Q: Can a landlord evict tenants in Santa Barbara County California after the home had an electrical fire and yellow tagged?
The landlord and his wife are harassing the tennants, will not help with a place to stay, changed the locks while belongings were still in the home and gave the tenants a 2 hour window on a Monday yo gather all their belongings for a 5 bedroom house. Also, the landlord is going to have someone there to monitor the removal of their belongings.
A:
Under California law, a landlord cannot simply evict tenants after a home has been yellow-tagged due to an electrical fire. The specific situation you described raises several legal concerns:
1. Habitability: Landlords are required to maintain habitable premises. If the electrical fire has made the home uninhabitable, the landlord must take steps to repair the damage and provide alternative accommodations for the tenants in the meantime.
2. Illegal lockout: Changing the locks and preventing tenants from accessing their belongings without proper legal process is considered an illegal "self-help" eviction in California. Landlords must follow proper eviction procedures, which typically involve providing written notice and going through the court system.
3. Insufficient notice: Providing only a 2-hour window on a Monday for tenants to gather their belongings from a 5-bedroom house is likely unreasonable. Tenants should be given sufficient time to remove their possessions, and the landlord should not hinder this process.
4. Harassment: If the landlord and his wife are engaging in harassing behavior, this may violate California's laws against landlord harassment.
The tenants in this situation should consider taking the following steps:
1. Document all interactions with the landlord, including any harassing behavior or attempts to prevent access to the property and belongings.
2. Contact local law enforcement if the landlord has illegally locked them out of the property.
3. Seek legal advice from a qualified attorney specializing in landlord-tenant law to understand their rights and potential remedies.
4. Contact local housing authorities or tenant rights organizations for additional support and guidance.
It is important for the tenants to act quickly to protect their rights and ensure that the landlord follows proper legal procedures.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
