All Forum Posts by: Phyo Ko

 It's always disappointing to hear stories like these.  This is a lesson for others reading, especially if you're new to the game, consult with at least a property manager when buying a property with existing tenants.  In this instance, you would have been able to plan for challenges moving existing tenants out, run numbers based on the current rent they pay, learn how long you may have to fight to remove them if at all, and where you would live if you couldn't occupy one of the units right away.

How did your home inspection go? Did anything turn up needing repair that could proveto be  a health hazard?

@Phyo Ko If you need an SD Eviction Attorney I can forward over 1 or 2 👍🏻

@Phyo Ko that's why they want to stay, they have low rent and don't want to pay 2x what they are paying now. They figure they fight an eviction rather than hitting the market to look for something right now. I would suggest cash for keys as they said above, the second route to see if there is a local eviction center (there are some cities that have local businesses that just do evictions for people/homeowners), and the third just follow the procedure and evict them on your own. Depending how savvy they are and how much they want to push it easily could take 7 months to get both of them out (this is with delays and all).

You did not indicate if the units are city of San Diego which currently has an eviction moratorium.  

Your going to have 2 units and not rent them?   I would be careful about using this clause unless you truly plan to have the unit off the rental market for an extended period of time.  In the city of San Diego there has been indication that for 12 months the current tenants have first priority at the rent controlled rate.  Basically they want to make sure you are not pulling it off the market to get the tenants out and then placing new tenants. This is true for every jurisdiction in the state but of the local jurisdictions I am only aware of the city of San Diego having indicated a duration (12 months).  In any city in CA if the units are off market only a couple/few months you are in violation of at least the spirit of AB1482.  My preference would have been for AB1482 to have specified how long the unit must be off market (example 12 months), but it does not.

If the units need rehab and you are planning on rehabbing the unit, this would be better rationale unless you truly plan to keep the units off market for an extended period of time. 

Good luck

@Phyo Ko If they have a current lease, see the terms. When the lease is up, raise the rent. If there's no lease, check with an attorney on how to legally get them out.

Check out this California state-wide law: AB 1482 (California Rent Cap & Just Cause Eviction).

Also, as a previous comment stated, there may be other state and local laws that affect your rental property. I'd recommend contacting (and joining!) a rental property association in your area. They should be very knowledgable about applicable laws. A quick internet search showed Southern California Rental Housing Association (https://www.socalrha.org/) may be in your area, so that could be a good place to start.

@Phyo Ko Unfortunately you lost a lot of your negotiating power when that clause went out the door. Normally, you should either escrow funds or don't close until the eviction is final and all parties have vacated the premises. The seller has now made this your problem and could possibly be a costly one with time and the expense of evictions. Just maybe, if the laws there are in your favor (although I hear differently for California landlords) you could use the Holdover clause and get them out more quickly. As most have stated, time to lawyer up with a great landlord attorney

Is the duplex in the city of San Diego or in San Diego county.  

If in the city of San Diego there is current eviction moratorium and you will not be able to get them out assuming they are not destroying the unit.  

If in the county of San Diego or another city in the greater San Diego area, you still have an issue.  The statewide rent control applies.  You can only do no fault evictions under certain limited conditions that must be indicated in the lease termination notice.  Did you do that?   In addition to meeting the requirements for no-fault eviction, you must pay the tenants one months rent.  Did you do that?  Research AB 1482 or hire someone that is familiar with it to guide you.  If you are not city of San Diego, determine if one of the no-fault evictions applies in your case (you did not state why you want to terminate their leases).  If your units meet the qualifications of no-fault eviction, I would start the termination process over (because may 25 was so recently I would not gamble and try to amend existing notice that may be found not to be compliant with ab1482).  In the lease termination, state the legal reason (compliant to Ab1482) for the lease termination and also state the that they will be provided one month rent at move out (AB1482 dives allow for GP forgiving the last month’s rent, but this has more risk in condition tenant does not vacate). You likely can find some AB1482 tenant termination notices on the internet.  

I suspect you know this, but due diligence for property purchase includes being familiar with the ordinances that apply.  In your cases AB1482 and possibly the San Diego eviction moratorium.  If Your unit is in city of San Diego, internet search the “San Diego eviction moratorium”.  It was recently extended to Sept 30, but I would not rely on it not getting extended further.  

Consider hiring a good property manager. 

Good luck