FAQ #9: Who is responsible for maintenance and repairs?

If the tenant or someone the tenants knows is responsible for damaging the unit, the tenant is responsible for the repair. Otherwise, the landlord is responsible. Before signing the lease or rental agreement, tenants should check over the unit carefully and ask the landlord or manager to repair things. Tenants can take photos of existing damage and date them so that they will have a record. If the landlord promises to make a repair and does not, tenants can send him/her a reminder note in the mail and keep a copy for their records.

Need more help?

San Mateo County Environmental Health's Housing Program inspects and monitors over 5,000 apartments, motels, hotels, mobile home parks, and labor camps and institutions to ensure safe housing conditions. If you have a complaint about habitability (leaking roofs, mold, mildew, plumbing, poor heating, electrical problems, or vermin) you can register your complaint by calling 650-599-1112, or by filling in the Online Complaint Form.

BROCHURES, GUIDES and WEB SITES:

Department of Consumer Affairs: California Tenants: A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landlords' Rights and Responsibilities www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook or Download the guide (PDF)

Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County's PDF guides: Habitability

Landlord and Tenant Information and Referral Collaborative Landlord and Tenant Rights, Responsibilities, and Resources, in San Mateo County (PDF)

THESE ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE SERVICES TO TENANTS:

Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, www.legalaidsmc.org
800-381-8898

La Raza Centro Legal, South San Francisco Only , www.lrcl.org
866-4-LARAZA (toll free)  

Bay Area Legal Aid, San Mateo County Regional Office, www.baylegal.org
650-358-0745

Stanford Community Law Clinic, www.law.stanford.edu/clinics/sclc
650-475-0560

Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, www.clsepa.org
650-326-6440

THESE ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE SERVICES TO TENANTS AND LANDLORDS:

Northern California Senior Legal Hotline, www.seniorlegalhotline.org
800-222-1753

Lawyer Referral Service, San Mateo County Bar Association - For a nominal fee, the staff arranges an appointment with an attorney, www.smcba.org/community/lrs.htm
650-369-4149

Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, www.pcrcweb.org
650-513-0330

East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Program - For residents of East Palo Alto
2200 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303
650-853-3114