Bay Guardian Covers Landlord Hall of Shame

Check out Rebecca Bowe's piece in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, New Website Featured Worst Landlords Ever.

"Tenants Together, a statewide nonprofit advocating for tenants’ rights, has launched a new website that allows tenants to nominate their landlords as the worst ever in California.

The Landlord Hall of Shame features a listing of landlords who’ve been suggested, officially nominated, or installed by vote into the Hall of Shame. The aim is to spotlight landlords who disrespect tenants' rights, try to force tenants out for their own economic gain, or act in some other egregious way that makes life miserable for a renter. While none of them will be dubbed Hall of Shamers until December, a couple of official nominees already sound like tough contenders."

To read the full article, click here.

The Landlord Hall of Shame was launched on Thursday, September 23, and has already generated significant interest and excitement. Tenants across California are suggesting potential nominees. To suggest a nominee, click here.

Tenants Together Launches Landlord Hall of Shame

Today, Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for tenants’ rights,launched its Landlord Hall of Shame.

The Landlord Hall of Shame is designed to expose the worst landlords in California. Through the Landlord Hall of Shame, Tenants Together hopes to publicly shame bad landlords and deter future misconduct by landlords.

The first two Official Nominees to the Landlord Hall of Shame are Palo Alto-based real estate Developer David Taran and Bakersfield-based mega landlord Frank St. Clair.

Congratulations to Mr. Taran and Mr. St. Clair on their nomination to the Hall of Shame. They've been selected in recognition of the extensive misery they've caused California tenants.

Using an easy online form, California tenants can nominate a landlord for consideration to the Hall of Shame by going to http://hallofshame.tenantstogether.org. Tenants Together plans to announce Official Nominees throughout the year. Annually, members of Tenants Together vote to determine which of the Official Nominees will be inducted into the Hall of Shame.

The message to bad California landlords is clear. Clean up your act, or be ready for a public shaming.

Know Your Rights: Security Deposits

We have recently received a high number of phone calls from tenants with questions about their security deposits. Here are some quick facts for you to know about your security deposit.

-The deposit may not exceed the amount of two months’ rent (three months if furnished)

-The tenant is not responsible for any damage or wear and tear done by an earlier tenant.

-The landlord must return your deposit within three weeks after you move out; if the landlord retains part or all of the deposit, he/she must give or mail you an “itemized statement” in writing with an explanation and receipts for work done and items purchased, if the amount is $125 or more, and return the rest to you.

-Tenants who moved in after January 1, 2003 have the right to a pre-move-out inspection of their rental to learn about any possible deductions.

-To avoid any tenant-landlord disputes around cleaning after you leave your rental unit, be sure to carefully document your cleaning work through pictures and witnesses.

-A landlord who sells the building is supposed to return the deposit to the tenant OR transfer it to the new owner.

-If your rental was foreclosed and is now owned by a bank or investor, these new owners must account for and return the deposit, regardless of whether the defaulting owner turned the deposit over to the deed or mortgage holder before the foreclosure.

-If three weeks have passed and you still have not received your deposit, you can write a demand letter to your landlord and/or you can sue. The landlord may be liable not just for the amount of the deposit, but for up to two times the amount of the deposit as a penalty for withholding the deposit in bad faith.

For more information, see our complete FAQ or call our hotline at 888-495-8020.

Reference: California Civil Code Section 1950.5
California Tenants’ Rights by Attorneys Janet Portman and David Brown. Published by Nolo Press.

Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Innocent Tenants From Having their Credit Ruined by Banks; Will Governor Sign or Veto?

By Dean Preston


Tenants evicted through no fault of their own frequently have their credit history damaged for years. In California, where hundreds of thousands of tenants are being evicted by banks because their landlords went into foreclosure, these credit impacts are particularly harsh. Fortunately, a bill by state senator Ellen Corbett (D – San Leandro) would limit this collateral damage to innocent renters. Readers can weigh in by signing the online petition urging the Governor to approve Senator Corbett’s bill.

Years ago, California’s legislature tried to stop credit reporting companies from reporting evictions unless tenants were proven to have done something wrong by entry of judgment against them. The law, which is still on the books, provides that these companies can only report evictions where landlords obtain judgments against the tenants. Unfortunately, the courts severely restricted the law, ruling that reporting companies have a first amendment right to report eviction records that are public.

As a result, currently the courts “mask” eviction records (meaning they restrict public access to those court records), but only if the tenant prevails within 60 days of the date the case is filed. Because the timing of eviction cases is generally out of the tenants’ control, this means that tenants facing an eviction lawsuit must risk damage to their credit because they have no idea if the case will be resolved in their favor within that time frame. Amazingly, even when a tenant prevails and shows that an eviction was entirely bogus, if the tenant prevails more than 60 days after the case is filed, the eviction will show up on future tenant screening reports, effectively blacklisting the tenant. For this reason, even though many bank evictions after foreclosure are totally illegal, tenants are often afraid to assert their rights for fear that it will damage their credit history.

SB 1149, co-sponsored by the California Reinvestment Coalition and the Western Center on Law & Poverty, takes an important step to address this issue. In addition to requiring banks to provide better notice to tenants after foreclosure of their rights, the law would also limit access to eviction records in post-foreclosure situations. Such records would only become public if the bank prevailed in the eviction court case.

The law was authored by Senator Ellen Corbett. Sen. Corbett has proven herself a strong advocate for basic fairness for renters in recent years. While many politicians ignore the plight of California’s renters, Sen. Corbett clearly understands that both homeowners and renters are impacted by the foreclosure crisis. She has used her position as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to bring attention to the plight of tenants in foreclosed properties and work toward legislative solutions that protect renters in this precarious situation. For this, she deserves great credit.

The legislature passed SB 1149. To see how your legislators voted, click here. The bill is now before the governor. The governor has vetoed other tenant bills in recent years, but did sign legislation in 2008 that provided additional notice for tenants in foreclosed properties. The governor has not announced his position on SB 1149.

Tenants Together has set up an online petition to urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign SB 1149. Please sign the petition today. Tenants should not be blacklisted because of evictions arising from their landlords' failure to pay the mortgage.

Article originally published by Beyond Chron