Originally Printed: October 20, 2004
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She moved to Tehachapi in June 2003 and resides in Alpine Forest. She operates her law practice from her home office and also has a satellite office in Lancaster. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities.
Q. I rent a guest house located in the back of my landlord’s residence. My landlord comes into my rent guest house whenever he feels like it to fix this or that. He makes up excuses to come in unannounced. He never gives me notice and I am very bothered by this intrusion on my privacy. Once, he came in while I was in the shower and lo and behold, when I came out of the shower naked, there he was in my little kitchenette, fixing my stove, which I did not know was “broken”. What can I do to stop this?
A. Civil Code Section 1954 regulates the time and circumstances under which a landlord may enter a residential rental unit. If an emergency exists, your landlord may enter without notice. Otherwise, he must give you a Notice to Enter your premises, which must specify the date, approximate time and purpose of the entry. The statute expressly states that a written notice is not necessary if the landlord and tenant orally agree to an entry to perform agreed-upon repairs or to supply agreed-upon services.. Any such oral agreement to enter must include the date and approximate time of the entry, which must be within one week of the oral agreement. Should the landlord violate the law, a tenant can sue and be awarded up to $2000 for each violation. However, I believe these intrusions by your landlord have a far more sinister purpose. You may need to seek a Restraining Order in addition to filing a lawsuit against him for invasion of privacy, among many other causes of action.
Q. I am an 89-year-old man suffering from heart disease and diabetes. My son lives in my house, is violent and has beaten me up on several occasions. He moved in with me several years ago to look after me. I am terrified of him and I can’t take too much more of his abuse. What can I do?
A. I would strongly suggest that you seek a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to get him out and away from your house. You can get immediate relief by filing a Request for Order, Description of Abuse, Temporary Restraining Order and Notice of Hearing with the closest court. You son must be served with these documents to give him notice of the hearing and give him a chance to be heard in court too. The can give you a TRO lasting up to three years.
Forward questions to maxinedev@msn.com , drop questions at the Tehachapi News, located at 411 N. Mill St., or send them to POB 1840, Tehachapi, CA 93581
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