Tenant Troubles: Why On Earth Would I Have To Pay My Building A $200 Move-Out Fee?

Tenant Troubles: Why On Earth Would I Have To Pay My Building A $200 Move-Out Fee?

I’m a 31-year-old female who has been living in the same apartment since August 2011. My apartment was a two bed/two bath unit in a…

Tenant Troubles: Can My New Landlord “Bank” My Rent Increases From Before She Owned My Home?

Tenant Troubles: Can My New Landlord “Bank” My Rent Increases From Before She Owned My Home?

I live in a house in San Francisco with three apartments, built before 1979. I’ve lived in my apartment for 10 years, I am 44 and…

Tenant Troubles: Is It Legal For My Landlord To Change The Terms Of My Lease After 12 Years?

Tenant Troubles: Is It Legal For My Landlord To Change The Terms Of My Lease After 12 Years?

Readers: This is a question I received last night with a plea for a quick response, as the reader has to answer his landlord in…

Tenant Troubles: Why Is My Landlord Demanding A $150 Late Fee?

Tenant Troubles: Why Is My Landlord Demanding A $150 Late Fee?

I am a 25 year old woman who has been living in a rent-controlled apartment in a six unit building for about 1.5 years.  My…

Tenant Troubles: Can My New Landlord Take Away My Storage Space?

Tenant Troubles: Can My New Landlord Take Away My Storage Space?

My building is two units over a garage and storage space. Originally, the basement was divided 50/50 between apartments but apparently the landlord didn’t give…

Tenant Troubles: Is The Rule Of Seven Really A Thing?

Tenant Troubles: Is The Rule Of Seven Really A Thing?

Is there some type of seven-year rule that benefits landlords if they do not raise the rent for seven years and then increase it all…

Tenant Troubles: If I Need To Break My Lease, Am I Responsible For Finding A New Tenant?

Tenant Troubles: If I Need To Break My Lease, Am I Responsible For Finding A New Tenant?

I had a chaotic experience the first time moving into an apartment. We were first told by the onsite manager that we got the apartment,…

Tenant Troubles: I Think I Was Overcharged For My Security Deposit, Can I Get That Money Back?

Tenant Troubles: I Think I Was Overcharged For My Security Deposit, Can I Get That Money Back?

I recently moved into a rent controlled building in SF.  During the application process, an erroneous community judgement appeared on my credit report, and despite…

Three Tenant Troubles: Roommate Rousting, Co-Tenant Challenges, Condo Craziness

Three Tenant Troubles: Roommate Rousting, Co-Tenant Challenges, Condo Craziness

I’m the master tenant in my three-bedroom apartment. Me and one other roommate are unhappy with the third roommate for a number of reasons I…

Tenant Troubles: Do I Really Get A Lifetime Lease If My Apartment Becomes A Condo?

Tenant Troubles: Do I Really Get A Lifetime Lease If My Apartment Becomes A Condo?

I live in San Francisco in a four unit rent-controlled building (currently a TIC). I’ve lived here for a couple of years (had a one…

Tenant Troubles: My Landlord Wants Me To Add My Boyfriend To My Lease. Do I Have To?

Tenant Troubles: My Landlord Wants Me To Add My Boyfriend To My Lease. Do I Have To?

I moved into the apartment I’m renting about six months ago. The building was constructed in the 1950’s and there are two apartment units in…

Tenant Troubles: How Can I Avoid Getting Screwed By Landlords Pulling Application Fee Scams?

Tenant Troubles: How Can I Avoid Getting Screwed By Landlords Pulling Application Fee Scams?

I have been looking for my own apartment in Oakland for several months, but I think my question would apply for San Francisco as well…

Tenant Troubles: Did Gavin Newsom Make It Harder For My Boyfriend To Move In With Me?

Tenant Troubles: Did Gavin Newsom Make It Harder For My Boyfriend To Move In With Me?

I recently came across this post from 2011. I’m facing a similar situation (though haven’t gotten to the stage of asking my landlord yet, just…

Tenant Troubles: A “Just Cause” Eviction Does Not Mean “Just ‘Cause Your Landlord Said So”

Tenant Troubles: A “Just Cause” Eviction Does Not Mean “Just ‘Cause Your Landlord Said So”

I am 26 years old and living in a four-unit three-story building in the Inner Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco. Two other roommates and I…

Tenant Troubles: My Roommate’s Moving Out, Now My Landlord Wants To Increase The Rent By 50%

Tenant Troubles: My Roommate’s Moving Out, Now My Landlord Wants To Increase The Rent By 50%

I live in Noe Valley SF in a rent controlled apartment. I have been at this apartment for four years. The lease is in my…

Tenant Troubles: Can My Landlord Give A 24-Hour Notice For Entry That Lasts All Week?

Tenant Troubles: Can My Landlord Give A 24-Hour Notice For Entry That Lasts All Week?

Can a landlord state a whole week 9:00am – 5:00pm to enter under California Civil Code Section 1954, 24-hour notice? For the first four days,…

Tenant Troubles: Is My Landlord Lying To Tenants And Claiming They Don’t Have Rent Control?

Tenant Troubles: Is My Landlord Lying To Tenants And Claiming They Don’t Have Rent Control?

My wife and I (both in our 60s) rent a one bedroom apartment in a 12-unit building in lower Russian Hill, built in the 20’s. …

Tenant Troubles: We’re Basically Paying Our Master Tenant’s Rent. That’s Wrong, Right?

Tenant Troubles: We’re Basically Paying Our Master Tenant’s Rent. That’s Wrong, Right?

I am a 26-year-old female and have been living in an old Victorian apartment in a six unit building in Nob Hill for the past…

Tenant Troubles: Can My Landlord Refuse To Add My Domestic Partner To My Lease?

Tenant Troubles: Can My Landlord Refuse To Add My Domestic Partner To My Lease?

I have been the only tenant (master tenant) of my rent controlled studio apartment in San Francisco. I moved in alone in July 2009. The…

Tenant Troubles: I Only Have An Oral Lease, May I Sublet A Room In My Apartment?

Tenant Troubles: I Only Have An Oral Lease, May I Sublet A Room In My Apartment?

I live in a rent-controlled flat, where I have no written lease prohibiting subletting (I’ve lived here for 22 years). I don’t get along with the…

Tenant Troubles: My Landlord Is Selling The House I Live In, Do I Have To Move Out?

Tenant Troubles: My Landlord Is Selling The House I Live In, Do I Have To Move Out?

My husband and I live in a two-bedroom single-family home in San Francisco, a cottage built in 1922 (no in-law unit, no garage, just a…

Tenant Troubles: Why Won’t My Landlords Take A Rent Check From My Husband-To-Be?

Tenant Troubles: Why Won’t My Landlords Take A Rent Check From My Husband-To-Be?

I moved into my apartment in February 1, 1995 with my partner. At the time the building was co-owned by two families, The Os and…

Tenant Troubles: My Neighborhood’s Too Dangerous, Can I Break My Lease?

Tenant Troubles: My Neighborhood’s Too Dangerous, Can I Break My Lease?

In July, my wife and I moved out of a great roommate situation in San Francisco into our first apartment as a couple in Oakland’s…

Tenant Troubles: Do I Have To Keep Using The Crappy Furniture That Came With My Apartment?

Tenant Troubles: Do I Have To Keep Using The Crappy Furniture That Came With My Apartment?

I am a tenant in lower Nob Hill. My building is more than 50 years old. I live in a studio apartment that I signed…

Tenant Troubles: Do I Have To Move Out If The Condo I’m Renting Goes On The Market?

Tenant Troubles: Do I Have To Move Out If The Condo I’m Renting Goes On The Market?

I have lived in a 1905 era condo (that is, non rent controlled, but eviction controlled) for three years. My lease is up in October…

Tenant Troubles: Is There A “What Lies Can We Get Away With This Month?” Group For Landlords?

Tenant Troubles: Is There A “What Lies Can We Get Away With This Month?” Group For Landlords?

As we’re getting ready to move out of our house, the landlady is telling us that she doesn’t have a deposit to return to us…

Tenant Troubles: Does My Unusual Lease Mean My Landlord Can Hang Out In My Apartment?

Tenant Troubles: Does My Unusual Lease Mean My Landlord Can Hang Out In My Apartment?

I have an interesting one for you. I recently moved into a classic Victorian house with 4 other roommates in SF. We all have separate…

Tenant Troubles: Why Won’t My Landlord Discuss My New Lease With Me?

Tenant Troubles: Why Won’t My Landlord Discuss My New Lease With Me?

My roommate (master tenant) is moving out of our apartment on July 31st. She’s had rent control since 2007 and we are paying far under…

Tenant Troubles: You May Not Have To Sign That Lease, But Here’s Why You Should

Tenant Troubles: You May Not Have To Sign That Lease, But Here’s Why You Should

We have lived in our rented house for two years and five months. We signed a year lease for the first two years, but as…

Tenant Troubles: Living In A Chain Reaction Of Broken Promises

Tenant Troubles: Living In A Chain Reaction Of Broken Promises

I am the subtenant in a 2-bedroom house in the Sunset. I moved here about a year ago paying month-to-month and had no written lease…

Tenant Troubles: My Living Room Is Covered In Lead Paint Dust

Tenant Troubles: My Living Room Is Covered In Lead Paint Dust

I live with two roommates in a flat in a late-1800’s Victorian in the Haight, 3 units total. The flat below us has been under…

Tenant Troubles: How Do I Get My Former Landlord’s Dead Hand Off Me?

Tenant Troubles: How Do I Get My Former Landlord’s Dead Hand Off Me?

My sister and I are original tenants for an apartment in a San Francisco 13-unit building built in the 1920’s. Our lease is now month…

Tenant Troubles: Can Someone Be A Subtenant If They Aren’t Paying Rent?

Tenant Troubles: Can Someone Be A Subtenant If They Aren’t Paying Rent?

Dear Dave, I like your column, you appear to be on the slightly radical side of liberal. 🙂 Last August you wrote: “Many tenants are…

Tenant Troubles: My Erratic Landlord Is Asking For An Illegal Rent Increase

Tenant Troubles: My Erratic Landlord Is Asking For An Illegal Rent Increase

I have a question about rent increases. My girlfriend and I live in a rent controlled 12-unit building in Nob Hill (built in 1907). We…

Tenant Troubles: Can I Have My Living Situation “Both Ways”?

Tenant Troubles: Can I Have My Living Situation “Both Ways”?

I am a subtenant in an apartment that is not rent-controlled. I moved in on June 1, 2012. I moved in with a roommate who…

Tenant Troubles: Can I Refuse To Sign A Lease?

Tenant Troubles: Can I Refuse To Sign A Lease?

All the websites discuss the SF Rent Control stuff about when your building was built, condo or single family home, etc. But I can never…

Tenant Troubles: My Landlord Died, Am I About To Lose My Apartment?

Tenant Troubles: My Landlord Died, Am I About To Lose My Apartment?

I live in a unicorn of an amazing SF apartment. We pay well below market rate for Pacific Heights for a flat that is part…

Tenant Troubles: How Much Do I Have To Help The Realtor Who Wants To Evict Me?

Tenant Troubles: How Much Do I Have To Help The Realtor Who Wants To Evict Me?

What are my rights in regard to Open Houses/viewings of my apartment when my building is for sale? My situation: I live in a 4-unit…

Tenant Troubles: When Can My Landlord Ask For My Annual Rent Increase?

Tenant Troubles: When Can My Landlord Ask For My Annual Rent Increase?

I live in a pre-1979 apartment in a building that includes six units. We signed a one year lease on June 1st and our deposit…

Tenant Troubles: My Building Has Turned Into A Den Of Crime

Tenant Troubles: My Building Has Turned Into A Den Of Crime

I have lived in the same building for 5 years. It was built in 1913, has 64 units, and is a tax credit building. I…