Landlord-Tenant Law - Retaliatory Actions, Evictions, and Discrimination

California statutory landlord-tenant law protects tenants from retaliation by their landlords for exercising their legal rights or complaining about problems with the rental unit. The statute governing this situation is California Civil Code section 1942.5, which provides (among other things) that a landlord may not evict a tenant, raise the rent, or decrease any services within 180 days of the tenant making a complaint to the landlord or to an appropriate governmental agency regarding the "tenantability" of the unit. Tenantability issues are defined in section 1941.1, which generally covers most issues that a reasonable person would consider a serious problem with the unit (e.g., ineffective protection from weather, heating or plumbing problems, and rodent or vermin infestations). For the complete list of legally recognized tenantability issues, please see section 1941.1.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs publishes a helpful guide that outlines the basic prohibitions on retaliatory evictions and other retaliatory actions by landlords.

If you are facing retaliatory action by your landlord, we can offer personalized legal service ranging from assistance with document preparation and/or limited scope representation, all the way up through full-service representation at trial. Contact us for a free consultation.