Can a landlord evicta tenantjust because he wants to putthe rentalon the market?
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Can a landlord evicta tenantjust because he wants to putthe rentalon the market?
He says he wants to go out of the landlord business; that he wants to sell. Mentioned Ellis Act if I am not out by end of next month and offered a bit of money. I have this in writing. Suddenly, the house has been having problems (right before this no heat for 2 weeks, water turned off without warning, etc).
Asked on February 23, 2011 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
The "Ellis Act" is a CA law which states that landlords have the unconditional right to evict tenants to "go out of business." For an Ellis eviction, the landlord must remove all of the units in the building from the rental market. In other words, the landlord must evict all the tenants and cannot single out 1 tenant and/or remove just 1 unit from the rental market. When a landlord utilizes this Act, apartments cannot be re-rented, except at the same rent the evicted tenant was paying, for 5 years following the evictions. While there are restrictions on ever re-renting the units, there are no such restrictions on converting them to ownership units (e.g., tenancies in common or condos).
Bottom line, Ellis Act evictions typically are used to change the use of a building. Most such evictions are used to convert rental units to condominiums. Tenants can be evicted under the Ellis Act anywhere in CA, but local law can impact the procedures and requirements.
As for cutting off utilities, that is all together different matter. Landlords cannot do this ever. You may have a cause of action here.
At this point, since the Ellis Act has certain requirements that must be met for an eviction to be lawful and your landlord may have been using "self-help" measures to get you to move (i.e. no heat/hot water), you really should consult with a tenants right organization or a real estate attorney that specializes in landlord/tenant matters.
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