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Eviction and Settlement Conference Training

Eviction and Settlement Conference Training. Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. Jason Tarricone Joyce Song. Goals of CLSEPA’s Housing Practice.

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Eviction and Settlement Conference Training

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  1. Eviction and Settlement Conference Training Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto Jason Tarricone Joyce Song

  2. Goals of CLSEPA’s Housing Practice • Maintain and increase decent, safe, and affordable housing for low-income people on the Peninsula, with a focus on East Palo Alto; • Work with tenants to increase knowledge of their rights, and develop and refine problem-solving skills; • Work with tenants to keep them in their homes and smooth their transition to new homes.

  3. Overview of Training • Example Cases • Anatomy of an Unlawful Detainer Lawsuit • Grounds for Eviction and Common Defenses • Types of Settlement • Settlement Considerations • MSC Clinic – What to Expect

  4. What is an Unlawful Detainer? • Expedited action for possession of premises • Priority in setting for trial • Possession is the only issue • Eviction by sheriff by writ after judgment entered and writ issued

  5. Anatomy of a UD Notice to Quit/Vacate  Landlord files/serves Summons and Complaint  Tenant files Answer/Other Response or Tenant does nothing •  • LL files Memo to Set Case for Trial LL obtains default •  • T files Counter-Memorandum •  • Trial: set within 8-20 days of LL memo •  • Judgment for Tenant Judgment for LL Writ of Possession  Sheriff posts Notice to VacateT files for stay of eviction

  6. Grounds for Eviction • 30-day notice or 60-day notice (term 1 year plus) • 60-day (mobilehome) or 14-day (public housing) • 90-day for eviction due to foreclosure • 3-day notice (in alternative if breach can be cured) • Non-Payment of Rent • Notice to Cure Covenant or Quit • Incurable breach • Commission of waste, nuisance, unlawful use of premises • Dealing illegal drugs

  7. Defenses to Three-Day Noticeto Pay Rent or Quit • The landlord refused to accept the rent offered in full • The landlord accepted the rent • Does tenant have a receipt? • The amount of rent demanded is even slightly greater than amount due • Especially important in rent-stabilized jurisdictions! • Breach of the implied warranty of habitability • Possibility of back-firing if premises not habitable

  8. Defenses to 30- or 60-Day Notice • Retaliation • Discrimination • In East Palo Alto, good cause required to evict • Disability discrimination, including failure to provide a reasonable accommodation • Definition of disability: substantially limits a major life activity -includes severe psychiatric disorders -inform Landlord in writing of accommodations needed

  9. Defenses to 3-Day Noticeto Quit / or to Cure or Quit • Deny allegations • Discrimination • Failure to accommodate disability • Retaliation

  10. Settlement • Timing: before or during litigation • Most often at pre-trial Mandatory Settlement Conference • Happens every Thursday morning for cases going to trial the following Monday • Another opportunity to settle before trial Monday morning • Factors • Does client want to move or have another place to move to? • If client wants to stay, how much rent or amount due can client pay and by when? • Trading additional time to vacate • Strength of defenses

  11. Pay-and-Stay Settlement • LL agrees to let tenant stay in exchange for tenant agreeing to pay what is due or cure lease violations • Is tenancy sustainable??? • Tenant may have to pay LL’s fees and costs • LL may agree to a payment plan and may agree to fix habitability problems

  12. Waive-and-Go Settlement • AKA “move-out deal” • Tenant agrees to move out by X date • Generally, longer stays will mean rent is not waived • More time may be better so that tenant can find a new home • Remember that if tenant loses at trial but has rent money, tenant can stay eviction for up to 40 days by paying pro-rated rent amount to Court

  13. Sealing the Record • Record is sealed for 60 days after filing of complaint • Parties can agree to extend sealing or masking period • Especially important for a move-out deal – tenant will be looking for a new place to live • Try to seal until 1 to 2 months after date of move out or final payment

  14. Structure of the Agreement • Agreements are usually written as stipulations to be signed by the MSC judge • Try to structure so that judgment is entered only upon default by tenant • If tenant complies, LL should dismiss the case • Important to dismiss before record is unsealed • Once signed, tenant appears before judge, who signs stipulation

  15. Alternative to Settlement Trial is in four days If tenant loses, Sheriff could enforce writ of possession in about 7 to 10 days Record will be unsealed If tenant wins, and rent is owed, tenant will have to pay immediately

  16. Settlement Conference Materials • Intake Sheet • Brief Services Agreement • Sample Stipulations • Pay and Stay • Move Out • Pink Sheet – Tenant Reminder

  17. Questions? • Clinic Details: • Every Thursday morning, 8:45 a.m. to 12 noon • San Mateo Superior Court, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA • Bring quarters for meters!! • Contact us: • 650-326-6440 • jason@clsepa.org or jsong@clsepa.org

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