Real Estate Law Blog
We only take a select number of cases so we can fight for you
at the highest level to resolve your case through negotiation or trial.
Our attorneys provide personal care in our clients' cases.
After you make an appointment, you will meet
with the lawyers who will be handling your case.
Rental Rates Driving Tenants Out
Sheila James, an office worker, starts her week by rolling out of bed at 2:15 am to get to her job in downtown San Francisco by 8:00 am.
Because of high rental rates in the Bay Area, she moved to Stockton, where she can rent a 3-bedroom house for $1,000 a month. She used to live in Alameda, and paid $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment.
She might still be living in Alameda if a developer had not brought her building and evicted her and her neighbors. As a single person, her household income is $80,000 a year, but that’s not enough to afford decent housing in the Bay Area.
First Step to Correct a Housing Code Violation
You believe your home has a serious violation of the housing code. But you’re not certain. How can you tell?
“Substantial” compliance is the standard used by the courts.
Landlords are not required to have their properties in perfect, aesthetically pleasing conditions. In most cases, landlords need what is called “substantial compliance.” This means that the conditions meet the applicable code standards that affect health and safety.
The Case of the Erroneous Landlord
As an attorney defending residential tenants, I find that each case has unique details. Knowing which details are important when arguing a case can be the difference between winning and losing.
That’s why I keep track of court opinions, which I write about occasionally in this blog. What I call the “Case of the Erroneous Landlord” is about a significant detail that caused the tenants to win both the lawsuit and the appeal.
Yikes, My Building is Selling: Part 2
The landlord or his realtor presents you with a document asking you about the details of your lease. The document might be called “Rental Questionnaire” or a “Statement of Tenancy.”
Be careful. It could be a tenant estoppel.
Tenant estoppels legally certify facts about your lease. They reassure the buyer of your building that the financial details are correct about your home.
Yikes, My Building is Selling: Part 1
You come home one evening and see a sign on your building. It’s for sale.
Or you hear a rumor from another tenant. You google your building’s address, and up it comes on some real estate company’s website.
As a tenant, are you in trouble?
Take a deep breath. The first thing I tell my clients when they are nervous about their rent-controlled building selling is that they can’t be evicted because the sale.
The Case of the Unaware Landlord
Details are important. They can make or break your case. That’s why, when you’re in a dispute with your landlord, it’s important to know the rules and regulations.
In Azar v. Rodriguez, the landlords did not know the details. Or if they did, they chose to ignore them. Luckily, the tenant attorney caught the discrepancy. It saved the tenants from being evicted for two years.
This case revolves around an eviction notice given to the tenants for an owner move-in. It’s about what was in the notice, and what was not.
CAA Drops Rent Control Lawsuits
The California Apartment Association (CAA), a trade group of landlords, announced on May 5th they will suspend their legal challenges to two approved rent control measures.
Last November, rent control measures were on the ballot in five cities. Only those in Richmond and Mountain View passed. The CAA promptly filed lawsuits to overturn the passed measures.
Fake Eviction Notices
Here’s an important blog I wrote last year called “Don’t Be Fooled into an Eviction.”
Some landlords will try to get you to move without going through the expense and time to formally eviction you.
You get a letter from your landlord in the mail or find one stuck to your door. Feeling ill, you read that it’s a notice to terminate your tenancy. It looks official.
With More Apartment Fires in the Bay Area…
With more apartment fires in the Bay Area, I am re-running a blog I wrote on October, 17, 2016 called “Eviction by Fire.” Protecting your tenant’s rights is now more important than ever.
In early October, nine tenants were left homeless by another fire that damaged an apartment building in the Mission district.
There’s been a rash of them. This 2-alarm fire took 66 firefighters about an hour and a half to put out. A SFGATE article noted that the fire “caused no injuries.”
Ready for Aggressive Legal Help?
Talk with an experienced lawyer in an obligation-free telephone consultation. We will personally review your challenging, out-of-the-ordinary case for free whereas other firms charge for a consultation.
Contact Form
"*" indicates required fields
Mary Catherine Wiederhold
Real Estate Attorney
1458 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 533-0735
(415) 843-0496Our offices are conveniently accessible to public transportation.
The use of the Internet or this website for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through these media.