Housing Preservation
With the end of pandemic tenant protection measures, thousands of families are at risk of being displaced from their homes. As people are still struggling to recover financially, we are here to serve AAPI, limited-English proficient, and/or low-income immigrant tenants who are among those most vulnerable to being displaced.
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Our Services
Legal Counsel and Advice
AJSOCAL offers free and/or low-cost legal advice. We help with a variety of housing-related issues, with a focus on helping those who are immigrants or have limited proficiency in English.
Representation
We may provide full representation for tenants facing eviction in certain cases.
Eviction Defense
We have full-time bilingual staff working with low-income and limited English-speaking tenants who need legal assistance to keep their homes.
Tenants / Landlords Issues
Tenants can receive assistance with eviction, landlord-tenant disputes, lease disputes, habitability, security deposit, and other tenant rights.
Check out our FREE monthly legal clinics!
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INFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19 RENTAL DEBT & EVICTIONS
To Prevent Eviction on Nonpayment of Rent grounds that arose during the Covid-19 Period (and Post Period)
- Must Pay Owed Rent By 8/1/2023: People who owe rent from March 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 unless they (1) provided their landlord with a COVID-19 Related Declaration of Financial Distress Form by the 15-Day deadline for rent owed from March 1, 2020 through August 31, 2020 AND (2) continued to pay 25% of their rent to the landlord for rent owed from September 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021 (almost a 13 month period).
- Must Pay Owed Rent by 2/1/2024: People who owe rent from October 1, 2021, to January 31, 2023.
9/1/2020 – 9/30/2021 (“Transition Period”) Rent
To prevent an eviction based on nonpayment that arose during the period of 9/1/2020 – 9/30/2021 (referred to as the “transition period”), the renter needed to pay up to 25% of the rent and related charges coupled with a timely declaration about Covid 19 distress to prevent eviction arising from that period of nonpayment.
3/1/2020-8/31/2020 ("COVID Protected Period") Rent
Covid-19 rental debt that arose during the period of 3/1/2020-8/31/2020 (“COVID Protected Period”) cannot be grounds for an eviction as long as the renter gave the landlord the declaration by the 15 day notice deadline.
Small Claims Court’s Jurisdiction Over Covid-19 Rental Debt
Under the State law (AB 832), the landlord can sue for back rent in small claims. They were allowed to bring these types of claims in smalls claims court starting November 1, 2021. They can sue for rent owed from the Covid-19 rental debt until October 1, 2025.
Landlords are permitted to seek the Covid-19 Rental Debt in small claims court, even if it exceeds small claims limits (normally $10,000 for individual).
Other Protections
There are still other protections for other situations that run until January 31, 2024. Specifically:
- Unauthorized Tenants and Pets: Eviction protections for unauthorized (additional) tenants and pets will continue through Jan. 31, 2024; and
- Rent Increases: Rent Increases are prohibited for rental units subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) from March 30, 2020 through January 31, 2024.
Meet Our Team
Andrew Ji
OC Managing Director
John Kim
Project Director
Catherine Hwang
Staff Attorney
Barbara Le
Staff Attorney
Thu Ha
Legal Advocate
Nysan Ly
Legal Advocate
Know Your Rights
Tenants have certain rights that they can assert against landlords
Tenants will always have these rights, no matter what the lease agreement says
- Limit on a security deposit and right to a refund
- Cap in rent increase (if protected by the Tenant Protection Act or local rent stabilization laws)
- Limits on the landlord’s right to enter the unit
- Right to have serious defects repaired
- Right to a habitable unit
- Right to quiet enjoyment of the unit
- Right against retaliatory eviction
- Right to request a reasonable accommodation
- Right to protection against unlawful discrimination
Tenant Protection Act (TPA)
Rent Cap Protection
- Allow raising the rent by 5% (of rent) + current inflation rate OR maximum 10% (of rent), whichever is lower.
- Allow raising the rent NO more than two separate times within a 12-month period
- The city may have its own rent cap protection (Santa Ana)
Eviction Protection
- Landlords may only evict tenants for “just cause” (“at fault” and “no-fault”)
- If TPA is applied, the landlord must state the reason for the termination in the notice
Lease Agreement
- Explain the terms of the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords
- California law requires rental agreements for tenancies of 12 months or longer
- Oral agreements are technically legal and enforceable if the term is less than one year
- A translated version of the lease agreement in a discussed language (non-English) must be provided
- Failing to meet any of the requirements in a lease can legally constitute a default
Security Deposit
- Based on the monthly rent
- Cover property damage, breach of the lease by the tenant, unpaid rent
- The sum of the deposit can depend on the landlord’s will, under California law, it is a maximum of 2x rent if unfurnished and 3x rent if furnished
- Not using for the last month’s rent, unless the parties agree in writing
The Eviction Process
Eviction: the landlord removes the tenant from the property
Eviction Process:
- The landlord must provide the tenant with a notice of termination IN WRITING
- The tenant must do what the notice states
- Pay rent or fix the violation
- Or the landlord will then give the tenant a 3-day notice to quit (move out)
- If the tenant stays on the property after the 3-day notice, the landlord can file an Unlawful Detainer (UD) lawsuit against the tenant
- The tenant will get a “summons and complaint”
- The tenant must respond to this with an “Answer” within 5 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
- Both the landlord and tenant can ask for a jury trial
- The trial will be set within 20 days of either tenant’s or the landlord’s request for trial
- If the tenant wins, they will not have to move out
- If the landlord wins, the tenant will have to move out within 5 days of the sheriff posting notice to vacate
- If the tenant does not move out within 5 days, the sheriff will have to physically remove the tenant
Nothing in this presentation establishes an attorney-client relationship between you and AJSOCAL. Should AJSOCAL’s attorneys advise you or undertake your representation, our arrangement will be formalized in writing.
ENGLISH:
888.349.9695
普通话/广东话 (Chinese):
800.520.2356
한국어 (Korean):
800.867.3640
ខ្មែរ (Khmer):
800.867.3126
TAGALOG (Filipino):
855.300.2552
हिन्दी (Hindi):
855.971.2552
ภาษาไทย (Thai):
800.914.9583
TIẾNG VIỆT (Vietnamese):
714.477.2958
Asian Language Legal Intake Project (ALLIP) provides toll-free hotlines in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Filipino (Tagalog), Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese.
The live hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also leave a voicemail message; hotline staff will typically return those messages within two business days.