New Palo Alto Ordinance Tightens Tenant Protections
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
6M ago
As is well known now since the passing of the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, as well as subsequent bills resulting from the effects of COVID-19, tenants in California have been afforded protections both from rent increases and evictions without cause. For most California properties, landlords may only evict a tenant from a residential property if they have ‘Just Cause’. Just Cause is broken down into two categories: 1) at-fault causes; and 2) no-fault causes. At-fault causes relate to something the tenant did wrong, including nonpayment of rent, breach of the lease, illegal activity, etc. No-f ..read more
Visit website
Recent Appellate Decisions Hold COVID-19 Not Force Majeure Event for Nonpayment of Rent
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
8M ago
COVID-19 tested legal theories and complexities that were previously known, but hardly ever applied in reality. One perfect example of such a complexity is within contract law, specifically the Force Majeure clause often found in commercial lease agreements. Commercial tenants are all too familiar with the Force Majeure clause in their leases as it can provide a defense for tenants in the event they could not effectively perform, the duties under the lease, such as paying rent. Prior to COVID-19, when an attorney disused “Force Majeure” the typical example to come to mind was an act of God, wa ..read more
Visit website
Alameda County Landlords, Be Prepared for May 2023
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
1y ago
After almost three years since the moratorium went into effect, the Alameda County Eviction Moratorium (Ordinance No. O-2020-41) is set to expire on April 29, 2023. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the County passed temporary eviction bans, prohibiting landlords from forcing renters to leave their homes, with some limited exceptions. Then, in August 2020, Ordinance No. O-2020-41 was adopted by the County’s Board of Supervisors, tying the expiration of the eviction moratorium in the County to the local state of emergency declarations. Per the ordinance, the moratorium wo ..read more
Visit website
Historic Rains and Real Estate: Important Considerations for Sellers and Landlords
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
1y ago
All throughout Northern California this winter, we have seen historic rainfall from Lake Tahoe to the low-lying coastal town of Santa Cruz south of the Bay Area. While we welcome the rain after some extensive droughts and dry weather, the conditions have caused a slew of issues for our landlord and seller clients. In this article, we will give an overview of things to consider and prepare for resulting from the consistent and relentless wet weather that we’ve experienced the last few months.   Considerations for Landlords  As discussed in some of our prior articles, landlords ar ..read more
Visit website
Tips and Pitfalls When Drafting and Serving a Three-Day Notice to Pay
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
1y ago
It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the rental market. By far the biggest impact was related to the timely and regular payment of rent for residential units. For most tenants during the pandemic, many local and statewide protections offered relief from the burden of paying rent if they had been affected by COVID-19 financially. Since then, most of those protections have ended, and full rent is owed by tenants in most cities and counties in California. When a residential tenant has not paid rent as agreed per the rental agreement, a landlord is once again permitted t ..read more
Visit website
Habitability Disputes and How to Avoid Them
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
1y ago
While most landlords and tenants enjoy a peaceful and cordial relationship, there are times wherein disputes arise. This causes stress on both sides, as well as the potential for litigation, spending of resources, and a huge time commitment. In this article I will go over the most common disputes we see come through our firm related to habitability, as well as how to help avoid them. There are several simple steps a landlord can take to help avoid liability and maintain a peaceful and cordial relationship with their tenant. Habitability Issues – Overview By far the most common disputes that co ..read more
Visit website
End of Tenancy Checklist for Landlords
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
1y ago
At the end of each residential tenancy in California, landlords are required to perform a checklist of tasks to comply with the law. These tasks can be intimidating and are riddled with pitfalls that could result in further involvement with your tenant, including potential dispute. In this article, we will go over some of the most important things to remember to help you avoid a dispute with your soon to be former tenant. Pre Move-Out Inspection Any time a tenant’s occupation of a residential unit is coming to an end, the landlord is required to offer a pre move-out inspection related to the t ..read more
Visit website
Tenancy-in-Common Complications in the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
2y ago
I. Partition Abuse and the Problem of Declining Intergenerational Wealth Unfortunately, a far too common scenario occurs where the family home passes to the children where the parents decease intestate (meaning, mom or dad did not have a will, trust, or any other estate plan providing for the disposition of the home) and the home must be distributed to the surviving relatives according to law.   Here, the house would go to the children, Abigail, Baxter, and Chuck with each of them holding an equal 1/3 share of the home as ‘tenants-in-common’ or ‘cotenants.’ Generally, under California law ..read more
Visit website
An Aberration? A One-Year Statute of Limitations and No Discovery Rule to Section 7031(b) Disgorgement Claims
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
3y ago
Section 7031 was enacted as both a shield and a sword to deter unlicensed building contractors by (a) preventing them from bringing a claim for compensation for work performed that required a license, and (b) allowing any person who used the unlicensed person’s services to sue for all amounts paid, regardless of the contractor’s fault or whether the person was unjustly enriched by the contractor’s work. A recently published case out of Los Angeles County, Eisenberg Village of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging v. Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. LC10 ..read more
Visit website
5 Precautions to Take when Showing Properties in a Pandemic
Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers
by Clayton
4y ago
Covid-19 changed the way in which properties are shown in the State of California. Open houses, scheduled showings and impromptu drop-ins are now a thing of the past. As the State is in Stage 2 of reopening following the State of Emergency that was declared in March 2020, the real estate market has adapted to adhere to the new set of rules due to the tireless efforts of the California Real Estate Association of REALTORS® (CAR). Luckily, from the start, CAR has been and continues to prepare Covid-19 related documents, forms and guidelines for showing properties during Covid-19. More specificall ..read more
Visit website

Follow Bay Area Real Estate Lawyers on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR