Erlach v. Sierra Asset Servicing, LLC, 226 Cal. App. 4th 1281 (2014)

Citation: Erlach v. Sierra Asset Servicing, LLC, 226 Cal. App. 4th 1281 (2014)
Parent Document: Erlach v. Sierra Asset Servicing, LLC, 226 Cal. App. 4th 1281 (2014)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2014-06-10
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2677838/erlach-v-sierra-asset-servicing-llc/ ↗

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grounds in Knight, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 55, fn. 7;8 see also Friedman et al., supra, ¶
3:100, p. 3-40.5.)
According to the Quevedo court, the measure of damages is the amount of rent
that the landlord should refund, calculated by the difference between the rent paid while
the premises were uninhabitable and the rent that "would have been reasonable, taking
into account the extent to which the rental value of the property was reduced by virtue of
the existence of the defect." (Quevedo, supra, 72 Cal.App.3d Supp. at p. 8.) Other
methods of calculating a tenant's damages for breach of the habitability warranty include
(1) the difference between the fair rental value of the premises had they been in the
condition warranted and their fair rental value with the uninhabitable condition (Green,
supra, 10 Cal.3d at p. 638), and (2) the rent paid by the tenant multiplied by the
percentage of the premises rendered unusable due to the uninhabitable condition. (Id. at
p. 639, fn. 24; Cazares v. Ortiz (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d Supp. 23, 33.)
In addition, there is a statutory cause of action available to the residential tenant
where the premises are untenantable and other circumstances exist. Under Civil Code
section 1942.4, a residential landlord may not demand or collect rent, increase rent, or
serve a three-day notice to pay rent or quit if (1) the dwelling is untenantable as defined
under section 1941.1, is in violation of section 17920.10 of the Health and Safety Code,
or is deemed and declared substandard under section 17920.3 of the Health and Safety
Code; (2) a public officer inspects the premises and gives the landlord written notice that
it must abate the nuisance or repair the property; (3) the conditions have not been
remedied within 35 days of the notice; and (4) the substandard conditions were not

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