Landlord’s attorney Ted Smith replies: Your wife may sunbathe in the privacy of your own backyard so long as her intent is not to indecently expose herself to others.

Because this is a rental property, typically you would not be allowed to erect higher fences without the landlord’s permission. Also, erecting higher fences may not be allowed by your city’s building code. Although municipalities vary to a certain degree, a 5-foot limitation typically is the norm in residential zones. If you expect Peeping Toms, the best approach is to cordon off the area where she is sunbathing and if the problem persists, call authorities out to look into the matter.

Q: My tenants pay their rent late almost every month but do not include the late fees. I regularly contact them in writing asking for late fees and insisting that they pay on time. They respond and acknowledge that they owe the late fees but always have some excuse and say they will have to pay them later.

I contacted a local governmental agency and was advised that while the late charges I am seeking are reasonable, I should be glad the tenants even pay the rent and not to pursue the late fees. This office seems to be biased toward the interest of renters and doesn’t seem to be reasonable advice.

I have not taken legal action to collect the late fees but continue to keep a running balance of the accumulated late fees on a ledger that I send to the tenant. I have just been informed by the tenant that they will be vacating in two months, and I’d like your advice if you think that I can deduct the late fees that were never paid from the tenant’s security deposit when they move?

Property manager Robert Griswold replies: Yes, you should deduct the accumulated late fees from the security deposit as the lease allows for a late charge and the tenants have acknowledged that they have paid the rent late.

Unfortunately, your tenant has been using you as a source of short-term loans. I often see landlords that inadvertently find themselves in the lending business in addition to providing shelter.

Another strategy would be to take the next rent payment and apply it to all unpaid late charges and then any balance toward the rent. You will then have an unpaid rent balance. You could then serve the tenant with the appropriate “Pay Rent or Quit” notice for the unpaid rent.

Send questions to Rental Roundtable, 5703 Oberlin Drive, Suite 300 San Diego, CA 92121-1743, or by e-mail to rgriswold@retodayradio.com.

Source:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/11/REGE6OHUK51.DTL