Is this legal for my landlord to do?

Question

Long story short, I’ve been back and forth with my landlord for months. I rent half of a private home. I was late on rent (but still paying) and asked to move out because my lease was up. I was unable to leave right then and was served a 3 day notice. I couldn’t leave yet and because they couldn’t afford to file the eviction paperwork, they didn’t. Instead they did a partial lock out where they changed the locks and locked me out of half of the unit (meaning half of the half that I rent). I still have the bedroom bathroom and a tiny den room with a sliding glass door which is my only way to get in and out and I cannot lock the door to secure my belongings.  I was told by an eviction attorney that this was illegal/self help eviction but landlord doesn’t care. Landlord has been harassing me with text messages, nasty letters on the door demanding I get out.

Because of the lock out I stopped paying rent to force them to file an unlawful detainer so we could take the matter to court.

Today they put a 30 day “change of lease” notice on my door claiming that my hallway, bathroom will be shared spaces and that my only access to the unit will be the sliding class door. It seems they intend to rent out the unit to someone else while I’m still here and make me share it but still charge me the same amount of rent.

Is this legal? Can a landlord rent my unit while I’m still living here and make me share it? Our lease says the lease can be amended at the agreement of “the parties” but I didn’t agree to it. Is this another self-eviction tactic? I’m in the state of California.

Michaela G. · Answer

I feel bad for this landlord. Yes, sure, they're not going about the right way with a self-help eviction, BUT, if you had been holding up your end of the bargain, as in 'paying rent', it would have never come to this.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

You may have a strong case because of the lockout. Document, document, document. All communication from this point onward should be in writing, or at least documented immediately.

You should do your part too to try to fulfill the terms of the original rental agreement. Take the high road and don't become defiant.  If the lease expires it will automatically revert to a month-to-month agreement until you are given a legal notice to vacate or a notice of lease non-renewal. The terms of a rental agreement can indeed be changed with proper legal notice, even if you don't agree to it. Then you have the option to vacate. That's an option you already have. If you willfully unlawfully detain on the property it won't look good for you either.

Renting a unit, without the ability to secure the doors and windows, and without the ability to use a kitchen, is not acceptable.  Also, the landlord can not legally rent any portion of the area you occupy without your consent or until he regains legal possession of the unit.  Is the original lease clear about which areas were rented to you? Was it a whole house rental that you shared with another party and both your names were on the lease? Or were you just renting a room in a shared house with common areas used by all tenants? It makes a difference.

Hire an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law for your  jurisdiction or seek the services of legal aid.  A tenants' union can  provide you with some guidance as well.  If you  have the option to take this to mediation do that. Don't waste the  resources of the court.

Ray Harrell · Answer

No, it's illegal, and you can sue for damages. You have the right to break the door down or have the locks changed to access your unit. They MUST formally evict you through the courts. Call the police and they will usually make the owner let you in. You can be a dick and call the city's department of buildings and they will come and cite the owner for code violations. It won't really help you, but it will inconvenience them.

Jennifer T. · Answer

A partial lock-out of an area of the house you are renting, sounds like primarily the kitchen, is illegal and self-help.  But then, you're hardly faultless in this either.  I'm not sure if they served you officially with a 30-Day Notice to Vacate (maybe it's 60 days required in CA).  Or how much time has passed since they at least told you to vacate.  However, I'm getting the impression that you have had plenty of time to move and have owed them rent, even before the partial lock-out.  And now you're just taking advantage of them because they can't afford to evict you...at least partially because you aren't paying them rent and (perhaps) haven't been for awhile.

As for if they can give you a 30-Day Notice of the lease amendment that might further restrict you and/or have you potentially deal with a roommate.  I'm not sure.  State laws are very different.

I operate in Louisiana, which does not have the draconian landlord-tenant laws that CA does.  And, YES, once I'm in a month-to-month lease agreement with a tenant, I only have to post a 30-Day notice of my lease amendment for it to be binding.  The tenant does not need to sign it.  They can give me a 30-day notice they are leaving if they don't like it.  But their staying past the 30-Day notice is their tacit agreement to the terms.  But again, I don't know CA laws.  And, with that said, my lease amendments have only ever been for more normal type of stuff, ie raising the rent, changing a grace period, etc.

Really, though.  You shouldn't even be worried about these finer points.  They gave you a 30-Day lease amendment notice that you don't like.  So just leave within the next 30 days.  Hopefully you've been saving the rent you've been withholding to make that a little easier.

Ray Harrell · Answer

If the landlord lives on the property, chances are that property is exempt from any local landlord/tenant regulations. You would therefore have to depend on any state laws. That's part of the problem with renting spaces from owner-occupied spaces. That gums up the whole thing, and you actually may not have ANY rights.

Chicago is extremely tenant friendly, but if the owner lives on the property and it is less than 6 units, CRLTO goes out the window.

Sandra Koen · Answer

Marcia,

The lease simply says “the premises” of the address where I live. It says to keep common areas clean ie kitchen, laundry room and refrigerator. So it’s not clearly stated in the lease the specific areas of the house that are rented to me, but orally we agreed that the back half of the house; bedroom, bathroom, hallway and den room with sliding glass door were mine and the kitchen and laundry would be shared between me and the landlord. The kitchen, laundry and refrigerator are what they changed the locks and locked me out of. The back kitchen door was my private entrance but they changed those locks and there was a door separating my half of the house from the kitchen but they deadbolted that shut so I couldn’t get into the kitchen at all.

I know a woman who works with a tenants rights group that I’m gonna call tomorrow to ask her how to respond to this notice. Thank you for your feedback.

Sandra Koen · Answer

Thank you. What about the part of them re-renting the unit while I’m still here and making me share it? Is that legal?

Is this legal for my landlord to do?

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