Q: I was employed by an owner as a property manager living onsite. My employment ended Jan 9th.
They gave me until Feb 9th to vacate. I tried contacting my supervisor on several occassions requesting to stay onsite as a regular resident and to please advise what was the next step, i.e. signing a lease, what the rent was, what did I owe and by when. I never got a response. I emailed 3 times and left 2 voice mails. I got a 3 day notice to vacate on March 7th. In the 3 day notice it stated "an additional 30 days were given to me to vacate which I failed to do so". If I was not vacated by Monday (yesterday) they would file a unlawful detainer to regain possession of the unit. Do I have any rights here? there is nothing in my employment contract stating I had to vacate, nor that I could remain as a resident. My attempts to communicate my options were ignored and now I'm on the vurge of an eviction ruining my credit. Can you assist with what my best option is? I am currently looking for another job but have not found one yet and I have no means to move.
A:
Unfortunately, when lodging is part of the employment bargain, you do not have the same rights as you would if you were a normal tenant. Your employer has the right to terminate your right to stay in the lodging immediately upon termination of the employment, without 3 or 5 or 30 day notices. Your employer gave you more time than required by the law and if the unlawful detainer were to proceed you can be removed from the premises by the sheriff.
Note, it is not uncommon for employers to mess up how you are to be compensated when lodging is included in the bargain. It would be wise for you to locate and consult with an employment law attorney to see if you have any violations of the Labor Code associated with this prior employment.
Good luck to you.
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