The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities (California Landlord's Law Book Vol I : Rights and Responsibilities) [Paperback]

David Wayne Brown (Author), Ralph E. Warner (Author), Janet Portman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2004 | Series: California Landlord's Law Book Vol I : Rights and Responsibilities

Every California landlord and residential property manager should have The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights & Responsibilities. The definitive guide for California landlord's for over 15 years, it clearly and comprehensively covers everything you need to know about:

*security deposits
*leases and rental agreements
*inspections
*habitability
*liability
*lead paint
*discrimination
*rent control
*satellite dishes

The book provides you with all the forms you need as tear-out and agreements, including rental applications; leases and rental agreements; 3-, 30-, 60- and 90-day notices -- and much more.

The 10th edition includes all new, up-to-date information every landlord needs, including:

*how to provide invoices for security-deposit deductions
*new wrinkles in pre-move out inspections
*heightened penalties for retaliatory acts
*new rules governing landlords' access to rental property
*updated rent-control charts for 15 cities

Editorial Reviews

Review

Before putting a For Rent sign out... consult The California Landlord's Law Book, an excellent reference book published by Nolo. -- San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

Recommended by the state Department of Consumer Affairs. -- Sacramento Bee

About the Author

David Brown practices law in the Monterey, California area, where he has represented both landlords and tenants in hundreds of court cases -- most of which he felt could have been avoided if both sides were more fully informed about landlord/tenant law. Brown, a graduate of Stanford University (chemistry) and the University of Santa Clara Law School, also teaches law at the Monterey College of Law and is the author of Fight Your Ticket (CA version), Beat Your Ticket (the national version), The Landlord's Law Book, Vol. 1: Rights and Responsibilities; The Landlord's Law Book, Vol. 2: Evictions and co-author of How to Change Your Name in California and The Guardianship Book for California.

Ralph Warner is a co-founder and e-publisher of Nolo.com and one of the pioneers of the self-help law movement. A graduate of Princeton University and the Boalt School of Law (U.C. Berkeley), he is the author of many books and articles aimed at making our legal system more accessible and democratic.

Janet Portman, an attorney and Nolo editor, received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford and a law degree from the University of Santa Clara. She is an expert on landlord-tenant law and co-author of Every Landlord’s Legal Guide, Every Tenant's Legal Guide and Renters' Rights. As an attorney, she specialized in criminal defense, conducting trials and preparing and arguing appeals before the Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. Janet is the editor of several Nolo books, including Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law and How to Seal Your Juvenile and Criminal Records.

Product Details

• Paperback: 530 pages
• Publisher: Nolo; 10th Bk&Cr edition (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413300006
• ISBN-13: 978-1413300000
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,895,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guides you through the process, January 31, 2002

By 

pipet (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The California Landlord's Law Book Volume 1: Rights & Responsibilities (7th Ed) (Paperback)

When we moved to a new home, we decided not to sell our old one but rent it out instead. However, we've heard a lot of nightmare stories about being a landlord, so the idea was pretty scary even though it makes sense for the long-term financially. This book gives you great advice and even examples of doing things the right way and the wrong way. I certainly had a lot of misconceptions about what was legal and what was not, and I think it would even be helpful even if one decided to hire a property management service just to understand liabilities. After reading this book, I feel comfortable that we've done everything in a legally correct way, and that we did a good job of screening our tenants. The forms provided give you everything you need to start renting out a place.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best. Very Indispensable for Neophytes and Experienced Landlords, April 7, 2005

By 

Gabriel E. Borlean (Odense, Denmark - birthtown of fairytale-writer H.C. Andersen) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities(11th Edition) (Paperback)

If you're in the real estate rental business in the state of California you need this book to start out, survive, and thrive in this business. The NOLO books are written by lawyers for lay people.

The "California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities" covers all ground and gives you more than a legal or business understanding of real estate rental (rare but detrimental scenarios and important topics are discussed, such as Discrimination, Self-Help Evictions, Landlord's Liabilities for Dangerous Conditions and Criminal Acts, etc.)

This law book also contains all the forms you will need, both at the end as apendix and on a CD. The book is very thorough and every new edition stays abreast with the latest rental law changes in California. The only downside (unavoidable) is that every so often NOLO publishes a new edition thus somewhat outdaing previous ones.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eleventh Edition with a Web Site for Updates, March 31, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities(11th Edition) (Paperback)

I don't know if California has more renters than other places or not, but the laws regarding the renting of property in California are far more numerous, strict, and difficult to understand than those from anywhere else.

This book, written by practicing attorneys who also happen to know how to write in plain and simple English, describes the California laws from the standpoint of the landlord. This includes: leases, rental agreements, managers, credit checks, security deposits, discrimination, invasion of privacy, the landlord's duty to maintain the premises, and much more, things you might not think about if you are just thinking about renting the house you're moving out of.

Some interesting chapters include how to deal with those few tenants who will inevitably try to invent bogus reasons why they were legally entitled to withhold rent, another makes sure that you, your managers and any other employees know and follow antidiscrimination laws and, at least as important, make it clear that you are doing so.

This book is now in its 11th edition. Any book that's been around for eleven editions must have something going for it. And one thing is access to a web site that keeps you up to date with any changes in the law since the book came out.

Finally there's a CD-ROM with the book that includes most (quite likely all) the forms you'll need to be in the rental business.