RENT BOARD CLAIMS
San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland all have some form of rent control and guidelines for protection from eviction. The local Rent Board can be a useful tool for tenants to assert rights and sidestep the threat of costly eviction defense. Things you can accomplish before the local Rent Board:
• Protest excessive rent increases. (e.g., Costa Hawkins, Capital Improvements, Claims that the unit is not a tenant’s primary residence, claims that there a no longer any “original” tenants in occupancy, etc.)
• Seek to lower your rent based on the elimination of a service (e.g., a laundry facility) or ongoing repair problems.
• Seek to lower your rent based on claims of harassment.
• Challenge an attempted wrongful eviction.
DISABILITY RIGHTS
The landlord must provide reasonable accommodations and refrain from discriminating against tenants based on their disabilities. For example: if you use a wheelchair and the landlord allows the elevator to frequently fall into disrepair or otherwise blocks your access, there could be extensive liability. The Kalman Law Office has been involved in a number of cases where tenants received considerable sums as a result of the landlord violating statutes that protect the disabled.
LEGAL SERVICES OFFERED
How do you know if working with a lawyer is the right move for you? Marilyn Kalman (aka Mo) can help you determine whether or not you have a case, just call the Kalman Law Office at 415-826-1556. Listed below are the legal services offered by this office.
SUING YOUR LANDLORD
Tenants throughout the State of California have numerous rights. Many folks living in San Francisco,
Berkeley and Oakland have even greater protections based on local laws.
• Repair Problems: You pay rent in exchange for a place to live that must be in top shape. If you
have been paying rent and not getting what you are entitled to (heat, hot water, security, etc)
you are entitled to get some or all of that rent back. The Kalman Law Office has prosecuted
numerous habitability lawsuits and pursued claims for tenants before the S.F. Rent Board.
• Harassment: The landlord is obligated to protect your peace and quiet. If the landlord
interferes with your peace or allows employees or other tenants to, you can sue.
• Wrongful eviction: If a landlord tries to force you out in violation of the law, local statutes
provide for substantial compensation.
• Disability Rights (see listing above)
BUY OUT DEALS
With the rental market as crazy as it is in the Bay Area, landlords are doing everything they can to get
rid of tenants who are paying below-market-rent. The Kalman Law Office encourages all tenants to try
to stay in their homes if possible. Sometimes it makes more sense to make a deal with your landlord,
particularly if it looks like you are going to be evicted anyway. She can help you determine whether the
landlord’s threat of eviction has teeth or is just a bluff. If you opt to negotiate a buy-out deal, she has
years of experience in this area. The Kalman Law Office has gotten tenants thousands and thousands of dollars and delayed eviction for many, many months.