Lack of repair and maintenance issues

In CA, under Civil Code 1941.1, you have the right to a habitable unit and your landlord is legally not able to retaliate or harass you for exercising that right.

• The first step to getting your repairs addressed is to write a letter to your landlord citing the repairs you need done to your unit. The time you give your landlord depends on the severity of repairs. (Some repairs should be done way before the 15 days are up such as your toilet flooding. However, if it’s not an urgent matter, we do recommend you give the landlord 15 days to respond).

• If you already wrote a letter: If you have already written a letter and the landlord continues to ignore your requests or is completing repairs in a way that’s exposing you and/or your family to health concerns, then you can write another letter for harassment due to their lack of diligence. Lastly, if that doesn’t work, you can sue them for not respecting your rights as a tenant. See legal resources below.

• Check if you are protected under Oakland’s Tenant Protection Ordinance. If you are protected under TPO, then you can write a letter for harassment that covers the following issues:
  • Failing to provide a service
  • Not completing necessary repairs
  • Exposing you and/or your family to excessive noise, contamination, mold, lead, and other hazardous materials while completing repairs in your unit.

• If you have written the harassment issue that corresponds to your issue and you have not received an appropriate response, we suggest talking to a housing organization to further explore your options including suing your landlord.

• If you are NOT covered under the TPO, you might still be covered by the California “Warranty of Habitability” law (Civil Code 1941.1). Take a look at our Repairs section for more info.