Q: In California. Landlord retaliation after lawsuit filed.
A tenant has a lease that expired two years ago and has been month-to-month since that time.
The tenant has now brought a personal injury claim against the landlord as he tripped on a walkway.
Can the landlord end the month-to-month agreement and if necessary file a unlawful detainer if the tenant does not move out? Or will that be considered retaliation and the landlord would have to wait 180 days before filing the unlawful detainer?
A:
In California, a landlord cannot retaliate against a tenant for exercising their legal rights, including filing a personal injury claim. Retaliation includes actions like terminating a month-to-month tenancy or increasing rent because of the lawsuit. California law protects tenants from retaliatory eviction for up to 180 days after such actions.
However, if the landlord has legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons for ending the month-to-month agreement, such as needing to sell the property or perform major renovations, they may still serve a notice to terminate. The key is that the reason for ending the tenancy must be unrelated to the personal injury claim.
If the tenant believes the eviction is retaliatory, they can raise this as a defense in an unlawful detainer lawsuit. It would then be up to the court to determine if the landlord's actions were in violation of the tenant's rights.
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