If a repair is needed, you can let your landlord know there is a problem with your home and ask them to fix it. You can use the DIY letter to the owner (repairs) to write a letter to your landlord, including what you think is a reasonable amount of time to resolve the problem. Rental applications contain information that allows a landlord to make preliminary judgments about your suitability as a tenant. A potential landlord may look at information about your current employer, income, and living situation (including the opinions of your current landlord). A credit check, on the other hand, provides the owner with information that is only available from a credit report, with negative information going back seven years or ten years in the event of insolvency. Is there anything a homeowner can`t ask for? A potential owner cannot ask questions that violate federal or state discrimination laws. These include issues of race, national origin, religion, sex, marital status or disability that are prohibited by federal law. In California, a potential owner cannot ask for race, color, religion, gender, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, or genetic information. See Cal. Gov`t Code § 12955. Follow the terms of your rental agreement. If your lease prohibits smoking or pets, do not smoke or keep pets on the property.
A lease can limit your behavior in several ways. If you violate the terms of your lease, your landlord may have the right to evict you. Check your lease to see if there are any restrictions on subletting. Some leases do not allow this. Others require the consent of the landlord of the subtenants. If you`re considering subletting, review your lease to see what`s required and get information about subletting rules from a lawyer or legal aid organization. Use the Guide to Legal Aid or Community Services for a list of places that could help you. If your landlord doesn`t respond to your request for repairs, you can put your rent in receivership or pay for the repairs yourself and deduct the cost from your rent. Your landlord has the right to ask you if you smoke and to refuse you if you do. Questions about whether you have a pet are also legitimate.
However, questions about marital status are irrelevant. A landlord may ask you how many people will live with you, but not if you are married or in a relationship with them. It also doesn`t matter if they`re children: a landlord who thinks three residents are fine can`t turn you down because one of your roommates is under 18. Landlords may ask for information such as pay slips or bank statements to prove that you can pay the rent. The owners cannot force you to provide this information. In California, you have the right to request a copy of your report for at least two years after the consumer reporting agency provides your report to the owner (or another person requesting the report). (Cal. Civ code. § 1786.11) In addition, California law requires that you receive information about the tenant screening company before the landlord orders your report.
Make sure any issues with the home or property are resolved before signing a lease. If the issues can`t be resolved before you sign the lease, ask the landlord to say in writing that they will be resolved before you move in. If the landlord disagrees, it can be difficult to deal with them. Perhaps you should consider renting another house. Asking where you were born from or what country you come from is illegal. Your landlord should never ask you about your nationality or anything related to your ethnicity. In addition, a landlord cannot discriminate against you because of these things, so it is illegal to deny you an apartment based on your country of origin. While landlords have a right to know where you`re employed and how much money you`re making, an owner can`t ask where all your money comes from. If you are employed, but also on food stamps or other public support, you have the right to keep this information to yourself. Simply put, your landlord can`t deny you a home or treat you differently than other tenants when you use government services. If you need to move before the end of your lease, you are responsible for paying the rent for the remainder of the lease term.
You can ask your landlord if you can terminate your lease prematurely without paying the rest, but don`t expect to be exempt from payment. If you move before the end of the lease, your landlord should try to find someone to rent the property. If your landlord can`t find another person to rent the property, you may have to pay the rest of the rent. Current and past addresses of you, your employers, your personal references and your owners. Before you move into your rental property, you need to know what condition it is in. If you leave a deposit, your landlord should provide you with a moving in checklist. If you don`t have to pay a deposit, you can request a checklist or create your own. Court records showing that a landlord has filed a lawsuit against you can hurt your chances of getting rent in the future.
Like most court records, court proceedings between landlords and tenants are public documents. This means that the recording is visible to everyone. Any person who, in return for pecuniary charges, levies or on a non-profit cooperative basis, regularly engages, in whole or in part, in compiling or evaluating consumer credit information or other consumer information for the purpose of providing consumer reports to third parties and who uses the means or entities of intergovernmental commerce for the purpose of preparing or provide consumer reports. (15 United States.C §1681(f)) You have the right to withhold any information you do not wish to provide. You may not get the apartment, but it`s best to look elsewhere if you think sensitive information would be compromised. You also have the right to ask how a landlord uses all the information you are asked to provide. Your landlord is responsible for maintaining the equipment in your apartment. A landlord can`t ask you to do the repairs yourself.
In some cases, you may have to pay for damaged items to be repaired, but leaking faucets, working toilets, broken stoves, and hot water outages are not your responsibility to repair, they are your owners. Send a letter requesting maintenance to your landlord or call them if this is the type of phone call. You have the right to quietly enjoy your home. This means there`s nothing your landlord can do to prevent you from gaining access to your home. Your landlord may not be: Once you`ve found a home you can afford and that meets your needs, you`ll likely need to sign a lease. Signing a written lease is important to you and your landlord. It describes what is expected of you when you live in the house. It also tells you what to expect from your landlord when you live in the house.
Notification is an essential element of data protection. If your landlord informs you in time that he or she wants to enter your space, you`re less likely to feel that your privacy has been violated. While many state laws include a specific notification requirement, typically 24 to 48 hours, other state laws only require that the notification be “reasonable.” Some states don`t even have laws restricting an owner`s unexpected visit. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a “State Information” page. Thanks to the Fair Housing Act, a landlord can`t ask you how old you are. Maybe they just want to rent their accommodation to a certain age group or they don`t like renting to young students; Regardless of why they want someone of a certain age, it is illegal to refuse accommodation to an applicant because of their age. For more information about your rights under the FCRA, see Section 3 of this guide. Check your lease to see if you need your landlord`s permission before painting your home or making similar changes. A potential landlord has the right to interview you to see if you are a suitable tenant.
However, it can`t ask you about everything — federal law taboos some topics, and California law adds a few more. Questions about your race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation and religion are all illegal. So it`s about having a special list of questions for, say, Muslims or Latinos. One of the best ways to balance the playing field with potential owners is to get your own rental history report. This allows you to inquire about any defects that owners may discover before paying a registration fee. What can you do if a landlord posts your name on a tenant`s blacklist online? A landlord may refuse you the tenancy or reject your application for a number of reasons. .
