Is it illegal to charge first,last and deposit? - Posted by DD

Posted by DD on December 12, 1999 at 23:45:15:

Rob,

Thank you for the websites. I checked them out and they are good. In my search I came across an excellent website for California landlords. Here is the location for anyone who is interested:

http://cses.com/rental/california.htm

This site lists what I believe to be all of California’s civil code. In particular there is a section relating to landlord/tenant relations. This section in the civil code is listed as Division 3, Part 4, Title 5, Chapter 2, 1940 - 1954.1.
The answer appears to be that it doesn’t matter what a landlord calls the deposit (ie. last months rent, security, fees, etc.), it’s considered all the same. What matters is that the amount cannot exceed twice the amount of the rent or three times the rent for furnished units.

This civil code seems to apply only to residential units and does not address commercial units.

If anyone else knows something more than this, especially about commercial units, please let me know.

Is it illegal to charge first,last and deposit? - Posted by DD

Posted by DD on December 11, 1999 at 02:02:30:

Is it illegal to charge a first, last and a deposit in California?

Re: Is it illegal to charge first,last and deposit? - Posted by Bert G

Posted by Bert G on December 11, 1999 at 09:10:25:

While is is possible, as Rob suggested, to look up the law on the net, they’re probably written in legalese. It can be frustrating to find a quick answer to a simple question by reading statutes.

See if there’s a local landlords or apartment association where you live. They can probably answer your question. They might even have a booklet of landlord-tenant laws in plain English, as my state does.

BG (in ND)

Re: Is it illegal to charge first,last and deposit? - Posted by Rob FL

Posted by Rob FL on December 11, 1999 at 08:20:23:

You can look up the law yourself:

Re: With a PACTrust you can take 1st and last 20 pmts if you want to - Posted by Bill Gatten

Posted by Bill Gatten on December 14, 1999 at 12:19:26:

With a PACTrust, the beneficiaries of the trust agree to post a Contingency Fund that functions like a security deposit, but does not relate to the occupancy agreement itself. The largest one we have on the books now is six payments…most often its just an amount equivalent to two to three payments. The benefits of holding an extra payment or two in the CF is to make sure the monthly payments are made to the lender on time, even if the resident beneficiary’s payment is late. Its also there so that if you have to evict the resident beneficiary, you can use his money to do it with, instead of your own.

Bill

Bill