Rights & Responsibilities

by David W. Brown and Ralph E. Warner

This book covers everything landlords and property managers need to know about deposits, leases, and rental agreements, inspections, habitability, discrimination, and rent control. Recent legislation... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873374436
• ISBN13: 9780873374439
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: NOLO
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.5" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Nolo Press

This book has been an absolute must for our recent evictions that we handled on our own.

A Requirement for all Landlords

I have been a landlord for many years and this book has saved me hundreds of dollars in legal fees and an untold number of headaches. Evictions are a tricky thing and this book really simplifies the process for you. The book explains everything that the law requires you to do to properly remove a tenant: when to take certain steps, how to fill out the forms, how many copies to make, how to file them in court, and how to serve them to your tenant. The CD provides good template forms to start with, but better PDF versions are available online at various websites. This book is a MUST for all investment property owners in California.

Goes hand-in-hand with the other Nolo title on Landlord Rights and Responsibilities

The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions is a companion book that goes hand in hand with the Nolo title The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities. In fact, the opening chapters of the Evictions book repeatedly remind the reader to refer to Rights and Responsibilities, not for the purpose of selling more books, but because landlord/tenant law is best addressed with an overarching title, and if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to evict a tenant, you can pick up the more specialized title on that topic. I personally purchased the Evictions book when I had a non-paying roommate in my own home who refused to move out. I purchased this book after I had started the eviction process and seen the sheriff way too many times, and I cursed myself for not getting it earlier, because I found out that the law was more on my side that I had thought. Nolo taught me that the sheriff is often misinformed about the process of evicting a roomer (someone in a bedroom in your primary residence) versus that of evicting a tenant in a separate rental property. This book referred me to the relevant sections of the California civil code and penal code for situations with roomers. The book and accompanying CD have all the California law forms needed for the eviction process, as well as instructions for deciphering the forms, which is a formidable task on one's own. Personally, the most important chapter in the book was the one that guided me though the unlawful detainer trial process. The author described in detail all the facets of a court hearing, the relevant players, the methods for addressing the judge, the order of events, and so on. I went into my trial with confidence because I knew what to expect and I knew how to prepare my case. This book is well worth the cover price. The most important lesson to remember is that not following the unlawful detainer procedure precisely will lead to delays in resolving the issue (by getting rid of the tenant or getting them current on their rent). This title is one of the only ways, short of hiring legal help, that a lay person can ensure their documentation will be in order and the process will not be delayed any longer than necessary. Every landlord needs to own The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, and the moment a tenant is late on rent or troublesome for other reasons, landlords need to buy The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions.

Excellent

I bought several landlord's rights books and found that this book was really helpful and easy to understand. I highly recommend this book if you're a landlord in need of legal advice to protect your property.

INDISPENSABLE!

This is a major component of my landlord/property manager library. I was not surprised to find, when I purchased this recent updated edition, that it is even better! (I noticed more excerpts of code.) Nolo Press has a deserved reputation for offering excellent legal guides for the lay person