if it is not fit
for human beings to live in, or if it fails to
substantially comply with building and safety
code standards that materially affect tenants'
health and safety. (Compare to habitable.)
unlawful
detainer lawsuit - a lawsuit that a landlord
must file and win before he or she can evict a
tenant (also called an "eviction"
lawsuit).
U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development - the federal agency that
enforces the federal fair housing law, which
prohibits discrimination based on sex, race,
religion, national or ethnic origin, familial
status, or mental handicap.
waive - to sign a written
document (a "waiver") giving up a
right, claim, privilege, etc. In order for a
waiver to be effective, the person giving the
waiver must do so knowingly, and must know the
right, claim, privilege, etc. that he or she is
giving up.
writ of possession
- a document issued by the court after the
landlord wins an unlawful
detainer (eviction) lawsuit. The writ of
possession is served on the tenant by the
sheriff. The writ informs the tenant that the
tenant must leave the rental unit by the end of
five days, or the sheriff will forcibly remove
the tenant.