I Think We Have A Squatter In Our Garage

by Dave Crow | Mar 6, 2013 | Tenant Law

I Think We Have A Squatter In Our Garage

I have a question about a squatter that’s living in our building. I’ve tried doing research online regarding squatters living in a building’s common areas or garage, but haven’t come up with much.

My two roommates and I live in a three-story apartment building in San Francisco (built in the early 1990s, so no rent control). It has three units total – two flats, and a small, most likely illegal unit in the rear of the garage.

Our garage is large enough for two cars to park side-by-side.

While we are not on a lease right now (and have not been for four years), I’ve lived in the top flat for over six years, and a garage spot has always been reserved for our flat, as well as the flat on the second floor. Other than that, the garage houses all of the building’s electrical switches, the main water shut-off, washer and dryer for tenants’ use, two water heaters (shared among the three units), and also a gas heating unit for the second-floor flat.

Our problem is that there is a squatter living in our garage. The squatter is a former tenant of the second-floor flat below ours, who must have gotten kicked out by her roommates. She has an 8-year-old child with a man who still lives in the flat below us, and it seems that they share custody. However, we suspect that the woman is homeless.

Although she is no longer living in the second-floor flat, she retained her keys, or at least the key to enter the gate that allows access to the building. There were a few days when she didn’t have keys and was constantly ringing our doorbell (a.k.a. harassing us) in an attempt to gain entrance to the building.

Her car remains in the garage, where it has been for the last 7+ years. She sleeps in the car, but that isn’t even the worst part. One day about six or eight weeks ago, out of nowhere, all of her possessions appeared in garbage bags in the garage.

To describe the disaster, it looks like she put all of her possessions in the room above the garage and the ceiling caved in. It has quite literally turned our garage into a landfill. There are clothes, food, food wrappers, garbage, and old appliances strewn everywhere, blocking walkways and making passage through the garage to the backyard difficult. My roommate’s parking space in the garage is often blocked by, or filled with, this junk.

For instance, my roommate will leave for the day and come back in the evening, and the squatter will have moved junk into my roommate’s parking space. Our water main shutoff is blocked by garbage and appliances that are piled against the wall. The squatter makes use of our washer and dryer whenever she feels like it (utilities that we are paying for, by the way). Lord only knows where she uses the restroom, because her former roommates, the second-floor tenants, do not seem to allow her to enter their flat.

The situation gets worse on a daily basis. At first, we were sympathetic, as she apologized for the mess, saying that she was moving to another apartment, and everything would be out in a couple of weeks. However, that doesn’t seem to have happened.

Last week, we called the property manager and told him what was going on. He said he needed to think about it and would call us back. The following day, I sent him a letter detailing everything I have mentioned here, complete with several photos of the possessions and garbage in the garage. I suggested that he call me ASAP because something needs to be done about this situation promptly. No reply yet. As tenants, I don’t believe we can legally do anything about this situation, and the landlord is the one who needs to formally evict the squatter. Am I correct? If he does not take any action, what can we do as tenants?

Strictly speaking, squatters do not need to be formally evicted, that is served with notice and sued in unlawful detainer. Squatters have no tenancy rights and can simply be ejected from a building by the police. You can call the police, but my years at the Homeless Advocacy Project make me queasy, even given your frustration, to suggest that course of action right off the bat.

It is the landlord’s duty to deal with the squatter and you were correct informing the property manage in the manner you did. However, in this case, you’re probably going to act more compassionately than the landlord. Rather than simply looking at this woman as a nuisance to be cleared away, I hope that you can see her as a human being who needs help. The question is what kind of help and what can you do to steer her in the right direction.

I think the first thing to do is to find out why the woman is no longer living in her apartment. Ask the downstairs neighbors what happened. Clearly, their perspective may be biased, but it will help you get an understanding of the woman’s current dilemma. You can learn the circumstances of her “eviction.” You can, perhaps, ascertain her mental state; find out if she is employed.

To me something smells about the circumstances in which baby-daddy kicked out the mother of his child, but clearly, you don’t have any obligation to delve into that.

You don’t mention if the child lives with his or her mother in the car. If that is true you’ll need to act faster.

I would speak to the woman one more time to get a clearer understanding of her mental state and her plans or lack thereof. Does she get that she can’t simply live in her car in the garage?

Suggest that she drop into the Homeless Advocacy Project, 1360 Mission Street Suite 201 (between 9th and 10th Streets), on a Tuesday between 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. for their new client drop-in clinic. They will evaluate her case based on a holistic assessment of her needs and either take her as a client or refer her to an agency who can help.

Let her know that she may qualify for shelter service for her and her child. She can contact Compass Community Services, Hamilton Family Center, or St. Joseph’s Family Center.

If she refuses to try to get help, especially if she has her child in tow, then it’s time to call the cops. Call the non-emergency number, (415) 553-0123, explain the situation, and ask if they can bring a social worker.

If you’d prefer that your landlord take steps to remove the squatter, show him this article and suggest that he take the steps I’ve outlined.

Call the Tenant Lawyers now for a free consultation.
(415) 552-9060

Even Dracula Had to Knock

In vampire lore it is said that a vampire had to have an invitation before it could enter one’s dwelling.

What about landlords? How many times have you heard your landlord say, “This is my property and I can come in whenever I want?” Jeez, if you’re going to suck my blood, at least be charming about it.

Learn more about landlord illegal entries.

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Should I Propose A Buyout to My Landlord?

by Dave Crow | Oct 25, 2012 | Tenant Buyouts

Should I Propose A Buyout to My Landlord?

Should I propose a buyout?

I live in an old 12 unit Victorian (1890s) in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury district.

Tenants in our building suffered through the Lembi years where some of my neighbors were offered $25k to move (poor timing on my part).

The new owners are currently renting upgraded units for $3200. I would like to propose a buyout to the owner and see if they would be interested in my unit.

My rent is $1140 for a large 2 bedroom. We have a middle man management company that facilitates all correspondence. Should I send the request to them or is it a better tactic to try and locate the actual owner’s contact information to send the proposal letter to?

I have no idea if the owner would consider offering a buyout, but figured a good pitch may make them consider it considering after upgrades, they would yield a $2k profit monthly.

As you may know, I help tenants negotiate buyouts all the time. I’ve written four articles that illustrate the negotiation process, strategies to obtain the best price and the provision that should be contained in a settlement agreement:

Tenant Buyouts
Tenant Buyouts: Your Absolute Bottom Line
Tenant Buyouts: Strategy for Success
Tenant Buyouts: The Agreement

99.9% of buyout offers are initiated by landlords accompanied with a vague or overt threat of an Owner-Move-In (OMI) eviction or an Ellis Act eviction. Landlords rarely move into 12-unit buildings and almost never take them out of the rental market using an Ellis eviction because 12-unit buildings cannot be converted to condominiums.

The Lembis offered buyouts four or five years ago as a part of their scheme to inflate the projected income of their buildings to refinance them using collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), “a strategy that made their holdings more attractive to all that practically free short-term money—hundreds of millions of dollars—flowing in from around the globe.” Danelle Morton, “War of Values,” San Francisco Magazine.

In my experience, I haven’t seen many successful buyout when tenants propose them. the landlord think the tenant will vacate voluntarily anyway.

The best way to deal with this is to show the landlord the value that he will gain if you move. And if you’re planning to move anyway look at a buyout as “found money.”

Call the Tenant Lawyers now for a free consultation.
(415) 552-9060

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My Landlord Said I Didn’t Have To Pay Rent, But Now She Wants It

by Dave Crow | Jul 7, 2011 | Tenant Law

My Landlord Said I Didn’t Have To Pay Rent, But Now She Wants It

My landlord has filed for bankruptcy. At the time she filed, she also notified me in writing that she was releasing me from my obligation to pay rent to her since she wouldn’t be owning the house any longer.

Since then, we worked out payment arrangements to ensure that our utilities, which are in her name, were still paid by us. Per that agreement, also in writing, we are up to date in all payments owed to her. She sent us a letter saying our rent was in arrears for the last month and that we had to pay the full amount within 36 hours or be served with a 3 day pay rent or quit notice. After reminding her of our written agreement and giving her our 30 day notice, she still served us with a 3 day notice. Are we required to pay her the rent she claims we owe, even once other arrangements had been made? We will be moving out before the eviction process is complete so the threat of being removed from the premises is moot.

This is a great question. The scenario you describe is becoming more common and your question also demonstrates a reasonable, but fundamental misunderstanding of the law.

Are you technically required to pay rent to the landlord, despite her promises–yes. Wait a minute, as small children we are told that if we make a promise we must honor it. It’s fundamental morality, right? It may be, but one can only enforce a contract under the law, not a promise.

Well, you say, we had it writing, that’s a contract, right? Not necessarily. A valid contract must always contain an essential element–valuable consideration. In modern society consideration is almost always the payment of money or an exchange of promises–like I agree to pay you five bucks to scratch my back or you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

If you think about your arrangement with your landlord, ask yourselves: What did we have to do or pay to extinguish our duty to pay rent? Reading your description of your agreement, I don’t see that you had to provide any consideration. All you did was to arrange to pay the utilities. If the landlord was responsible to pay the utilities before your agreement, her three-day notice may be invalid because it may be stating the wrong amount you owed, but the landlord did not bargain away her right to collect the rent.

When are mere promises enforceable? Only when one has detrimentally relied on the promise and the reliance was justified. In your case detrimental reliance would mean that you spent the rent money and now don’t have the dough to pay the rent. Let’s say you relied on the landlord’s promise and spent the rent money for that nose job you always wanted. Is your reliance justified? Probably not.

Frankly, I don’t think you could ever show that your reliance on the landlord’s promise was justifiable. Why? Because the duty to pay rent in this culture is practically sacrosanct. Courts, even San Francisco courts, are loathe to excuse tenants from their duty to pay the rent. That’s why I almost always advise tenants to pay the rent if they receive a three-day notice.

So, if the notice period has not expired, the conservative advice is to pay the rent.

Functionally, given your thirty-day notice to vacate, it would be foolish for the landlord to serve you with an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit: 1) She probably doesn’t have the money to successfully prosecute the case and 2) You will likely vacate before the trial.

The problem for you, if she does file a lawsuit, is that your credit record will be tainted if the case is not dismissed within 60 days of the filing. The unlawful detainer action can be also converted to a breach of contract lawsuit that could last for years.

Do not fail to respond to an unlawful detainer just because you are moving. Your default will speed up the process by which the landlord can recover possession and your credit record will certainly suffer.

Take your documents down to the San Francisco Tenants Union. Discuss your options with a counselor and to develop a strategy which will include communication to the landlord informing her that evicting you now will simply be throwing good money after bad. If you have a security deposit, also remind her that the deposit can be applied to any arrearage in the rent.

Call the Tenant Lawyers now for a free consultation.
(415) 552-9060

They Don't Call 'Em Landlords For Nothing

How many times have you heard your landlord say, “This is my property and I can do anything I want?” Before you tell him to stick his "anything" where the sun don’t shine, understand that your landlord is simply a romantic. He should be wearing a cod piece and tights.

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Tenant in San Francisco: What’s Wrong with Working in a Bookstore?

by Dave Crow | Mar 29, 2010 | Tenant Troubles Classics

Tenant in San Francisco: What’s Wrong with Working in a Bookstore?

Several years ago I was speaking to a young woman at a party who had recently graduated from college. She moved back to San Francisco, her home town, and got a job in a bookstore. She was living with her parents but wanted to strike out on her own. She simply could not find an apartment she could afford. “What’s wrong with working in a bookstore?” she asked me. It’s a question that still haunts me when I speak to tenants.

Last week the SF Appeal reported that rents are dropping according to the San Francisco Controller’s Monthly Economic Barometer. The article also reported that San Francisco unemployment had risen to 10.3%. It still begs the question, even if rents are dropping, is housing becoming more affordable for those who make your cappuccino at Starbucks? Or teachers? Or police officers? Or people who work in bookstores? The answer still seems to be no.

I recently happened on a post from the blog, LAist, which makes this quite clear, “Renter’s Market? LA Ranks as Pricier Than NYC.” The post relied on a study from the Center for Housing Policy for the fourth quarter of 2009, announced March 23, 2010. When I clicked the link I already knew that San Francisco’s rents are higher than Los Angeles and, sure enough, even with rent control, we’re number one…again.

The more interesting aspect of the study poses this conundrum: “Who are among the ranks of America’s workers struggling to afford housing? In some high-priced communities, people who provide the bulk of vital services – teachers, firefighters, police officers, retail sales workers and restaurant workers – cannot afford to live in the communities they serve.” The Center for Housing Policy’s page, Paycheck to Paycheck, provides an interactive database that, among other things, allows you to compare how workers are faring in housing markets of 210 metropolitan areas of the United States.

For San Francisco, the study uses “2009 Fair Market Rent” of $1,406/month for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,760 for a two-bedroom apartment. Then it compares the hourly wage required to afford an apartment assuming that a maximum 30% of pretax income should be devoted to rent.

I checked the three categories for teachers, preschool ($30.21/hour), elementary ($30.15/hour) and secondary ($31.44/hour). None could individually afford a two-bedroom; all could afford a one-bedroom. A registered nurse ($37.27/hour) can afford both. While an LPN ($23.71/hour) or a nurse’s aid ($15.74/hour) can afford neither. A police officer ($29.80/hour) can afford one-bedroom, but not two. A carpenter ($26.21/hour) can forget it. If you work in a bookstore (retail sales, $13.24/hour), you’re screwed. If you work in a bookstore (and you are willing to commute) you still can’t afford a one-bedroom in Fresno.

Obviously, families with multiple incomes may fare better. Single renters deal with adversity creatively. They live with roommates or have three jobs. (A “uniquely American” attribute, as George W. Bush put it.)

Rents may be dropping in San Francisco, but that isn’t really the point. If the price of a Maserati drops by $50,000.00, does that mean I’m going to be able to buy one? San Francisco is fast becoming a city in the clouds, like Stratos, in the 1969 episode of Star Trek, “The Cloud Minders.” The city is held aloft in the sky by “sustained anti-gravity elevation.” Its inhabitants are devoted solely to the creation of art while the miners on the planet below, the “troglites” who create the city’s fungible wealth, are prohibited from living among or partaking in the intellectual pursuits of their masters. While the message is still apt, the naivete of the episode is exposed because it assumes that the elite will be comprised of artists and intellectuals, rather than con-artists—bankers, stock brokers and real estate traders whose attempts at sustained anti-gravity elevation are limited to credit default swaps.

We all know that that the inflated real estate market of the recent past drove many artists, teachers, nurses and carpenters from San Francisco. Will they return because the rents have dropped a bit? Unlikely. Do we honestly believe that the Starbucks baristas will happily commute from Modesto to serve us our skinny cinnamon dolce lattes?

What’s wrong with working in a bookstore in San Francisco? Nothing, as long as you work in three of them.

Call the Tenant Lawyers now for a free consultation.
(415) 552-9060

They Don't Call 'Em Landlords For Nothing

How many times have you heard your landlord say, “This is my property and I can do anything I want?” Before you tell him to stick his "anything" where the sun don’t shine, understand that your landlord is simply a romantic. He should be wearing a cod piece and tights.

Find out how to tell your landlord to stick it.