All Forum Posts by: Cathy S.

I’ve tried to reach out to several tenant/landlord attorneys around town and they’ve either just gone straight to voicemail, or the attorney responded once and then never again.

I am looking for someone who is actually responsive. If anyone knows someone, please share.

@Dan H. I actually did find the San Diego code online saying outdoor storage can only be in the side/rear yards (142.1110 (c))! Well thanks so much for bringing this to my attention - I actually had NO idea. Now that the shed is actually illegal in the front yard, what I might do is offer them cash for garage. Like get yourself stuff out by this date and I’ll give you $500, or something of that effect…

https://docs.sandiego.gov/muni...

@Dan H. I tried searching online to find the code that says sheds can’t be in the front yard but can’t find it. Do you have a link? This shed will be 72 sq ft (small) so a permit will not be needed. From my understanding the shed just has to be within your property lines and have a specific setback if it’s over 1000 sq ft or something like that.

Yeah well I really didn’t foresee them acquiring so much JUNK within the last 2 months. Also didn’t have the foresight to specify clearing out the garage in the lease renewal.

The lease doesn’t say that they are assigned a parking spot in the garage, so I don’t know if they are actually entitled to it due to history or whatever. Yeah I guess cash for garage could work, like provide them with cash after they move their stuff out. If that’s the only option then I will take it, but I am waiting to hear back from a landlord/tenant attorney to see what other options there are based on the specific wording in my lease.

@Joe Splitrock Yeah makes sense. 

Well the layout is a bit funky. It's a duplex - they live in the front house (detached), and I live in the other building on top of the garages. It's not a single family with a garage situation.

Well, the lease they renewed with me does not say that they have a designated parking spot in the garage. The previous lease they had with the previous owner does not say anything about a garage either. Anyway the remaining question that I have now is - if the lease does not state the EXCLUSION of the garage, but only OMITS it, does that mean they get to use the garage or not?

Yeah I can potentially incentivize them and give them X sum of money off rent or 3 months' storage unit costs after they move their stuff out possibly.. but why is this my job? They had 8 months to plan for something imminent. When we were renewing the lease (changing from older owner to me), they could have used this as negotiating power to drive down the lease but they didn't. I also didn't have the foresight to exclude the garage in the contract since I thought they would be normal and reasonable people who would cooperate. 

@Waylon Zook Yeah I have no idea which way this will swing since I don't know the legal specifics of this situation. Their lease still has a while to expire, May 2022.

@Waylon Zook Not sure what you mean by SOL? I don't know if garages are typically included/excluded in this area (San Diego). I think it just depends on the individual landlord. Anyway I have reviewed my lease and there is a specific paragraph related to parking. It is not filled out, just blank. If it is not clearly stated that they are indeed assigned a parking spot, I don't know if they technically have access to it. Anyway, this is a question for an actual tenant/landlord attorney.

11. PARKING. Tenant is assigned ______________________ as their parking space(s). If Tenant is
assigned a parking space(s) by Landlord, Tenant shall use such space(s) only for the parking of operable, licensed
and currently registered passenger automobiles and motorcycles. At no time shall the Tenant wash, paint, or
repair any vehicle parked in the space(s) assigned by the Landlord. Tenant and Tenant’s guests shall not park
anywhere on Landlord’s property except the space(s) assigned to Tenant. Any vehicle of Tenant or Tenant’s
guests that park on any Landlord property and not in the assigned space(s) will be towed at Tenant’s expense and
with no warning. Tenant may not assign or sublet the parking space(s) assigned by Landlord, except with
Landlord’s written permission. No items shall be stored in or around Tenant’s assigned parking space(s) and any
such items shall be disposed of by Landlord and with no warning.

@Greg M. yeah totally, I am proceeding with caution and won't do anything until I get the proper advice from my attorney. Honestly it's pretty ridiculous that this is something that I need to do. I've given them 8 months' notice, am spending 3k on a shed for them, they don't pay rent and expect the city to pay me rent (trying to tap into 6 months' of covid rental assistance funds), yet they can still just do absolutely nothing and have all the rights in the world.

@Michelle Lea Brown The lease doesn't specifically say anything about using a garage. However, they are inherited tenants and they had been using their 1 car garage since before I bought the property. Yeah that could be an idea. Either way, I am providing a solution (shed), but they need to figure out what to do with excess items if the items can't all fit in the shed.

@Waylon Zook There's not exactly room in the front yard for an additional shed, and it would be pretty unreasonable to expect a shed the size of a 10'x20' single car garage. The unplanned thing was that they moved their elderly parent in 1 month ago, along with a TON of stuff. 

Well I am waiting for the shed to be installed first, and then wait a week or so for the actual garage construction to start, to give them time to move their stuff. I don't think I'm legally allowed to touch their stuff. 

Also I had literally been telling them I was planning on converting the garage since FEBRUARY, and they waited until the last possible minute to procrastinate and then bring another half garage's worth of STUFF. 

BTW, they haven't even paid rent for this month, and I'm the one going out of my way to accommodate them...