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Tobener Ravenscroft LLP is the leading tenant rights law firm in California and has been in business for over twenty years. The firm serves tenants in California and focuses on wrongful evictions, intractable repair issues, landlord harassment, tenant discrimination, landlord sexual harassment, and landlord-caused injuries.
Stop landlord harassment and landlord sexual harassment by knowing your rights and fighting back. Tenants are protected from landlord harassment under state and local laws, and in some cases federal law. Landlords who violate the law by harassing or sexually harassing their tenants can be held liable for substantial damages. If your landlord is using harassment to force you to move out of your home or if you are being sexually harassed by your landlord, contact Tobener Ravenscroft LLP to speak with an experienced attorney to understand your rights and hold your landlord accountable.
Landlord harassment is illegal. California state law and local city ordinances protect tenants against harassment. Whether physical or verbal, all landlord harassment has the same goal—to force the tenant to move out. Harassment is when a landlord uses persistent aggressive methods, fraud, coercion, or intimidation to get a tenant to do what the landlord wants. Harassment is meant to disrupt the tenant’s legal right to quiet enjoyment of their unit in order to force the tenant to move or to force the tenant to refrain from pursuing any potential legal rights they may have against the landlord.
In rent-controlled jurisdictions, such as San Francisco, Berkeley, Richmond, Mountain View, Alameda, Los Angeles, and Oakland, landlords are highly motivated to get long-term tenants to move out in order to raise the rent to market rate. Many landlords rely on the assumption that tenants do not know their legal rights. Harassment of the tenant is pursued to avoid costly legal fees and the hassle of a legal eviction and, most importantly, the landlord typically has no actual cause to evict the tenant other than their bad faith motivation to substantially raise the rent.
Landlord harassment claims can sometimes be difficult to prove. These cases often come down to a tenant’s ability to prove the harassment. Tenants need to be extremely diligent in notating each harassing event. Here are some ways you can prove harassment:
It is illegal for a landlord to induce a tenant to leave a unit by the use of “force, willful threats, or menacing conduct”; by threatening to disclose the citizenship status of the tenant or the tenant’s guests; by entering the tenant’s unit in substantial violation of the law; and to take, deprive, or remove the tenant’s property from the unit without consent. Cal. Civ. Code § 1940.2. Landlords who are found to have harassed their tenants are liable for punitive damages of up to $2,000.00 for each violation of the law. Id. Tenants do not have to be actually evicted or constructively evicted to be awarded damages for harassment. Id. Additionally, the state’s anti-retaliation statute prevents a landlord from harassing a tenant after the tenant has asserted rights under law. Cal. Civ. Code § 1942.5. Landlords who violate this prohibition are liable for actual damages, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages of up to $2,000 per retaliatory act. Id.
Landlord sexual harassment is illegal. Federal law, California state law, and some local city ordinances protect tenants against sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is not only unwanted physical touching but can be unwanted visual or verbal sexual contact or conduct. Although the majority of the victims of landlord sexual harassment are women, all tenants are susceptible to this abusive and predatory conduct. And, harassers are not always men, but can be women.
Tenants should also be aware that it is not always the property owner who is the sexual harasser. Property managers, employees of the landlord such as maintenance workers, and anyone involved in providing housing services can also be found liable for sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment can be classified as a form or sex discrimination. Sexual Harassment in an abuse of power by the landlord which is meant to intimidate, oppress, and take advantage of a vulnerable tenant.
There are two categories of sexual harassment: quid pro quo sexual harassment and hostile environment sexual harassment. Quid pro quo is when your landlord requires you to engage in unwanted sexual conduct as a condition to obtaining or maintaining your housing. Your landlord may not use overt demands like ask for sex in exchange for waiving your rent. Instead, they may make statements such as “if you do me a favor, I will forgive your rent” or “if you help me out, I can help you out.” These types of statements are often accompanied with conduct such as a suggestive wink or sexual body language.
Hostile environment sexual harassment is when your landlord engages in sexual behavior that is so severe and pervasive that it results in a hostile, intimidating, offensive, or undesirable environment. Repeatedly asking you about your sex life, making comments about your body, texting you inappropriate pictures, or touching you inappropriately are all forms of harassment that create a hostile environment.
Proving sexual harassment can be difficult. Tenants who are a victim of sexual harassment will likely encounter a situation where it is their word against their landlord’s. Here are some ways to prove your landlord is sexually harassing you:
Tenants can sue their landlord for sexual harassment.
Unruh Civil Rights Act: To prove a claim for sexual harassment under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, a tenant must show that (1) the landlord made “sexual advances, solicitations, sexual requests, demands for sexual compliance by the plaintiff, or engaged in other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature or of a hostile nature based on gender; (2) the landlord’s conduct was unwelcome and pervasive or severe”; (3) the tenant cannot easily terminate the relationship; and (4) the tenant suffered or will suffer economic loss or disadvantage or personal injury, including, but not limited to, emotional distress. Cal. Civil Code § 51.9. A tenant who suffers sexual harassment is entitled to punitive damages, actual damages, emotional distress damages, and attorney fees. Cal. Civil Code § 52.
Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): To prove a claim for landlord sexual harassment under FEHA, a tenant must show a “hostile” or “abusive” relationship. Courts will look at the totality of the circumstances, including: (1) frequency of the discriminatory conduct; (2) its severity; (3) whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and (4) whether it unreasonably interferes with a tenant’s enjoyment of housing. Brown v. Smith, 55 Cal. App. 4th 767 (1997). The court will also consider the nature of the unwelcome sexual acts, for instance physical touching is more offensive than verbal abuse. Id. The total number of days of the offensive conduct and the context are also important factors. Id. Acts need to be more than occasional, isolated, sporadic, or trivial. Id. It must be a concerted pattern of harassment of a repeated, routine or a generalized nature. Id. A tenant may be awarded actual damages, punitive damages, emotional discuss, and attorney fees.
The Ralph Act: Sexual harassment and sex discrimination may manifest into violence. In such instances, Civil Code section 51.7 (“Ralph Act”) offers protections for tenants. Under the Ralph Act, tenants are protected from any violence or intimidation by threat of violence motivated by sex, gender, or other similar characteristic or trait. Cal. Civ. Code §51.7. A tenant may be awarded actual damages, punitive damages, emotional discuss, and attorney fees. A landlord may also face a civil penalty of $25,000, which is awarded to the tenant.
The San Francisco Rent Ordinance protects tenants from landlord harassment. The ordinance is more expansive than the California harassment statute, and it includes a catch-all provision to cover anything that is not explicitly enumerated. S.F. Cal., Rent Ordinance § 37.10B. In San Francisco, landlords are expressly prohibited from doing the following:
Tenants who are harassed by their landlord can file a civil lawsuit against their landlord for damages and for an injunction to stop the behavior. Additionally, a landlord convicted for violation of this section of the Rent Ordinance will be subject to criminal penalties. Id. Where the tenant can prove harassment, the landlord will be assessed a statutory penalty of $1,000.00 for each instance of harassment. Id. The tenant can also seek an award of three times (treble damages) their emotional distress and out-of-pocket damages. Id. And, punitive damages and attorney fees are provided for under the ordinance. Id.
The County of Los Angeles recently passed an anti-harassment ordinance that applies to the unincorporated areas of the county. Landlords are prohibited from retaliating against a tenant who is not in default of their rent and who has exercised their rights under the ordinance. L.A. County, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.52.130. Landlords may not terminate a tenancy, refuse to renew a tenancy, or cause a tenant to involuntarily move out in response to a tenant exercising their rights. Failure by the landlord to comply with the ordinance can be asserted by a tenant as an affirmative defense to any action brought against them by the landlord. In addition, landlords and their contractors, subcontractors, employees, and any person acting as an agent of the landlord are prohibited from doing the following:
Act in bad faith by any of the following actions:
Any tenant who has been retaliated against or harassed by their landlord, or any person or entity acting on behalf of the tenant’s interest, including the County, may bring a lawsuit against the landlord for violations of the ordinance. L.A. County, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.52.170. Tenants can sue their landlord for injunctive, declaratory and other equitable relief, restitution, and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Id. The court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a landlord who prevails in any action brought against them if the court determines that the tenant’s action was frivolous. In addition, tenants may seek a civil penalty of between $2,000 and $5,000 per violation. L.A. County, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.52.130. If the tenant is 62 years old or older or is disabled, the court may award an additional $5,000 per violation. Each violation of the ordinance, and each day such violation is committed, permitted, or continued, is a separate offense. L.A. County, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.52.170.
The Oakland Rent Ordinance’s prohibition against landlord harassment is similar to San Francisco’s ordinance. Oakland, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.22.600. Under Oakland’s Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO), landlords shall not do the following:
Oakland’s Tenant Protection Ordinance also prohibits retaliation by the landlord against the tenant for exercising their rights under the law and allows tenants to bring retaliation claims against the landlord in civil court. Id. It is important to note that under the Oakland TPO, tenants must first comply with a notice requirement before they can pursue a civil remedy in court against their landlord if the tenant alleges a violation of 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, or 13 listed above. Oakland, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.22.650. Tenants alleging a violation of those subsections must notify the property owner or their agent of the problem prior to filing a lawsuit. Id. And, in the case of 1, 2, 3, 11, or 12 listed above, the tenant must give fifteen (15) days from the notification for the owner to correct the issue. Id. Similar to San Francisco’s ordinance, Oakland provides for substantial money damages against landlords found liable for harassment. Oakland, Cal., Mun. Code § 8.22.670. Attorney fees and costs, punitive damages, treble damages, and injunctive relief are all available under the ordinance. Id.
The City of Berkeley also has a Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) that protects tenants from landlord harassment and retaliation. Berkeley, Cal., Mun. Code § 13.79.060. The ordinance prohibits the landlord from doing any of the following in bad faith:
Like the Oakland TPO discussed earlier, before a tenant can bring a claim in civil court for violation of certain subsections listed above, the tenant must first comply with the notice requirement to the property owner or the owner’s agent. Id. Landlords found to have violated the TPO can be liable for actual damages, attorney fees, treble damages, injunction, and an award of civil penalties in the sum of between $1,000 and $10,000 for each violation. Plus, the landlord may be held liable for an additional penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation against any person who is disabled or elderly (age sixty-five or over).
The City’s ordinance applies to all residential units and tenants. Long Beach, Cal. Mun. Code § 8.101.020. All property owners, or any person acting as principal, agent, contractor, subcontractor, or any representative of the owner, are prohibited from doing any of the following:
If a property owner, or any person acting as principal, agent, contractor, subcontractor, or any representative of the owner violates the City of Long Beach’s harassment ordinance, they may be liable for the tenant’s money damages, a penalty of up to $5,000 but not less than $2,000 per violation, and any other relief the court deems appropriate. Long Beach, Cal. Mun. Code § 8.101.040(A). If the tenant is older than sixty-five years old or is disabled, the court may award an additional penalty of up to $5,000 per violation. Id. Further, the court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a tenant who prevails in their lawsuit. Long Beach, Cal. Mun. Code § 8.101.040(B). The court may also award reasonable attorney fees and costs to an owner who prevails in the lawsuit if the court determines that the tenant’s action was frivolous. Id.
In June of 2019, the City Council of the City of Culver City added a Tenant Protections section to their Municipal Code addressing Retaliatory Eviction and Anti-Harassment. Culver City, Cal., Mun. Code § 15.09.340. This new ordinance established a permanent tenant protection program. Concerning Retaliatory Eviction, the ordinance asserts:
If a tenant can prove they exercised their rights under law within six months prior to an alleged act of retaliation, this will create a rebuttable presumption that the landlord’s act was retaliatory. The anti-harassment portion of the ordinance asserts that no landlord, agent, contractor, subcontractor or employee of the landlord shall violate the tenant protections in Cal. Civil Code § 789.3 and § 1940.2, or similar state and federal laws, or engage in any activity that violates the tenant’s right to the quiet enjoyment of their unit. The ordinance prohibits the landlord from doing any of the following in bad faith:
A landlord who violates any provision of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and may be subject to an administrative fine of up to $1,000 – with every day a violation occurs or continues, considered a separate violation. A landlord found to be in violation of this section shall be liable to the tenant for actual damages, emotional distress, and attorney fees. Culver City, Cal., Mun. Code § 15.09.345. The City Attorney is authorized to bring a civil action for violation of this section, for civil penalties or other relief, and may take other steps necessary to enforce this section. The city’s decision to pursue or not pursue enforcement does not prevent a tenant from pursuing their own civil case, nor are tenants required to exhaust all administrative remedies before filing suit. Culver City, Cal., Mun. Code § 15.09.350.
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In 2015, Santa Monica amended Section 4.56 of their Municipal Code to clarify and extend protections against tenant harassment when complaints increased that year. Santa Monica, Cal., Mun. Code § 4.56. Under the Santa Monica anti-harassment and tenant protection statute, no landlord shall do anything of the following in bad faith:
Landlords in violation of Section 4.56 are liable for statutory damages of $1,000 to $10,000 and shall be liable for attorney fees. Each violation against tenants 65 or older will result in an additional civil penalty of $5,000.
The Emeryville Rent Ordinance’s anti-harassment provisions protect Emeryville tenants from landlord harassment. Landlords that harass or retaliate against tenants face civil remedies. Emeryville, Cal., Mun. Code § 5-40.05. No landlord may do any of the following in bad faith:
The Emeryville Rent Ordinance contains a private right of action for landlord violations. The tenant or the City may file a civil proceeding for money damages, injunctive relief or both against a landlord who engages in activities prohibited under this section. Emeryville, Cal., Mun. Code § 5-40.06. The ordinance also includes a chapter outlining specific language that must be contained in a notice provided to tenants of their rights. Landlords must provide this notice in circumstances including, but not limited to, entering a lease or rental agreement when renewing a lease or rental agreement or with a notice of termination. Emeryville, Cal. Mun. Code § 5-40.07
The City of West Hollywood anti-harassment statute states that no landlord shall willfully engage in harassment of any tenant of a rental housing unit in a manner that is likely to create a hostile living environment or cause the tenant to vacate the unit. West Hollywood, Cal. Mun. Code § 17.52.090. As used here, harassment includes but is not limited to the following conduct:
A West Hollywood landlord who harasses a tenant is liable for each and every such offense for actual damages to the tenant, or for statutory damages in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1000.00), whichever is greater, and for punitive damages. The tenant may also recover attorney fees and costs. West Hollywood, Cal. Mun. Code 17.68.010 (D).
The City of Richmond recently enacted the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance to protect tenants from harassment by their landlord. The ordinance also provides tenants with the ability to sue their landlord for harassment.
Under the ordinance, landlords, their employees, and any person acting as the agent of the landlord are prohibited from doing any of the following in bad faith:
Also, permanent removal of amenities that are part of your tenancy unless there is good cause to do so will be considered harassment. RICHMOND, CAL., MUN. CODE § 11.103.090. Amenities include garage facilities, parking facilities, driveways, storage spaces, laundry rooms, decks, patios, backyards, gardens, kitchen facilities, and bathroom or lobbies in residential hotels. Id.
Tenants are also protected from retaliation for exercising their rights under the ordinance. RICHMOND, CAL., MUN. CODE § 11.103.070.
Tenants can sue their landlord for violation of the ordinance for money damages, for an injunction to stop the harassment, or for both. RICHMOND, CAL., MUN. CODE § 11.103.110. A landlord who violates the ordinance or any person who aids or incites another person to violate the ordinance is liable for each and every offense of not less than three times (treble) the tenant’s actual damages, including damages for mental or emotional distress, or $1,000, whichever is greater. Id. Damages for mental or emotional distress is tripled (trebled) if the landlord acted in knowing violation of or reckless disregard of the law. Id. A landlord found to have violated the ordinance shall also be liable for the tenant’s attorney fees and costs as determined by the court. Id. A landlord shall be entitled to an award of attorney fees only if it is determined by the court that the tenant’s action was without merit and brought in bad faith. Id. Further, any person who violates, aids, or incites another person to violate the law is liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each offense committed against a person who is disabled (within the meaning of California Government Code section 12926, et seq.) or who is 65 years old or older. Id. The court may also award punitive damages to any plaintiff. Id.
On April 11, 2017, Union City approved an ordinance that added Chapter 5.50 “Residential and Landlord and Tenant Relations” to the City’s municipal code, regulating most residential rental units in the City and specifically prohibiting landlords from engaging in specific harassment activity. Union City, Cal. Mun. Code § 5.50.050 A landlord may not do any of the following in bad faith:
A tenant in Union City who is subjected to prohibited acts, or faces retaliation by a landlord for exercising any rights under this chapter, may bring a civil private right of action for money damages, injunctive relief, or both. Prevailing tenants are entitled to costs and reasonable attorney fees. Union City, Cal. Mun. Code § 5.50.080 (A)(B)(1).
As discussed above, depending on which jurisdiction the tenant resides, tenants can recover a myriad of damages in a lawsuit against their landlord for harassment. Some of the damages include actual damages, treble damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, civil penalties that vary in amount depending on the city, and in some jurisdictions, additional awards for disabled or elderly tenants are available.
Aside from the harassment claim, other claims a tenant may pursue against the landlord that will yield additional money damages are for breach of contract and covenant of quiet enjoyment, wrongful or constructive eviction, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Breach of Contract and Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment: Implied in every residential lease is a covenant of quiet enjoyment, guaranteeing that tenants will be able to peacefully enjoy their homes. Cal. Civ. Code § 1927. Where a landlord has substantially interfered with a tenant’s peaceful enjoyment of a unit, the tenant can sue for back rent. Through the use of expert appraisers, the court will determine if, and by how much, the rental value of the property declined due to the harassment. In Guntert v. City of Stockton, 55 Cal. App. 3d 131 (1976), for example, the court awarded a tenant back rent where the landlord gave several arbitrary eviction notices.
Where a tenant is under constant threat of eviction, receives unlawful eviction notices, is verbally or physically threatened by a landlord, and is not benefiting from timely and proper repairs, the tenant can file a breach of contract claim against the landlord. Id. at 139. Constructive Eviction: If a tenant is forced out of a rent-controlled home because of landlord harassment, the tenant can sue for the cost to replace the rent-controlled home. At least one court has allowed a tenant to recover twenty years’ worth of increased rent. Where a landlord is motivated by a desire to get a rent-controlled tenant out from under rent control, this rent differential may be trebled (i.e., tripled). Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: In cases of particularly outrageous conduct, a tenant may sue a landlord in tort for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The elements of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress are “(1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendant with the intention of causing, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, emotional distress; (2) the plaintiff’s suffering severe or extreme emotional distress; and (3) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress by the defendant’s outrageous conduct.” Molko v. Holy Spirit Assn., 46 Cal. 3d 1092, 1120 (1988) (emphasis added), quoting Cervantez v. J.C. Penney Co., 24 Cal. 3d 579, 593 (1979).
Where a tenant can prove that harassment is intentional or has a reckless disregard, the landlord will be required to pay actual and punitive damages. In the San Francisco case Richardson v. Pridmore, 217 P.2d 113, a tenant suffered a miscarriage as a result of being intentionally and wrongfully evicted. The landlord in that case broke into the tenants’ apartment while they were gone for a few days, put all their stuff in a basement, and changed their locks before giving the place to new tenants. The jury awarded the plaintiffs a sum of $7,250 ($63,910 in 2009 dollars) as compensation. In Aweeka v. Bonds, 20 Cal. App. 3d 278 (1971), a landlord raised the rent on tenants in retaliation for a repair and deduct against tenants who used rent to repair. The court noted that no physical injury need be present to award damages for emotional distress. In Spinks v. Equity Residential Briarwood Apartments, 171 Cal. App. 4th 1004 (2009), the court determined that an unlawful eviction may be outrageous despite the “polite and sympathetic” attitudes of a landlord’s agents. A tenant’s particular vulnerability at the time of the eviction, in this case, a recent reconstructive surgery of the arm, can make an unlawful eviction outrageous conduct on the part of the landlord.
In the housing context, there is a two-year statute of limitations to bring a private action for sex discrimination or sexual harassment in violation of California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) against a landlord or an agent or a landlord. A tenant may be awarded actual damages, punitive damages, emotional distress, and attorney fees.
Under the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code section 51.9, a tenant has two years to bring a private claim of sexual harassment against their landlord or the landlord’s agent for the discriminatory or harassing conduct. A tenant may be awarded actual damages, treble damages, punitive damages, emotional distress, and attorney fees.
Under the Ralph Act, Civil Code section 51.7, a tenant has three years to bring a private claim against their landlord or the landlord’s agent. A tenant may be awarded actual damages, punitive damages, emotional distress, and attorney fees. A landlord may also face a civil penalty of $25,000, which is awarded to the tenant.
Tenants who have a landlord that is using harassment in an attempt to force them to move should contact Tobener Ravenscroft LLP to speak with an experienced attorney.
recovered in action brought against landlord who harassed transgender tenants and failed to maintain an SRO building in San Francisco where individual rooms were rented out with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. The landlord frequently trespassed into their rooms, demanded rent, dumped out their purses looking for money, and implied they should prostitute themselves to pay rent. The five plaintiffs suffered from collapsed ceilings, no heat, mice, bedbugs, filthy common area bathrooms and kitchen, and an unsecured building that led to frequent trespassing by homeless persons and drug-addicts.
recovered on behalf of a single tenant who was forced out of his rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco when the landlord posted dozens of notes illegally demanding he move out in response to his complaints about lack of heat and unlawful rent increases.
recovered in action brought against a landlord in San Francisco who failed to make repairs and abate several Notices of Violation issued by the City. Instead, the landlord harassed the tenants in attempts to force them to leave the rent-controlled unit they occupied for three decades. As a result of the landlord’s failure to repair, one of the tenants fell and suffered serious personal injuries requiring hospitalization.
recovered on behalf of a single-parent living in an in-law unit in Oakland. The landlord engaged in a pattern of harassment aimed at forcing the tenant out of her rent-controlled unit. The landlord’s harassment included repeatedly yelling at the tenant, saying she needed to move out because her rent was too low, and telling her young son that she should call Child Protective Services on his mother.
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