Our Eviction Attorneys in Los Angeles are often faced with the commonly asserted defense offered by tenants that the landlord breached the implied warranty of habitability. The warranty of habitability is implied by law in residential leases and a landlord’s ability to collect rent is dependent upon a habitable premises. California law lists most of the conditions that will make a residential unit untenantable if the conditions are substandard.
These include: (a) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors; (b) Plumbing or gas facilities that conformed to applicable law in effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working order; (c) A water supply approved under applicable law that is under the control of the tenant, capable of producing hot and cold running water, or a system that is under the control of the landlord, that produces hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate fixtures, and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under applicable law; (d) Heating facilities that conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order; (e) Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment that conformed with applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order; (f) Building, grounds, and appurtenances at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, and all areas under control of the landlord, kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin; (g) An adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and rubbish, in clean condition and good repair at the time of the commencement of the lease or rental agreement, with the landlord providing appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter and being responsible for the clean condition and good repair of the receptacles under his or her control; (h) Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair; and (i) A locking mail receptacle for each residential unit in a residential hotel, as required by Section 17958.3 of the Health and Safety Code. Cal. Civ. Code § 1941.1.
Once the tenant raises the defense of uninhabitable premises, the burden is then on the landlord to show that there was no breach of warranty of habitability. If the landlord prevails, then a judgment for possession will follow. However, if the tenant prevails, the court will determine what the reasonable rent for the premises during the nonpayment period is and will allow the tenant the right to remain in possession of the premises on payment of the abated rent. Additionally, the court has the power to award attorney fees and costs to the tenant. C.C.P. § 1174.2. Furthermore, any claim by Landlord that tenant has lived with these substandard conditions and therefore somehow waives her right to evoke the protections of section 1942.5 has been rejected by the California Supreme Court in Knight v. Hallsthammer (1981) 29 Cal. 3d 46, 59.
Thus, a prudent landlord should conduct documented inspections and walk-throughs upon entering into a residential lease agreement and respond within a reasonable time to any tenant complaints about habitability. If repairs are made to a unit, those repairs should also be well documented by the landlord.