Be careful in establishing laundry-room age limits

Question: The apartment complex I own has a state-of-the-art laundry room that includes dry-cleaning machines and appliances for ironing. There always has been a minimum age restriction of 21 on who can use this facility. A tenant is having her teenage son do the laundry while she is temporarily laid up with a broken leg. My concern is for the safety of other tenants as well as protecting my investment. How can I enforce the age restriction for the laundry room?

Answer: You have a right to consider the safety of all tenants, although limiting the use of the laundry room to those age 21 and older might be overly restrictive unless the equipment’s manufacturer specifies an age restriction. If there are no age restrictions recommended by the manufacturer, one imposed by you could be considered unlawful discrimination on the basis of familial status and age.

If you have safety concerns, post a sign describing the safety issues and state that children are the responsibility of their parents.

In this case, you also must be careful if the tenant has a temporary disability. You should make every effort to reasonably accommodate that disability, regardless of any stated policy. Reasonable accommodations are exceptions to normal business policies. Discuss various options with this tenant that offer a reasonable solution for her need to do laundry.

State laws protect home day care

Question: One of my tenants lives in an upstairs unit and wants to open a care center for infants and children up to age 4. I don’t think this is a good idea. Can I refuse this request?

Answer: The applicable laws do not allow you to refuse this request. Although landlords have a right to limit most businesses on their property, California Health and Safety Code 1597.40 creates an exception to this general right. Landlords may not restrict the property from serving as a licensed home day-care facility because to do so would have a disparate effect on families with children and on women.

Although you are unable to refuse such a request, you can require that the tenant provide signed waivers of liability from the guardian of each child. Also, the home day-care licensing process might impose safety requirements on the tenant, which might alleviate some of your concerns.

Flat rate doesn’t cut it at move-out

Question: I own a large apartment complex and no longer want to do move-out inspections. Can I give a notice to the tenants stating that I will no longer itemize security deposit charges at move-out time but will deduct a flat 40% for cleaning and damage?

Answer: Civil Code Section 1950.5 states that no part of a security can be designated as nonrefundable at the beginning of a tenancy.

Even if it were allowed, this approach could work against both you and your tenants. For example, you would be held to the 40% deduction amount even if cleaning or damage charges, or both, amounted to more than that amount.

The Civil Code states that deductions for cleaning and damages are “as necessary” charges, not mandatory. A tenant is required only to leave a unit in the same condition as received. The code gives a tenant an opportunity to receive a full refund under the code.

Bottom line: You cannot unilaterally decide not to offer move-out inspections. Property owners must offer tenants a “pre-move-out inspection” two weeks before the last day of the tenancy. At this inspection, the tenant is given a list of items to be cleaned or repaired and can decide whether to take care of these items during the final two weeks of the tenancy.

Project Sentinel is a rental housing mediation service. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087.