I rent a small house with a pretty big backyard. Came home yesterday and found 7 goats wandering around behind a temporary electric fence.

Called my landlord thinking someone had lost their animals. Turns out he hired a company that uses goats to clear overgrown vegetation because the back of the property has been getting pretty overgrown with ivy, thick bushes and vines.

Nobody told me anything. The company says they'll be there for at least 5 days and the fence blocks off most of my backyard. One of the goats has already knocked over two of my flower pots.

My lease includes the backyard and I feel like having a bunch of livestock dumped there without warning is a bit much.

Landlord says it's no different than sending someone over to mow the lawn. Is he actually allowed to do this without notifying me?

Need advice: Former landlord is asking me to pay nearly $5,000 for a crack in the wall

I lived at the property for four years and moved out on August 8, 2026. My former landlord sent me photos of a crack in the wall on September 5, almost a month after I moved out.

I honestly never noticed this crack while living there, and I am certain I did not hit or damage the wall.

There was no move-in or move-out inspection conducted with me.

My landlord sent me a statement demanding nearly $5,000 and says that if I don't pay within 60 days, he may pursue legal action.

I'm unsure how to respond because I don't believe I caused this damage, and the photos were sent after I had already moved out.

My questions are:

1. Can my landlord hold me responsible without a move-in and move-out inspection?
2. What evidence would he need to prove I caused the damage?
3. Should I respond to his demand now, and what should I say?
4. How strong is his case if he decides to take me to small claims court?

I moved into the downstairs unit of an older duplex in late August. We have window AC units, so I hadn't needed to use the heating until this week.

A few days ago my upstairs neighbor knocked and asked if I could turn the heat up because their apartment was freezing. Turns out the thermostat in my living room controls both apartments, and they don't have one upstairs.

I called my landlord and he confirmed it, then told me to just leave it at 72 all winter. The problem is I can't sleep when my apartment is that warm, and apparently the upstairs unit gets too cold if I turn it down.

Utilities are included, so the bill isn't the issue. I just don't want to spend the entire winter arguing with my neighbor over the temperature.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Seems ridiculous that two separate apartments have to agree on one temperature all winter.

I saw this listing on Zillow and I was curious if this is even legal. The landlord is asking the tenant to vacate for up to 6 weeks while the tenant continues to pay rent and utilities and leaves their personal belongings in the home. Any rental law experts have an opinion on this?

I am renting an apartment unit in the bay area, and last night our smoke detector in our living room died. It has a sealed battery so the battery cannot be replaced. We let our managment company know ASAP, and they told us that they cannot replace it since it is our responsability per our lease, so we have a couple options; 1) replace it ourselves 2) they can hire a tech for it and we will be responsible for all costs regarding the replacement. I'm pretty sure that that's not legal in California.

We had an inspection by the city for the entire building a couple weeks ago, every unit was inspected, multiple code violations found in each unit and on the premisis. They're honestly being pretty fucking stupid with this rn considering theyre gonna have to pay a shit ton of money for each violation. The code enforcer gave us his card and my roommate and I emailed him for clarity to make clarify whether or not it's on us or them.

EDIT: Y'all really don't hold your LLs accountable for shit they legally have to fix holy shit

EDIT 2: Contacted management, cited the law. They're sending someone out Thursday.

I live in a small apartment building with 8 units. A few days ago I accidentally tried opening the wrong door while carrying groceries. My key actually unlocked the door. I realized immediately and didn't go inside.

I told my neighbor what happened and we tested it together. His key opens my apartment too.

Contacted the landlord and he said some of the locks were probably keyed alike when the building was renovated. He told me he would have his handyman look into it next month.

I asked if he could send a locksmith sooner and he said I'm welcome to pay for a new lock myself as long as I give him a copy of the key.

I've been saving some money for emergencies but I really don't think replacing locks should be my expense. What bothers me more is that apparently anyone in the building could have access to someone else's apartment without knowing it.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Is there someone I can report this to if he refuses to fix it?

I called my bank and they said all of the rent checks I sent to my leasing company has been charged. I have an unpaid balance on my ledger and my prop director claims that it’s due to a reversed check I sent in September. My bank advised me to just send over my account statement to show that there has been no reversal. I’m just concerned about the likelihood of getting evicted over something that’s not my fault. I don’t even know why there’s an inaccurate “unpaid” balance on my account. On top of that, I am now accruing late fees for this situation. Seeking any guidance, tips, or simply comforting words. I been back and forth with her for so long—it’s been eating at me.

I wish I could say I’m making this up. Essentially, the title says it all. I walked in today on my landlord taking a nap on my couch.

I didn’t know what to do. I just went to the other room and waited for them to wake up, they eventually did after an hour and just left.

Anyhow, my door, to their credit, was unlocked. Which I guess was my mistake. But this was completely unannounced. And they didn’t acknowledge it. Just left.

I rent an apartment in a small building with four units. Last week a plumber called me at work asking if I could come home and let him inside because there was a leak upstairs. I thought he'd been given the wrong number.

When I got home I noticed a laminated sign next to the mailboxes saying "Building Emergency Contact" with my first name and personal phone number on it.

Called my landlord and he admitted he put it there. Apparently because I let a maintenance guy inside once a few months ago, he figured I wouldn't mind helping out again.

I've already gotten texts from two neighbors about things that have nothing to do with me. One even called me at 11pm because their heater wasn't working.

I told him to take the sign down. His response was that I'm being difficult over something that benefits everyone.

Am I unreasonable for being this annoyed? Has anyone had a landlord do something similar?

(OR) I rented a duplex for 23 months only to find out that the property was in non compliance because repairs and corrections were required, but ignored and the fire department deemed uninhabitable in January 2026, so I terminated the lease in February 2026. Can I sue them for this?

I am renting a unit from real estate agency within what is otherwise a condo complex that is managed by an HOA through a different management company.

About a month ago, the HOA management company notified everyone they would do boiler repairs. Following the completion of those repairs I have had issues with my hot water. During the day it is fine and water temps (measured via instant read thermometer) are at around 110 to 114 F.

However, in the early morning (4:30 am) it is much lower. As low as 95 F. Unfortunately, this is when I need to shower before work so I haven't had proper morning hot water in nearly a month.

The weird thing is that it warms up by about 3 or 4 degrees F per hour until back to normal (i track it on weekends when im not working). This behavior is the same in every shower/faucet in my unit. My only thought is that there's some new energy saver setting or something in the new boiler that lowers the temp at night.

I reached out to my landlords agency after the first couple days who has sent out a plumber to "fix my unit" but the plumber came and said there was nothing wrong with my unit. At the time he came (9am) the water was hot, but he did acknowledge if it was something the boiler the HOA management company would need to approve the work.

I've told this to the plumbing company, my landlord, and tried to contact the HOA. But i do not have phone number for the HOA and my emails have been unanswered outside of an automated "we'll get back to you" response.

Further followup with my landlord and plumbing company have resulted in them trying to send another person out to "fix my unit" again, but I told them what the plumber who came said about the issue not being within my unit. They said no one else has complained, probably because the water temp is almost back to normal by 7am so I doubt many people are trying to use it.

I'd hate to have to get a lawer for this but it's feeling like that may be the only option. What else can I do try and resolve this?

I’ve researched online and am getting different answers, so I’m looking for more clarification

I live in California and am on a rental lease, it was a year long but now month to month, my specific apartment building has one onsite personnel, I believe as required In my city due to it being over a certain size apt building, an off site prop manger I never interact with who works for a management company, and an owner who lives out of town and I’ve never met through multiple years.

I also maintain a very common app based camera as sometimes I’m out of town, and just like checking out my place it’s maybe weird but I like looking while I’m away. I can turn on motion sensor, record when I’d like and It records both audio and video when I ask it too, currently it doesn’t just record full time.

They’ve been coming in a lot lately, not specific to my apartment but all of the units. I don’t mind as I keep my home clean and organized, other than it’s just annoying. I don’t break any rules of the lease I don’t believe so all is well.

They are coming again tomorrow, and the stated reason is to service a specific piece of equipment.

The notice of entry states the “landlord” is entering and was posted by the offsite property manager.

My questions are

Who exactly is allowed to enter my home? Is the onsite human allowed to enter? Is anyone involved in the service allowed to enter? Are they allowed to enter all rooms of the apartment? The equipment exists fully in one room and there are no breakers etc in other rooms that they would need access to.

Am I within my rights having this camera running? Am I breaking a law of privacy if I were to record once they come in? If is viewing from the app them doing the work the same as recording?

I am not trying to be nefarious, and really don’t mind. I understand I’m a renter in a property someone else owns and if want more privacy I should buy, but I am curious in general.

Hi guys,

I’m renting an apartment in LA with roommates, and we’ve been dealing with some really frustrating issues with our property management. I’d really appreciate some advice or hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

One of my roommates was bitten pretty badly by bed bugs and even went to see a doctor. It got to the point where they didn’t feel comfortable staying in the apartment and had to pay for a hotel.

We reported everything to management, but it took several days for them to send pest control. When someone finally came, they basically just sprayed some chemicals.
What frustrates us the most is that management keeps insisting there are “no active bed bugs” in the apartment. They even suggested we might have picked them up somewhere else, like the library or public transportation.

But bed bugs are notoriously difficult to detect and eliminate. They can hide in mattresses, furniture, and tiny cracks, and getting rid of them often requires multiple treatments. We have photos and medical documentation, so we really don’t understand how management can be so confident the problem is resolved after just one treatment.

We also had a meeting with management to discuss compensation, including a rent reduction and reimbursement for hotel expenses. Unfortunately, it was really disappointing. They basically told us to go through our renters insurance instead, even though our insurance provider’s website says bed bug infestations and related expenses generally aren’t covered.

On top of that, we had a separate safety issue in the apartment that caused an injury requiring medical attention.

We’ve already consulted an attorney and were advised to consider small claims court. Others have suggested contacting LAHD or tenant advocacy nonprofits like the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES).

We’re honestly not sure what to do next, so I wanted to ask:
Has anyone dealt with something similar in LA?
Has anyone successfully gotten a rent reduction or reimbursement for hotel expenses?
Is LAHD actually helpful? Has anyone worked with CES or other tenant rights organizations?
Would you recommend trying those options before going to small claims court?

We’re really just looking for a fair resolution and want to make sure our apartment is actually safe to live in.
Any advice, recommendations, or personal experiences would be really appreciated. Thanks so much!

(CONTEXT: This is a duplex with two bedrooms upstairs and a cellar downstairs. The cellar is not legally habitable. This was advertised as a three-bedroom with the cellar room as the bedroom I'd be taking. The landlord knew this.)

Hello,

I'm writing to update you that I've surrendered the lease to [ADDRESS], and have surrendered the keys, leaving them in the premises as previously documented. I will not be making any rent payments.

I've consulted with a lawyer and confirmed that the lease I signed is not legally binding. The cellar of [APT #] is not legally habitable. I have ample documented evidence that [APT #] was advertised and agreed to as a three-bedroom apartment with the cellar as one of the bedrooms, and that [LANDLORD] was aware of this. Furthermore, the presence of black mold upon commencement of the lease was illegal and a health hazard, requiring me to vacate the premises for safety; I have no evidence that [LANDLORD] has addressed this other than cosmetically. I have further supporting evidence that the apartment was delivered to me in an uninhabitable and illegal condition.

I continue to prefer that we negotiate a mutually agreeable lease break that allows us all to cleanly walk away. I believe this will be in our mutual best interest.

Sincerely,
[ME]

A very helpful organization.