How much does a tenant lawyer cost in California?
Tenant attorney fees vary based on experience level and location, but generally run $200-$500 per hour. We may work on flat fees, hourly billing, or contingency, depending on your case details.
What are tenant rights in the UK?
You have certain rights and responsibilities if you’re a tenant in privately rented property.
As a tenant, you have the right to:
- If you have a tenancy agreement, it should be fair and comply with the law.
- If you do not know who your landlord is, write to the person or company you pay rent to. Your landlord can be fined if they do not give you this information within 21 days.
When you start a new assured or short assured tenancy, your landlord must give you:
You should give your landlord access to the property to inspect it or carry out repairs. Your landlord has to give you at least 24 hours’ notice and visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it’s an emergency and they need immediate access.
You must also:
- Your landlord has the right to take legal action to evict you if you do not meet your responsibilities.
- Contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if your landlord lives outside the UK and you pay £100 or more a week in rent directly to them.
- You may have to deduct tax from your rent under HMRC’s ‘non-resident landlord scheme’.
Who to call for California renters rights?
Our Statewide Tenants’ Rights Hotline provides counseling and information about tenants’ rights. We are a group of tenants’ rights advocates, counselors, and community members, but do not provide legal advice. The hotline is voicemail-based, which means that in order to connect with us, you will have to call us, leave a voicemail, and one of our hotline counselor volunteers will reach out to you with resources as soon as possible, either by phone or other electronic communication. For the time being, we are only able to provide counseling in English and Spanish. Please follow these steps to get in touch!
We are experiencing a large increase in calls and have limited volunteer capacity, so unfortunately, longer than usual response times should be expected (average of about one month). We are currently prioritizing returning live calls for urgent eviction cases. When hotline counselor volunteers return your call, it will show up as “Blocked Number” or Spam, because of the platform we use to return calls, so please answer any call you receive with this in the weeks after you leave a voicemail in case it is coming from us. Most other issues will be addressed either by an automated call from Tenants Together or detailed text messages explaining your rights.
Additionally, our hotline is unable to field calls if your question only relates to help paying rent. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) website explains the process for applying to statewide rental assistance regardless of immigration status or you can contact their Call Center at 833-430-2122 between 7am – 7pm. If you are having trouble reaching the Call Center, search for your county on the Local Partner Network page to find organizations near you that are helping with applications!
Can you help me learn more about my rights as a tenant, so I know what I need to do to effectively stand up to my landlord?
YES, most definitely YES!
Can you help me find out what my rights are? The best way to request repairs? How to get my security deposit back?
Yes! All the above and more!
Do you provide legal advice?
No, our counselors are highly trained volunteers who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but they are not lawyers. Most of them are tenants like you who have learned a lot about tenants’ rights through being their own advocates and from training at Tenants Together. If you need legal advice, please search by county in our Local Resource Directory.
Can you represent me in my eviction case or help me fill out the paperwork?
No, our hotline does not provide legal advice OR representation. If you need legal advice, please search by county in our Local Resource Directory.
I was already evicted. Can you help me find housing?
We suggest that you call 2-1-1, a phone bank of resources in each county, to get information about rental assistance or affordable housing lists.
Do you provide counseling to landlords on the hotline?
No, we are a tenants’ rights non-profit, and our
What is the tenant hotline for Ontario?
The FMTA Tenant Infohub and Tenant Hotline 416-921-9494 are free tenant’s rights counseling services for tenants in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Our Infohub and Hotline Counsellors offer information about tenants’ rights to any tenant who calls, emails or connects with us on social media.
Note: we are not a distress or crisis line. We can only take calls and questions in the order we receive them.
If you have any questions about your rights as a tenant in Toronto, please call the hotline at: 416-921-9494
You can also e-mail the FMTA Hotline at [email protected] and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please try to keep emails brief or specify your questions. More information about how to use our service below.
What we DO NOT do
Many tenants who call or email the hotline want to explain their situation in great detail so our hotline counsellors can give their general feedback, opinion, suggestion, recommendation, etc. Unfortunately, our counsellors are prevented from giving legal advice, so we can never tell a tenant what they should do or give general recommendations, opinions, suggestions, etc.
What we do
The FMTA hotline answers specific questions that tenants have about their rights or options under the law. We can tell you what the law says, how the ‘system’ works and we can often outline some options you might have for dealing with a situation. The choice will always be up to the tenant in terms of what they choose to do. While we can’t tell you what you ‘should’ do, we can tell you what you ‘can’ do. Tenants who call our hotline should have a question or list of questions that they are looking to have the hotline answer. Tenants often want to give us more information about the situation than we need, so its usually best to start with your question and we can ask for more information if we are unable to answer it.
Common examples of questions we are asked include:
At the FMTA, we don’t judge you for how you look, what you do, or your source of income. All personal info provided to the FMTA that could identify a caller’s identity is kept confidential. The FMTA strives to provide a safe, welcoming, non-blaming environment for all tenants and is committed to anti-oppression and harm reduction. We do not condone racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, classism, fat phobia, ableism, indigenous land theft, or any other form of discrimination.
If you do not feel comfortable speaking English on our Hotline service, we can provide services in 150 languages through a telephone interpreting service.
Our Counsellors will also provide you with referrals to community or city agencies, legal clinics, or direct you to other necessary resources. We can also mail, fax or email you information relevant to your situation.
NOTE: the FMTA hotline has a zero tolerance for harassing or abusive behaviour. Calls involving harassment, accusations, abuse, name-calling, yelling, etc towards hotline workers will be terminated immediately. We provide information abo.
Can a landlord sue a tenant in Ontario?
Small Claims Court is something every small landlord in Ontario should know about. As a landlord who’s been through the wringer with tenant issues, I know that knowledge empowers. At the time of this article being published in October 2024, I myself am going through the Small Claims Court process to recover rent arrears up to $35,000 by my former tenants.
It has been a long, thorough, and exhausting process. The silver lining is that I have an avenue to share everything that I’ve learned along the way!
Watch this reel, I’m telling you why I ended up in this situation. Sigh! Poetic, isn’t it. I paid a hefty price. And I’m not alone. I hope one day experiences like mine are almost unheard of. Until then, you and I need to know what recourse we have against losses we incur, such as pursuing our cases in Small Claims Court.
Small Claims Court is like a simplified version of the regular court system. It is a special part of the Superior Court of Justice that helps people solve disputes involving relatively small amounts of money. Here’s how it fits into Ontario’s and Canada’s court system:
Now, let’s talk about money in Small Claims Court. The current claim limit is $35,000. That means if your tenant owes you $35,000 or less, you can file your claim here.
Each province in Canada has its own court to address small claims. The claim limit and processes also differ according to province. I did some research on the relevant courts and current claim limits to give you an idea of what I’m talking about:
As you can see, there are some significant differences between each court on what constitutes a small claim. Why? That’s a good question for another article one day!
Yes. It’s important to note that this court doesn’t just handle monetary claims. You can also use it for the return of personal property valued at $35,000 or less. For example, if a tenant takes appliances or furniture that belong to you when they move out, and it’s worth less than $35,000, you can file a claim here.
According to the Ontario Guide to Small Claims Court, you can sue for claims for damages, such as:
It’s a valid question to ask yourself. As landlords, we often find ourselves in situations where the Small Claims Court becomes our go-to solution. I’ve identified three primary reasons why we turn to this legal avenue.
Unpaid rent is a nightmare we’ve all faced at some point. I remember when a tenant left me high and dry with several months of unpaid rent. The Small Claims Court became my beacon of hope after going to the Landlord and Tenant Board. It’s the place to go when your tenant has moved out and still owes you rent money.
The court process allows you to seek a judgment for the unpaid amount, which can then be enforced through various means. It’s not always a quick fix, but it’s a solid step towards recouping your losses and maintaining your business’s financial health.
Watch the video where I talk about my experience with unpaid utilities.
Property damage beyond normal wear and tear is a