OUR WORK - Case Summaries

Case No. 1

A Housing Justice Project sta attorney was appointed to represent a woman in an unlawful detainer action based on a 3-Day Notice to Quit for waste or nuisance. This client lived in the home with her two young children; she had previously struggled with chronic homelessness. This was the rst time she had had the opportunity to rebuild her life. While living in this home, the client maintained a full time job which paid enough to cover her rent. She started pursuing a dream career path, began engaging in medical care and mental health services, and nally felt like she could breathe. That all came to a crashing halt when she received the notice, based on the fact that the toilet in her unit had over owed and caused minor damage to the apartment below her.

The landlord immediately blamed the woman and her children—making allegations that they intentionally or negligently caused the toilet to over ow and failed to report the issue. The client maintained that the over ow had occurred when everyone was asleep, and that she had noti ed the landlord immediately. The landlord then threatened the client with a bill for $40,000 in damages, attempting to scare her into leaving. When the client requested proof, nothing was ever produced. During maintenance to repair the toilet it again over owed, showing that the client and her children were likely not at fault for the over ow as the toilet was not in use during the second over ow.

The landlord refused to come to an agreement to keep the family in their home. The thought of moving was a hard pill to swallow for a woman who nally felt safe in her space with her children. At the show cause hearing, the Housing Justice Project attorney was prepared to argue that the case should go to trial. At trial, it would have been incredibly impactful to have a plumber testify regarding the cause of the over ow and the likelihood that the plumbing itself was defective.

When presented with the reality that the client was not responsible and should not be subject to an unlawful detainer action, the landlord agreed to dismiss the action with an order of limited dissemination. This salvaged the tenancy and allowed a chronically homeless family to feel safe in their home once more.