What is The Difference Between an Actual and Constructive Eviction?
22Jun
What is The Difference Between an Actual and Constructive Eviction?
Generally, we all understand that an eviction occurs when your landlord takes official measures to get a tenant out of their apartment-- usually because they haven’t paid the rent, or they have otherwise violated some part of the lease. But there is more than one type of eviction-- there are actual evictions and constructive evictions. Read on to learn the difference between them.
Actual Eviction Definition
An actual eviction refers to the legal process of removing a tenant from the property. When lawyers use the term "eviction", it is a reference to an actual physical eviction.
What is Constructive Eviction?
However, there are times when the conditions of a unit are so bad for the tenant that a reasonable person couldn't bear to live there and continuing to do so would be bad for their welfare. So, they leave because of the environment. This is the scenario for a typical constructive eviction.
One example would be when a landlord makes it impractical or impossible for you to use your unit by refusing elevator service in a high-rise building. Since you are effectively forced out, you're are on solid legal ground to terminate the lease without further liability for rent due to the landlord's wrongdoing. This is considered a "constructive eviction." The court must make a judgment before a landlord is allowed to physically remove the tenant from the property. Otherwise, the landlord who makes the effort to skip the unlawful detainer process is engaging in illegal self-help.
Why Does a Landlord Do This?
Going through the legal eviction process is time-consuming and expensive with court and legal fees. Landlords may be willing to forgo the legality in exchange for quickly getting a tenant out through illegal means. They figure it's worth it to get the unit back so that they can rent it out for a higher rate. When a constructive eviction occurs, you have legal options.
Constructive Eviction Examples
- Repair issues: Landlord tries to force tenants out is by not making repairs to the unit. In these cases, the tenant has informed their landlord that the place has a pet infestation, a leak, no water or heat, or some other major issue that makes the unit unlivable.
- Denial of services: Landlord refuses to provide essential or necessary services to the tenants.
- Harassment: Landlord enters premises without notice, bothers tenants with invasive texts, phone calls, or email or engages in other harassing behavior.
Dealing with a Real or Constructive Eviction? Discuss with a Bay Area Tenants' Rights Lawyer
Landlord/tenant law is complex. If you're facing eviction issues, you probably need an attorney to help you. The legal professionals at Wolford Wayne have the experience and compassion to help you assert your rights. Contact us immediately to discuss your options.
Related Posts You Also May Like
Habitability Defects How Long Does a Landlord [...]
One of the realities of apartment living is waiting for the landlord to make repairs. Not only does it try Continue Reading
Owner's Right to EnternameTenant Harassment How Can I Prove My [...]
Being harassed in your own home is simply wrong. It violates the basic concepts of privacy and security that a Continue Reading
Security Deposits 5 Things to Know about [...]
Whenever you sign a lease to rent an apartment, chances are that the landlord will require you to put down Continue Reading
Life Changing Results
$1.56 Million
Recovered on behalf of a group of 30 tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco who were living with horrendous conditions in their rent controlled apartments, including rodents, bedbugs, mold, water leaks and harassment.Read More
$750,000
Recovered on behalf of a couple living in a rent-controlled home in the outer Sunset neighborhood. Our clients were forced to vacate after the landlord served them with an Owner Move-In Eviction Notice. After the landlords failed to move into the property, our clients filed suit for wrongful eviction.Read More
$700,000
Recovered for a single long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.Read More
$575,000
Recovered on behalf of elderly, disabled tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.Read More
$560,000
Recovered on behalf of two former San Francisco tenants who were evicted via an Owner Move-In Eviction and owner failed to occupy the unit as her primary place of residence.Read More
$550,000
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owners’ refusal to provide him with alternative housing. Read More
$525,000
Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal “in-law” unit. In this case, a new owner purchased the building and then demolished our client’s unit without permits while she was displaced for seismic retrofitting.Read More
$450,000
Recovered for tenant who was injured when their stairway railing collapsed at the tenant’s Mission District apartment building.Read More
$450,000
Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment house due to severe habitability defects including mold and water leaks.Read More
$395,000
Recovered on behalf of two long term San Francisco tenants who were fraudulently evicted from their home of over twenty years under the pretext of an owner move-in eviction.Read More
$375,000
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family that was constructively evicted from their home in the Richmond District as a result of unlawful rent increases, defective conditions and tenant harassment.Read More
$375,000
Recovered on behalf of an elderly long-term tenant who was forced to vacate her long San Francisco apartment as a result of her landlord’s refusal to address longstanding defective conditions, including lack of heat, mold, rodent infestations, and defective plumbing. Read More
$325,000
Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.Read More
$300,000
Recovered on behalf of three long-term tenants in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood who were constructively evicted due to noise and nuisance conditions created by their downstairs neighbors, which the owner refused to address.Read More
$300,000
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. Tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board.Read More
$300,000
Recovered on behalf of three families living in a building in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood who were forced to live with substandard conditions for years as a result of their landlord’s negligence, including issues with lack of heat, lack of hot water and cockroach/rat infestations.Read More
Get In Touch With Us
For more information or to discuss your legal situation, call us today at (415) 649-6203 for a phone consultation or submit an inquiry below. Please note our firm can only assist tenants residing in the Bay Area.
Contact Us
Phone: (415) 649-6203
Fax: (415) 649-6739
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news & updates on the Bay Area tenant laws.
Attorney Advertising. This information is designed for general information only. The information presented should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Past results and testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case, and should not be construed as such. Past results cannot guarantee future performance. Any result in a single case is not meant to create an expectation of similar results in future matters because each case involves many different factors, therefore, results will differ on a case-by-case basis. By providing certain contact information herein, you are expressly authorizing the recipient of this message to contact you via the methods of communication provided.
NUVEW | Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved. | Accessibility Notifications