Section 1942

Citation: Section 1942
Parent Document: Schweiger v. Superior Court, 476 P.2d 97 (1970)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1970-11-10
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2610738/schweiger-v-superior-court/ ↗

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This case poses a problem of statutory construction necessitating the resolution of an apparent conflict between California Code sections affecting the rights of landlords and tenants. On the one hand, Civil Code section 1942 grants a tenant the right to demand that his landlord repair dilapidations in his apartment unit and, if the landlord neglects to do so, the tenant may make the repairs himself, where the cost does not exceed one month's rent, and deduct the expense of the repairs from the rent. On the other, Code of Civil Procedure section 1161[2] implies the unrestricted power of a landlord under a month-to-month tenancy to raise the rent for his property to any level, however exorbitant, and to evict tenants unable or unwilling to pay. The two sections become incompatible when it is alleged, as petitioner alleges here, that the landlord raised the tenant's rent and instituted unlawful detainer proceedings for his failure to pay solely because he asserted his rights under section 1942.[3] We must decide whether such an allegation constitutes a defense to an unlawful detainer action and, if so, whether the superior court abused its discretion in refusing to hear the defense.

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