Landlord May Have to Repair Apartment Elevator

QUESTION: I am a senior citizen who lives in a three-story apartment house that has an elevator. I am disabled and was disabled when I moved into my unit. I believed that I would always have access to the elevator.

Recently, the elevator broke down. There are no available ground floor units in the building, and I cannot afford to move. Thus, I am “stuck” here. When I discuss this issue with the building owner, he says I would have to pay for the repair of the elevator since the law considers this a “reasonable modification.” What are my rights in this matter?

ANSWER: The state and federal fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability impose duties on landlords concerning “reasonable modifications” and “reasonable accommodations.”

The law may not view the continued maintenance of an existing elevator for a tenant with a disability as a “reasonable modification.” Rather, this may be considered a “reasonable accommodation,” for which you would not be financially responsible.

Reasonable accommodation refers to rules, policies, practices or services provided so that a tenant with a disability may use and enjoy the dwelling. An accommodation is “reasonable” if it does not impose “undue financial or administrative burdens on the landlord.”

Determining whether an accommodation is reasonable can be difficult. There are many factors to consider in determining if the maintenance of an existing elevator is a reasonable accommodation and therefore whether the landlord must provide a working elevator.

Those factors include the cost of the repair, whether total replacement is necessary, the number of units in the building and amount in rent that the landlord receives to offset the repair.

In one case, a Pennsylvania federal court held that requiring a landlord to replace an elevator at a cost of $65,000 for a disabled month-to-month tenant was not reasonable accommodation.

In another case, a large apartment complex refused to keep an elevator in working condition even though a tenant, who used a wheelchair, could access her apartment only by using the elevator. Because the work involved did not require replacement but only repairs, the landlord was held liable under a court-approved settlement.

For further information on this and other housing discrimination issues, contact your local fair housing agency. You may also call (213) 468-7464 in Southern California.

Don’t Split Refund for Divorcing Pair

Q: I have two divorcing tenants who are moving from my apartment complex. Even though both of them signed the rental agreement, each of them has asked me separately for the deposit refund check. I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions?

A: Unless one of them has given you a written release to his or her share of the deposit refund, you should make the check payable to both of them.

By doing so, you are removing yourself from any financial dispute they may have between themselves regarding the deposit.

Since both signatures will be required to cash or deposit the check, you can mail it to any forwarding address they provide. If they do not leave a forwarding address, send the check to their last known address at your complex and let the post office forward it.

Faxed Eviction Notice Doesn’t Do the Job

Q: I own a duplex and recently faxed a 30-day notice of termination of tenancy to one of my tenants. Thirty days have passed, and I called this tenant and told him if he doesn’t move, I will start the court eviction process. He said that he doesn’t have to move because it is not legal to fax such notices.

A: According to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162, service of a 30-day notice must first be attempted personally--that is, by handing it to the tenant at his or her home or place of business.

If that person is absent from both places after a reasonable number of attempts, service can be effected by handing the notice to a person of “suitable age” at either location. Once both of these methods have been unsuccessfully attempted, you can then post the notice on the door of the residence, hand it to any person there and mail a copy to the tenant at the residence via first-class mail.

At any rate, delivery of notices by fax alone is not legal service.

Senior Citizen Housing Must Pass Legal Test

Q: Last month I heard from a friend that a building in an area where I want to live had a vacancy. I went to the site and spoke with a rental agent. When I inquired about available units, the agent asked me my age. When I told him I was 45, he said that he would not consider me because I am too young and that the complex would rent only to people who are 55 or older. Can they refuse to rent to me?

A: Under both federal and state law, housing discrimination based on age is illegal. However, there are important exceptions to the fair housing laws.

In California, the fair housing laws that prohibit age discrimination do not apply to “senior citizen housing developments” that limit occupancy to people who are 55 or older.

To determine whether you experienced illegal housing discrimination, you need to find out if this building constitutes a “senior citizen housing development” under California law. Here are some guidelines:

* California Civil Code 51.3 defines the term “senior citizen housing development” as a facility developed for senior citizens, substantially rehabilitated for senior citizens or substantially renovated for senior citizens.

* In addition, the code requires that there must be a minimum number of units. A senior housing development must have at least 150 units if it is in a standard metropolitan statistical area. Such an area has a population of at least 1,000 residents per square mile, or 1 million total residents, based on the 1990 census.

To summarize, to determine whether the apartment building where you attempted to rent is a senior citizen housing development and therefore exempt from the fair housing laws that prohibit age discrimination, consider how it was built, where it is and how many units it has.

For further information on this and other housing discrimination issues, contact your local fair housing agency.

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This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 but cannot be answered individually.

For housing discrimination questions, complaints or help, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212 or the Fair Housing Council, Fair Housing Institute or Fair Housing Foundation office in your area:

Bellflower: (888) 777-4087

Carson: (888) 777-4087

El Monte: (626) 579-6868.

Hawthorne: (888) 777-4087

Lancaster: (888) 777-4087

Long Beach: (562) 901-0808

Pasadena: (626) 791-0211.

Redondo Beach: (888) 777-4087

San Fernando Valley: (818) 373-1185.

South-Central Los Angeles: (213) 295-3302.

Westside Los Angeles: (310) 474-1667.

Orange County: (714) 569-0828.

San Bernardino County: (909) 884-8056.

San Diego County: (619) 699-5888.

Ventura County: (805) 385-7288