Does anyone know rental laws in CA?

[devotchka]

My grandparents are having major issues with their apartment - the stove/oven isn't working at all (it wouldn't turn off on Saturday, they called maintenance and no one ever came so they called the gas/electric company and they just turned it off and told them its no longer useable), and they can't cook anything besides in a rice cooker (I offered to bring my slow cooker too) and toaster oven since then. I'm under the impression that it's illegal for the apt complex to not fix it and sit on it. The management of the apt is "in transition" - they might be changing owners or something - and the guy at the office is not the normal manager. He comes in at 9am and leaves at 12, he seems to be just filling in for them and has no power. He said he will call maintenance but they are busy and itll take a while. WTF? Then he left for the day and now no one is there. 

Is there a place to call to sort out this sort of thing? This is section 8 housing, I believe. They live in a really nice area though - it used to be well maintained and management wasn't horrible like this, I'm guessing it's the transition or the new management that sucks. 

There is no emergency # to call or anything, it's like the freaking Soviet Union (which means she's used to it bc she is from there!) except you can't even bribe anyone to help you.

[monkeybabe]

My parents used to own rentals in Cali and I called them to ask. If the stove was there when they moved in, it should be dealt with "in a timely manner" or told that it's being worked on." Depending on the age of your grandparents, there are advocacy groups that can help, too. The gas/electric company would have shut it off for "health and safety" reasons, and therefore, if they aren't handling the problem, your grandparents aren't required to pay rent until they do. They also said that if you could message me the address of the apartment, they can pull up who the owner is (they both work in the mortgage business) and if you want to contact the owner directly to raise complaints you can use that info.

[devotchka]

Aug 6, 2013 15:40:04 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Is there a legal aid place they can call?

eta: how long has it been out? If it's been more than a couple of days and no one is making any moves to fix it, I would start withholding rent.

Thanks! It's been since Saturday. Not the end of the world yet but they are buying food out, which they can't really afford, and we have been bringing them stuff so far. They can use their rice cooker for simple stuff and get frozen food but you know, they are old and picky and need "real food" eventually.

I just called section 8 and they couldnt find their apt on the list (oy!) so they are researching it and going to call me back. Next I will call some legal aid places and a housing aid center, if this doesn't get resolves. 

They are too afraid to withhold rent, probably. My g-ma is pretty paranoid (the soviet union thing!)

[devotchka]

Aug 6, 2013 15:40:30 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

My parents used to own rentals in Cali and I called them to ask. If the stove was there when they moved in, it should be dealt with "in a timely manner" or told that it's being worked on." Depending on the age of your grandparents, there are advocacy groups that can help, too. The gas/electric company would have shut it off for "health and safety" reasons, and therefore, if they aren't handling the problem, your grandparents aren't required to pay rent until they do. They also said that if you could message me the address of the apartment, they can pull up who the owner is (they both work in the mortgage business) and if you want to contact the owner directly to raise complaints you can use that info.

Thanks! That is really sweet of you I will pm you now! The problem is trying to figure out who the new management/owners are - I told my grandma she needs to ask the guy who is "babysitting" the office right now. I would just do it myself but the mgt is not answering their phones either. Sigh.

[monkeybabe]

Aug 6, 2013 16:01:10 GMT -5 devotchka said:

Aug 6, 2013 15:40:30 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

My parents used to own rentals in Cali and I called them to ask. If the stove was there when they moved in, it should be dealt with "in a timely manner" or told that it's being worked on." Depending on the age of your grandparents, there are advocacy groups that can help, too. The gas/electric company would have shut it off for "health and safety" reasons, and therefore, if they aren't handling the problem, your grandparents aren't required to pay rent until they do. They also said that if you could message me the address of the apartment, they can pull up who the owner is (they both work in the mortgage business) and if you want to contact the owner directly to raise complaints you can use that info.

Thanks! That is really sweet of you I will pm you now! The problem is trying to figure out who the new management/owners are - I told my grandma she needs to ask the guy who is "babysitting" the office right now. I would just do it myself but the mgt is not answering their phones either. Sigh.

Yeah, that's why my mom offered to get the owner's info for you. At this point, the management company probably DGAF.

ETA: The owner would care, however, because this could cause legal issues for them, as they owned the property when this happened.

[devotchka]

Aug 6, 2013 16:02:11 GMT -5 monkeybabe said:

Aug 6, 2013 16:01:10 GMT -5 devotchka said:

Thanks! That is really sweet of you I will pm you now! The problem is trying to figure out who the new management/owners are - I told my grandma she needs to ask the guy who is "babysitting" the office right now. I would just do it myself but the mgt is not answering their phones either. Sigh.

Yeah, that's why my mom offered to get the owner's info for you. At this point, the management company probably DGAF.

Thanks! My head is about to explode from the bureaucratic nonsense so far today...  

[Deleted]

I have a George foreman they can have. We have 2!

[devotchka]

Aug 6, 2013 17:48:15 GMT -5 @jayhawkali said:

I have a George foreman they can have. We have 2!

Thanks! Luckily my grandma saw the maintenance guy today working outside, and almost dragged him into her house to underline the urgency of the situation and he fixed whatever the problem was. Phew! I still want to know who those a-holes are, I want to write a letter and yell at them (IN ALL CAPS! )