ZigaForm version 5.9.1

Instructions

This form will help you create a letter to send to your landlord. Enter as much information as you have below, if there are answers you don’t know, leave them blank and fill them in later after you print it out. After you fill out the information and click ‘Submit’, you’ll be able to print the letter, save it, or send it to yourself via email. 

The information you provide here will NOT be saved in any database. We do this to protect your identity, privacy, and safety.


Review your letter

{today_date}

{ landlord_name }
{ landlord_address }

Re: {eviction_type} at {tenant_address}

Dear {landlord_name},

I am a tenant at {tenant_address}.

I am writing this letter in response to the {eviction_type} I received on {date_notice_received} and dated {date_on_notice}.

Although the Alameda County eviction moratorium has ended, I am still protected from eviction because the eviction notice was served or expired during the time period covered by the moratorium.  

Although the Alameda County eviction moratorium has ended, I am still protected from eviction because the eviction notice demands rent that became due during the moratorium period.  I have been financially impacted by COVID-19 and can provide documentation upon request.

If you want to collect the rent you say I owe in a Small Claims case, you cannot legally do so until you give me one year to pay it from the day it became due.

In addition to state and county protections, I am also protected by Oakland’s eviction moratorium. Oakland’s Eviction Moratorium Ordinance prevents most evictions during Oakland’s local public health emergency. It also makes the service of most eviction notices illegal during this time, including the one that you sent me on {date}. You cannot require me to pay any amount to be protected under the Oakland Eviction Moratorium. Because the notice that you sent me is illegal, and because Oakland’s Eviction Moratorium Ordinance prevents you from trying to evict me using this notice, it is illegal for you to take any action to try to evict me based upon this notice.

I am advising you that you have not served me with a valid eviction notice under the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance of Oakland.

I am advising you that you have not served me with a valid eviction notice under the California Tenant Protection Act.

I am advising you that you have not served me with a valid eviction notice under the California Tenant Protection Act.

This notice is invalid because I paid rent in the amount of {amount_paid} on {last_time_paid_rent}. I paid rent by {payment_type}. I made sure you received payment by {payment_delivery}. 

I am attaching a copy of my {payment_type}. Please note that continuing to not accept my rent and/or sending invalid eviction notices can be considered a form of harassment and that if this continues I have the option to pursue legal action.

Please rescind your notice as it is not a valid notice.

Additionally, I am covered by Oakland’s Just Cause Ordinance. I request that you provide me with a receipt for all future payments. Pursuant to the California Civil Code Section 1499, “A debtor has a right to require from his creditor a written receipt for any property delivered in performance of his obligation.” Moreover, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2075, “Whoever pays money, or delivers an instrument or property is entitled to a receipt therefore from the person to whom the payment or delivery is made…” According to these laws, I am requesting to receive rent receipts of rent paid going forward.

This notice is invalid because I paid rent in the amount of {amount_paid} on {last_time_paid_rent}. I paid rent by {payment_type}. I made sure you received payment by {payment_delivery}. 

I am attaching a copy of my {payment_type}. Please note that continuing to not accept my rent and/or sending invalid eviction notices can be considered a form of harassment and that if this continues I have the option to pursue legal action.

Please rescind your notice as it is not a valid notice.

Additionally, I am covered by Oakland’s Tenant Protection Ordinance. I request that you provide me with a receipt for all future payments. Pursuant to the California Civil Code Section 1499, “A debtor has a right to require from his creditor a written receipt for any property delivered in performance of his obligation.” Moreover, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2075, “Whoever pays money, or delivers an instrument or property is entitled to a receipt therefore from the person to whom the payment or delivery is made…” According to these laws, I am requesting to receive rent receipts of rent paid going forward.

The notice claims that I have violated the terms of the verbal agreement/written lease.

However, there was a verbal agreement regarding a change to the contract made between me and {agreement_person}.

Because of this, the notice is invalid.

The notice claims that I have violated the terms of the verbal agreement/written lease.

As you know, the landlord authorized the conduct mentioned in the Notice through the words and conduct of {ll_names_action_words}, and therefore waived the right to evict me for that conduct.

Please be advised that the eviction process does not officially begin until a landlord serves a tenant with a valid notice to vacate that follows the requirements of the law. Please rescind your notice as it is not valid. If not, I will contact housing organizations for further assistance with this matter.

 

Be advised that under California Civil Code Section 1942.5, it is illegal for you to retaliate against me for having exercised my legal rights to request habitability repairs and involve city departments such as codes and compliance, vector control, or the rent adjustment program.

Moreover, under the Oakland Tenant Protection Ordinance, it  is also illegal for landlords to fail to perform repairs or remove a housing service such as repairs for the purpose of causing a tenant to vacate.

I involved:

Codes and compliance

Vector control

Rent adjustment program

on {date_first_department_was_contacted}.

I requested repairs on {date_sought_repairs}. The repairs requested are:
{repair_requested_repeater}

Please be advised that the eviction process does not officially begin until a landlord serves a tenant with a valid notice to vacate that follows the requirements of the law. Please rescind your notice as it is not legal.

Oakland law requires a landlord to pay for relocation assistance when substantial repairs are needed in a rental unit due to the city’s code enforcement activity. The Notice of Violation issued to you states that you must make repairs to address violations from the City of Oakland building codes pursuant to Oakland Municipal Code Section 15.60. 

On {insert date}, I received a Notice of Violation from the city noting needed repairs. However, I have not been informed how long these repairs will take. Please note that the city ordinance governing the code compliance around relocation assistance differentiates payments between repairs made within 60 days or when they exceed 60 days. Please consult Oakland Municipal Code Section 15.60 if you have any questions about your obligations. Please contact me as soon as possible to arrange adequate relocation payments or to discuss alternatives. 

Because of what I have explained above, I do not plan to move out at this time.

In addition, it is illegal to move my property out of my unit or lock me out of the unit until the eviction process is complete according to California Civil Code Section 789.3. Please also be advised that California Civil Code Section 1942.5 prohibits you from retaliating against me for having exercised my legal rights. This includes trying to evict me, raise my rent, or otherwise harass or intimidate me in retaliation for exercising my rights.

I also reserve the right to challenge any part of the eviction notice and how it was served on me in any future court proceeding.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Sincerely,

________________________

{ tenant_name }

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Most tenants in Oakland are covered by the Tenant Protection Ordinance! However, if you live in any of the following, then you ARE NOT covered by the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) in Oakland.

  • A hospital, skilled nursing facility, or health facility
  • A nonprofit facility that has the primary purpose of providing short term treatment, assistance, or therapy for alcohol, drug, or other substance abuse, where you were been told in writing that the housing was temporary/transitional when you moved in
  • A nonprofit facility which provides a structured living environment that has the primary purpose of helping houseless people build independent living skills and obtain permanent housing and where occupancy is restricted to a limited and specific period of time of not more than twenty-four (24) months, and where you were told in writing that the housing was temporary/transitional when you moved in
  • A hotel or motel for less than one month

If you don't live in any of the above, then you ARE covered under TPO. Note: if you live in a building owned by a nonprofit, you ARE covered unless the facility meet one of the specific exemptions described above.

Most units in Oakland are covered by Just Cause. However, if you live in any of the following, then you ARE NOT covered by Oakland Just Cause.

  • A unit that is less than 10 years old (If you're not sure, call the County Assessors and they can tell you very quickly) OR
  • You live in the same unit as your landlord, and you regularly share a kitchen or bathroom with the landlord, OR
  • You live in a recreational vehicle (RV) or wheeled tiny home but do NOT pay rent OR
  • A hospital, skilled nursing facility or healthcare facility OR
  • A nonprofit facility where the primary purpose is short-term treatment for drugs or alcohol, and you were told that the facility was temporary/transient when you moved in, OR
  • A nonprofit facility with a structured living environment where the primary purpose is to assist homeless folks in building skills for independent living, where occupancy is limited to a specific/limited time not greater than 24 months, and you were told that the facility was temporary/transient at the beginning

You are covered by Oakland Rent Control UNLESS you live in one of the following:

  1. Housing where your rent is subsidized and/or regulated by the government, including:
    1. A building managed by Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
    2. A unit where your rent is subsidized by Section 8 or another government entity (even if the property is privately owned)
  2. A hotel, motel, inn, or boarding houses AND you have not occupied the unit for more than 30 days (if you have been there more than 30 continuous days, you ARE likely covered by rent control)
  3. A unit or room in a hospital, senior home, extended care facility, convent, monastery or school dormitory
  4. A unit or room in a non-profit cooperative owned, occupied & controlled by the residents
  5. A building built on or after January 1, 1983 (Don’t know? Call the County Assessors at 510-272-3787 and ask them to tell you the year the unit was built and the effective date),
  6. A substantially rehabilitated building, IF the owner applied for exemption to rent control before October 20, 2017, and received a certificate of exemption from rent control
  7. A single-family home or a condominium sold separately AND you moved in after 1995

Effective May 1, 2018, the Oakland Tenant Move-out Ordinance (TMOO, O.M.C . 8.22.700 et seq.) states that landlords must do the following if they wish to offer a tenant compensation to vacate their rental unit:

1) The owner must file a Pre-Move Out Disclosure Certification Form with the Rent Adjustment Program prior to entering into Move Out Negotiations.
2) The owner must give a Disclosure Notice to the tenant prior to entering into Move Out Negotiations. The owner must also file the executed Move Out Agreement with the Rent Adjustment Program within 45 days of the tenant and landlord signing the Move Out Agreement.

Tenants also have these rights under the Move-out Ordinance:
1) The right to not accept - A tenant is not required to enter into a Move Out Agreement or engage in Move Out Negotiations, and:
-The landlord may not retaliate against a tenant for not accepting the offer. 
-Offering payments to a tenant to vacate more than once in six (6) months after the tenant has notified the owner in writing that the tenant refuses to enter into a Move Out Agreement or engage in Move Out Negotiations constitutes harassment under the Tenant Protection Ordinance.

2) The right to consult an attorney before entering into a Move Out Agreement or engaging in Move Out Negotiations.
3) The right to rescind - A tenant may cancel the Move Out Agreement at any time during the twenty-five (25) days after the agreement has been signed by both the landlord and tenant, unless the parties agree in writing to a shorter period of no less than fifteen (15) days . During this time, the tenant may cancel the Agreement as long as the tenant has not moved out, and the decision to cancel is agreed upon by tenants who are part of the Move Out Agreement.
4) Extended right to rescind within six months if the Move Out Agreement does not meet the specifications required under the Ordinance.
5) Relocation amounts for 2020-2021: Move out agreements must be for greater than the amount of the relocation payments to which the tenant may be entitled under Oakland, state, or federal law. The Uniform Relocation Ordinance requires owners provide tenants displaced by code compliance activities, owner or relative move-ins, the Ellis Act, and condominium conversions with relocation payments. The payment amount depends on the size of the unit and adjusts for inflation annually on July 1st. The base payment amounts until June 30, 2021 are:

$ 7,308.37 per studio/one bedroom unit
$8,994.92 per two bedroom unit
$11,103.10 per three or more bedroom unit

Tenant households in rental units that include lower income, elderly or disabled tenants, and/or minor children are entitled to a single additional relocation payment of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per unit from the owner.
6) Right to return: Tenants have an option or right to return to their Rental Unit after certain no-fault evictions, such as code compliance evictions after the repairs are completed or Ellis evictions if the units are re-rented. Waiver of these rights, if applicable, may make a Move Out Agreement more valuable.
7) Market rents may be much higher in your area and you may want to check rents for similar rental units before entering into a Move Out Agreement, particularly a Move Out Agreement that removes any options or rights to return to the rental unit that may exist for you.
8) Payments from a Move Out Agreement may be taxable. You should consult taxing authorities or a tax professional for more information or advice on taxability.
9) Public records: Move Out Agreements and documents related to Move Out Agreements that are submitted to the City may be public. The City may redact personal information to the extent possible. Parties of a Move Out Agreement should be notified that information may become public disclosure.