Glossary
[All words in boldface type are explained in this Glossary.]
abandon/abandonment - the tenant's remedy of moving out of a rental unit that is uninhabitable and that the landlord has not repaired within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the defects from the tenant.
amount of notice/amount of advance notice -the number of days' notice that must be given before a change in the tenancy
can take effect. Usually, the amount of advance notice is the same as
the number of days between rent payments. For example, in a
month-to-month tenancy, the landlord usually must give the tenant 30
days' advance written notice that the landlord is increasing the amount
of the security deposit.
Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs
- a form that tenants may complete and give to the Clerk of Court to
request permission to file court documents without paying the court
filing fee.
arbitration
- using a neutral third person to resolve a dispute instead of going
to court. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the parties must
follow the arbitrator's decision.
arbitrator
- a neutral third person, agreed to by the parties to a dispute, who
hears and decides a dispute. An arbitrator is not a judge, but the
parties normally must follow the arbitrator's decision (the decision is
said to be "binding" on the parties). (See arbitration; compare to mediator.)
assign/assignment
- an agreement between the original tenant and a new tenant by which
the new tenant takes over the lease of a rental unit and becomes
responsible to the landlord for everything that the original tenant was
responsible for. The original tenant is still responsible to the
landlord if the new tenant doesn't live up to the lease obligations.
(See novation; compare to sublease.)
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing - the state agency that investigates complaints of unlawful discrimination in housing and employment.
Claim of Right to Possession - a form that the occupants of a rental unit can fill out to temporarily stop their eviction by the sheriff after the landlord has won an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit. The occupants can use this form only if: the landlord did not serve a Prejudgment Claim of Right to Possession form with the summons and complaint; the occupants were not named in the writ of possession; and the occupants have lived in the rental unit since before the unlawful detainer lawsuit was filed.
credit report - a report prepared by a credit reporting agency
that describes a person's credit history for the last seven years
(except for bankruptcies, which are reported for 10 years). A credit
report shows, for example, whether the person pays his or her bills on
time, has delinquent or charged-off accounts, has been sued, and is
subject to court judgments.
credit reporting agency -
a business that keeps records of people's credit histories, and that
reports credit history information to prospective creditors (including
landlords). (See also tenant screening service.)
credit score - a numerical summary of a person's credit worthiness that is based on information from a credit reporting agency.
Credit scoring uses a statistical program to compare a person's
history of bill paying, credit accounts, collection actions and other
credit information with the credit performance of other consumers. A
high credit score (for example, 750 and up) indicates that a person is a
better credit risk, and a low score (for example, 300 - 400) indicates
a potential credit risk.
default judgment
- a judgment issued by the court, without a hearing, after the tenant
has failed to file a response to the landlord's complaint.
Demurrer - a legal response that a tenant can file in an unlawful detainer lawsuit to test the legal sufficiency of the charges made in the landlord's complaint.
Discovery - the
process through which parties to an action are allowed to obtain
relevant information known to other parties or non-parties before trial
discrimination (in renting)
- denying a person housing, telling a person that housing is not
available (when the housing is actually available at that time),
providing housing under inferior terms, harassing a person in connection
with housing accommodations, or providing segregated housing because
of a person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy,
childbirth or medical conditions related to them, as well as gender and
perception of gender), sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry,
source of income, age, disability, medical condition, whether the
person is married, or whether there are children under the age of 18 in
the person's household. Discrimination also can be refusal to make
reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability.
dishonored check
- a check that the bank returns to the payee (the person who received
the check) without paying it. The bank may return the check because the
payor's (the check writer's) account did not have enough money to
cover the check. This is called a "bounced" or "NSF" check. Or, the bank
may return the check because the payor stopped payment on it.
escrow account
- a bank account into which a tenant deposits withheld rent, to be
withdrawn only when the landlord has corrected uninhabitable conditions
in the rental unit or when the tenant is ordered by a court to pay
withheld rent to the landlord.
eviction
- a court-administered proceeding for removing a tenant from a rental
unit because the tenant has violated the rental agreement or lease, or
did not comply with a notice ending the tenancy (also called an "unlawful detainer " lawsuit).
eviction notice (or three-day notice)
- a three-day notice that the landlord serves on the tenant when the
tenant has violated the lease or rental agreement. The three-day notice
usually instructs the tenant to either leave the rental unit or comply
with the lease or rental agreement (for example, by paying past-due
rent) within the three-day period.
fair housing organizations - city or county organizations that help renters resolve housing discrimination problems.
federal stay (or automatic stay) - an order of a federal bankruptcy court that temporarily stops proceedings in a state court, including an eviction proceeding.
guest -
a person who does not have the rights of a tenant, such as a person
who stays in a transient hotel for fewer than seven days.
habitable
- a rental unit that is fit for human beings to live in. A rental unit
that substantially complies with building and safety code standards
that materially affect tenants' health and safety is said to be
"habitable." See uninhabitable and implied warranty of habitability.
holding deposit
- a deposit that a tenant gives to a landlord to hold a rental unit
until the tenant pays the first month's rent and the security deposit.
implied warranty of habitability
- a legal rule that requires landlords to maintain their rental units
in a condition fit for human beings to live in. A rental unit must
substantially comply with building and housing code standards that
materially affect tenants' health and safety. The basic minimum
requirements for a rental unit to be habitable are available in the Dealing With Problems section.
initial inspection - an inspection by the landlord before the tenancy ends to identify defective conditions that justify deductions from the security deposit.
item of information - information in a credit report
that causes a creditor to deny credit or take other adverse action
against an applicant (such as refusing to rent a rental unit to the
applicant).
landlord - a business or person who owns a rental unit, and who rents or leases the rental unit to another person, called a tenant.
lease
- a rental agreement, usually in writing, that establishes all the
terms of the agreement and that lasts for a predetermined length of
time (for example, six months or one year). Compare to periodic rental agreement.
legal aid organizations
- organizations that provide free legal advice, representation, and
other legal services in noncriminal cases to economically disadvantaged
persons.
lock out
- when a landlord locks a tenant out of the rental unit with the
intent of terminating the tenancy. Lockouts, and all other self-help eviction remedies, are illegal.
lodger
- a person who lives in a room in a house where the owner lives. The
owner can enter all areas occupied by the lodger, and has overall
control of the house.
mediation
- a process in which a neutral third person meets with the parties to a
dispute in order to assist them in formulating a voluntary solution to
the dispute.
mediator
- a neutral third person, agreed to by the parties to a dispute, who
meets with the parties in order to assist them in formulating a
voluntary solution to the dispute. The mediator's decision normally is
not "binding" on the parties.(See mediation; compare to arbitrator.)
Memorandum to Set Case for Trial
- a court document filed in an unlawful detainer lawsuit requesting
that the case be set for trial. This document also states whether the
plaintiff (the landlord) has requested a jury trial.
Motion to Quash Service of Summons - a legal response that a tenant can file in an unlawful detainer lawsuit if the tenant believes that the landlord did not properly serve the summons and complaint.
negligence
- a person's carelessness (that is, failure to use ordinary or
reasonable care) that results in injury to another person or damage to
another person's property.
novation - in an assignment situation,
a novation is an agreement by the landlord, the original tenant, and
the new tenant that makes the new tenant (rather than the original
tenant) solely responsible to the landlord.
occupant - a person who is not named as a tenant in the rental agreement or lease who has moved into a rental unit before the landlord files an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit.
Since the landlord does not know that the occupant is living in the
rental unit, the landlord may not name the occupant as a defendant in
the unlawful detainer lawsuit.
periodic rental agreement
- an oral or written rental agreement that states the length of time
between rent payments - for example, a week or a month - but not the
total number of weeks or months that the agreement will be in effect.
Prejudgment Claim of Right to Possession - a form that a landlord in an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit
can have served along with the summons and complaint on all persons
living in the rental unit who might claim to be tenants, but whose names
the landlord does not know. Occupants
who are not named in the unlawful detainer complaint, but who claim a
right to possess the rental unit, can fill out and file this form to
become parties to the unlawful detainer action.
relief from forfeiture - an order by a court in an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit that allows the losing tenant to remain in the rental unit, based on the tenant's convincing the court that the eviction
would cause the tenant severe hardship and that the tenant can pay all
of the rent that is due, or otherwise fully comply with the lease.
rent control ordinances
- laws in some communities that limit or prohibit rent increases, or
that limit the circumstances in which a tenant can be evicted.
rent withholding - the tenant's remedy of not paying some or all of the rent if the landlord does not fix defects that make the rental unit uninhabitable within a reasonable time after the landlord receives notice of the defects from the tenant.
rental agreement
- an oral or written agreement between a tenant and a landlord, made
before the tenant moves in, which establishes the terms of the tenancy,
such as the amount of the rent and when it is due. (See lease and periodic rental agreement.)
rental application form
- a form that a landlord may ask a tenant to fill out prior to renting
that requests information about the tenant, such as the tenant's
address, telephone number, employment history, credit references, and
the like.
rental unit - an apartment, house, duplex, or condominium that a landlord rents to a tenant to live in.
renter's insurance
- insurance protecting the tenant against property losses, such as
losses from theft or fire. This insurance usually also protects the
tenant against liability (legal responsibility) for claims or lawsuits
filed by the landlord or by others alleging that the tenant negligently injured another person or property.
repair and deduct remedy - the tenant's remedy of deducting from future rent the amount necessary to repair defects covered by the implied warranty of habitability. The amount deducted cannot be more than one month's rent.
retaliatory eviction or action
- an act by a landlord, such as raising a tenant's rent, seeking to
evict a tenant, or otherwise punishing a tenant because the tenant has
used the repair and deduct remedy or the rent withholding remedy, or has asserted other tenant rights.
security deposit-
a deposit or a fee that the landlord requires the tenant to pay at the
beginning of the tenancy. The landlord can use the security deposit,
for example, if the tenant moves out owing rent or leaves the unit
damaged or less clean than when the tenant moved in.
serve/service
- legal requirements and procedures that seek to assure that the
person to whom a legal notice is directed actually receives it.
60 day notice
- a written notice from a landlord to a tenant telling the tenant that a
periodic tenancy will end in 60 days. A 60-day notice usually does not
have to state the landlord's reason for ending the tenancy.
sublease
- a separate rental agreement between the original tenant and a new
tenant to whom the original tenant rents all or part of the rental unit.
The new tenant is called a "subtenant." The agreement between the
original tenant and the landlord remains in force, and the original
tenant continues to be responsible for paying the rent to the landlord
and for other tenant obligations. (Compare to assignment.)
subpoena - an order from the court that requires the recipient to appear as a witness or provide evidence in a court proceeding.
subtenant - see sublease.
tenancy - the tenant's exclusive right, created by a rental agreement between the landlord and the tenant, to use and possess the landlord's rental unit.
tenant
- a person who rents or leases a rental unit from a landlord. The
tenant obtains the right to the exclusive use and possession of the
rental unit during the lease or rental period.
tenant screening service - a credit reporting agency
that collects and sells information on tenants, such as whether they
paid their rent on time, whether they damaged previous rental units,
whether they were the subject of an unlawful detainer lawsuit, and whether landlords considered them good or bad tenants.
three-day notice - see eviction notice.
30-day notice - a written notice from
a landlord to a tenant telling the tenant that the tenancy will end in
30 days. A 30-day notice usually does not have to state the landlord's
reason for ending the tenancy.
uninhabitable - a rental unit
which has such serious problems or defects that the tenant's health or
safety is affected. A rental unit may be uninhabitable if it is not
fit for human beings to live in, if it fails to substantially comply
with building and safety code standards that materially affect tenants'
health and safety, if it contains a lead hazard, or if it is a
dangerous substandard building. (Compare to habitable.)
unlawful detainer lawsuit - a lawsuit that a landlord must file and win before he or she can evict a tenant (also called an "eviction" lawsuit).
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- the federal agency that enforces the federal fair housing law, which
prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, national
or ethnic origin, familial status, or handicap.
waive
- to sign a written document (a waiver) giving up a right, claim,
privilege, etc. In order for a waiver to be effective, the person
giving the waiver must do so knowingly, and must know the right, claim,
privilege, etc. that he or she is giving up.
writ of possession - a document issued by the court after the landlord wins an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit.
The writ of possession is served on the tenant by the sheriff. The
writ informs the tenant that the tenant must leave the rental unit by
the end of five days, or the sheriff will forcibly remove the tenant.
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