{"id":237584,"date":"2015-04-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-03T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/opinion-letters-april-2015\/"},"modified":"2015-04-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T07:00:00","slug":"opinion-letters-april-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/opinion-letters-april-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion & Letters April 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health or safety concerns?\u00a0Renters have options<\/h3>\n

Por Alan Pentico<\/p>\n

Recent news coverage of the local landlord who has had numerous code compliance complaints filed against him by tenants concerned about health and safety violations is unsettling.<\/p>\n

Many of those renters had to wait months or years for the violations to be corrected. But there is clearly no legitimate reason why anyone should be forced to live in substandard conditions. All renters, when faced with an intractable repair issue that affects health or safety, should be aware of their options \u2014 because the law is on their side.<\/p>\n

California law states that rental units must be \u201chabitable.\u201d That basically means that the unit must be fit for people to live in. To be habitable, an apartment must meet state and local building and health codes related to health and safety.<\/p>\n

Some repairs take longer than others, while some necessitate a higher priority. Property owners and renters each have responsibilities for certain kinds of repairs. Cleanliness of a unit, for example, is the responsibility of the tenant. It is the responsibility of the property owner or manager, however, to ensure the property is habitable.<\/p>\n

When faced with a habitability issue, renters generally have seven options.<\/p>\n

You can:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Notify your landlord or property manager of needed repairs. Make a call and send a letter. If you send an email, be sure to follow up with a written letter. Make sure to clearly identify yourself and the specific problem, and include the date of the communication.<\/li>\n
  2. Make the repairs yourself (or hire a professional to do it) and deduct the cost from your rent. Exercise this option if you don\u2019t get a response from your landlord within a reasonable amount of time. Legally, you can deduct no more than the amount of one month\u2019s rent. This remedy covers serious conditions that impact health and safety, such as a no hot running water or a gas leak.<\/li>\n
  3. Abandon the unit, if the problem is severe or life threatening.\u00a0You might consider this remedy if fixing the problem would cost more than one month’s rent. Before you do this, you want to be sure you\u2019ve given the landlord a reasonable amount of time to fix the problem.<\/li>\n
  4. Withhold rent until the repairs are made. To use this method, the defects or cost to repair them must be\u00a0more serious than would justify use of the above options.<\/li>\n
  5. Seek arbitration or mediation. Some landlord-tenant disputes can be resolved through dispute resolution centers or mediation services. The goal here is to settle disputes without having to resort to the courts.<\/li>\n
  6. File a lawsuit. Depending on the amount of money involved, this would happen in small claims court or Superior Court. Keep in mind that you can sue without first trying any of the above options, but there are issues to consider, including costs and delays.<\/li>\n
  7. Contact your city\u2019s Code Enforcement Division. The city of San Diego suggests you utilize the complex manager, homeowner association, mediation services, or the civil courts to resolve disputes before you go to them. San Diego\u2019s code compliance complaint form can be found sandiego.gov\/nccd\/report\/investigation.shtml<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you find yourself exercising options 2 \u2013 4 above, remember that you must give the landlord notice in writing. The letter should clearly explain the problem. Don\u2019t forget to sign and date the letter and keep a copy.<\/p>\n

    The California Department of Consumer Affairs has more information on these options at dca.ca.gov\/publications\/landlordbook\/problems.shtml<\/a>. For more information on habitability, visit \/landlordbook\/repairs.shtml<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Remember, no one should ever be forced to live in an uninhabitable rental property. There are several steps you can take. Read your lease and see if repair requests are specifically addressed and what the process entails. If corrective steps are taken, please make sure you document everything. In other words, take the time to make copies of letters, save emails, make copies of checks, etc.<\/p>\n

    Everyone deserves to live in a safe and clean home. Anything short of that is unacceptable.<\/p>\n

    \u2014 Alan Pentico is executive director of the <\/em>San Diego County Apartment Association<\/em><\/a>. For more information about them visit sdcaa.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a0Letters<\/h3>\n

    Quiet zone still not quiet years later<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I\u2019m still hearing train horns at 2 a.m. [See \u201cRailway \u2018Quiet Zone\u2019 still stifled but moving forward,\u201d July 2012, Vol. 13, Issue 7<\/a>]. I just moved here five months ago and this is awful. When is this going to end? Or is this fully executed now and the railways aren\u2019t following regulations? Who is monitoring this?<\/p>\n

    \u2014Ell via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    A+ on corporate wellness [See \u201cHealth, productivity and more\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 3<\/a>]! Please check out my corporate wellness programs that are evidence-based and have shown amazing results: trusage.com<\/a>. I\u2019m a FIT member in Solana Beach.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Dr. Brian Alman via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Homeless need more than homes<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Actually, simply providing someone with a home doesn\u2019t help them beyond giving them dignity in their dysfunction [See \u201cHomeless for the Holidays,\u201d Dec. 2014, Vol. 15, Issue 12<\/a>]. Ask Project 25. They gave people homes, offered them assistance and some of the homeless were still bound to the idea they needed to collect recycling \u2026 There needs to be more than merely roofs over heads, there need to be people who can help folks make healthy food choices, think about the future and learn that the old way of life wasn\u2019t necessarily good.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Edward Anderson,<\/em> v\u00eda sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    When is a park a park?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I love this article and fully support these efforts [See \u201cDowntown Partnership News: Wide-open spaces,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 3<\/a>]. Yet, I must respectfully disagree with the sentence, \u201cAn empty stretch of grass is not a park.\u201d<\/p>\n

    I explore natural parks like Tecolote Canyon and Switzer Canyon regularly and not only enjoy, but prefer natural and wild settings as opposed to a developed park, as useful and great as they are.<\/p>\n

    I would love to see some natural wild space left preserved, not just on the edges, but right in the middle of Downtown as well, if ever possible.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Chris Forte via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    You failed to mention the Piazza Famiglia project in Little Italy:<\/p>\n

    littleitalysd.com\/about\/date-street-piazza\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u2014Melissa Lamoureux via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    They love our civic organist<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I think you\u2019re fantastic and your talent is second to none [See \u201cCivic Organist News: An introduction to the organ,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 2<\/a>]. You make my love of the pipe organ even greater, but I have not been able to see you in live performance. Would you be performing anywhere between Pensacola, Florida and Tallahassee, Florida in 2015?<\/p>\n

    \u2014Timothy FC, via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Carol, if there were more organists like you, more people would attend organ programs! Plus, anyone who rides is OK in my book.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Evan Jones via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Carol came to Augusta, Georgia recently and was just fantastic!? Her fingers and feet just danced along the keys and she has a delightful personality. She is an utter joy to watch!<\/p>\n

    \u2014Fay Clymer, via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Golden West feedback<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I stayed at the Golden West in 1996 and 1997 [See \u201cGaslamp Historical News: The Golden West Hotel,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 2<\/a>]. While it did have a certain charm and it provided a roof over my head, I wouldn\u2019t recommend it as a tourist stop. The rooms are substandard and the place is dirty. Some of the residents were in sad shape and in need of help of all kinds. It was in a word a flophouse. San Diego should do something about it if they want to present it to the public as a landmark<\/p>\n

    \u2014John Nyman, via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Two sides of the taxi coin<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Yes, you do speak for all of the taxi drivers in San Diego [See \u201cEditorial: The impact of ride-sharing,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 2<\/a>]. I am one of them and they are destroying a business that people like us depend on full time to pay our bills.<\/p>\n

    The way they are operating is just lame and I can\u2019t believe it. Lawmakers, cops, and sheriffs have continued to just stand by and watch without doing anything.<\/p>\n

    Once they have over-saturated the market to the point that no one can make money anymore … what then? No one will even want to provide transportation anymore and there are already too many cars on the roads at night with no end in sight because they won\u2019t even cap the number of vehicles that are allowed to operate under these so-called technology network companies.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Joshua Bishop via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Taxi cabs have been taking advantage of people for too long. I\u2019m glad we finally have an option to get decent transportation for a decent price.<\/p>\n

    \u2014San Diego Citizen via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Listening to our bodies<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Thanks Scott Markey, for touching on a topic that can and does happen to all athletes, yet we all fail to listen to what our bodies are telling us [See \u201cCoping with a fitness layoff,\u201d Vol. 16, Issue 2<\/a>].<\/p>\n

    You are also so right about people working out next to me with severe colds and even the flu! They should be home in bed. Nice read, Scott.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Bill Lavery via sandiegodowntownnews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

    Correction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    In our March issue\u2019s cover story, \u201cRepurposed for a purpose,\u201d [Vol. 16, Issue 3]<\/a>, Brennan Hubbell was identified as working for Mooch Exterior Designs. However, Mr. Hubbell works for himself and was charged with the design and installation of the belly-up counters installed around the tree planters. Mooch handled the rest of the outdoor designs. This was an editor oversight and we regret the error.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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