Landlords Brace for Impacts of New Laws

By Jorge Casuso

Jan. 6 -- Santa Monica landlords are bracing for the impacts of new state and local laws that beef up tenant protections -- ranging from a chance to recoup security deposits to allowing roommates to be replaced.

Worried that the laws could further erode their control over their properties, nearly 100 landlords took part in a forum Monday night at the monthly meeting of the ACTION Apartment Association, a group of mom and pop landlords.

The focus of the forum was a new state law that took effect January 1 that allows tenants to have repairs made to the unit they are vacating in order to avoid deductions from their security deposits. The law requires landlords to notify the tenants in writing that they can request an inspection of the their units.

"This is a new procedure, something we haven't had to do before," said ACTION President Gordon Gitlen, a local landlord attorney. "The tenant has an opportunity to save their security deposit."

Landlords are concerned that some of the damage to a unit may be hidden behind furniture or a tenant's belongings, since the inspection would occur as early as two weeks before the end of the term lease.

"It's so hard to see damage when there's furniture in the unit," one landlady said.

"If they know they're not getting a security deposit back, they may trash the unit," said Carl Lambert a local realtor. "It's going to make our lives miserable in this city."

Lambert urged landlords to take pictures of the unit and noted that if tenants refuse to pay for the damage beyond what is covered by the security deposit, the debt would go on their record, making it more difficult for them to rent.

Landlords also mulled over the impacts of local laws that took effect November 5. One of the new provisions allows tenants on a lease to replace a roommate as long as the owner approves of the new roommate.

Attorneys urged the property owners who rented the units before vacancy decontrol took full effect on January 1, 1999 to track down the lease that was in effect in 1978, the year before Santa Monica voters approved rent control. The original lease is used as a benchmark dictating, among other things, what amenities are provided and how many tenants can occupy a unit.

"The ones that really gall us," said local landlord attorney Rosario Perry, "are the ones that have two or three tenants since 1985. They can't replace them unless the 1978 agreement allowed them to have two or three tenants."

Perry urged the landlords to get a copy of the 1978 lease, tracking down the old owner if necessary.

The panel of legal experts also briefly discussed another local law approved by voters on November 5 that allows a domestic partner or family member to take over the unit if the tenant on the lease dies or moves out. The rent, however, would be subject to increase to market rate.