Are Apartment Managers Required to Live On The Property?

California regulations require that a landlord have an onsite caretaker for more than 16 units. However, whether that means that they actually have to spend the night there is open to question. For instance, there could be several onsite caretakers who rotate, so long as there is always a caretaker on site. There is not a requirement that they live there.

Are Apartment Managers Protected From Retaliatory Eviction If They File A Lawsuit Against An Employer?

The presence of the caretaker on site is not a tenancy, so there is no eviction, unless there is a separate lease at issue. If there’s no separate lease, the only right to be on the premises is as a result of the agreement for the onsite caretaker. The analysis has to be done under an employment analysis. If, for example, an onsite caretaker is not being paid their minimum wage, they would go to the Labor board and file a complaint while they are still working and living on premises. The landlord is generally going to succeed in getting that person out of the premises because it’s not a tenancy. However, their loss of the premises as a result of their complaint is a wrongful termination and the damages associated with that are under employment law, rather than real property law.

My advice to onsite caretakers who are in the process of being terminated is to move out. They should not fight that because it’s a fight that they will lose. The sooner that they leave, the better their case is. If they make it difficult for the landlord or the management company to get them out, they are acting inconsistently with their role as an apartment manager, if they don’t have a separate lease. If they have a separate lease, then they are entitled to enforce that lease, but they then have to pay the rental rate that’s contained in the lease.

Is There A Certain Maximum Rent That Can Be Charged From An Apartment Manager?

As of January 1, 2019, the maximum rent for apartments occupied by one onsite caretaker, where there are 26 or more employees, is $677.75 per month. If there are 25 or fewer employees, the limit is $621.28 per month.

Must The Management Company Compensate The Apartment Manager For Waiting Time Or Standby Hours?

Under California law, the management company does not have to compensate the apartment manager for stand-by hours.

Is It Possible To Raise A Manager’s Rent In A Rent Controlled Building?

The rent control ordinances in Los Angeles require the onsite resident manager be given a free apartment. If they can’t charge rent, they certainly can’t increase the rent. Housing units in Los Angeles that are subject to rent control cannot charge the resident apartment manager rent at all.

What Are Penalties For Not Complying With Wage Laws In Regards To Paying An Apartment Complex Manager Back Wages?

There are penalties for not paying the minimum wage in the labor code. There are also attorney’s fees and the interest on the unpaid wages. The result of not paying a minimum wage is quite substantial.

Do I Need An Attorney To Draft A Tailored Agreement Between My Apartment Complex Manager And The Property Management Company? Why is this so important?

If the apartment owner or property management company is aware that you’re in contact with an attorney at the outset, they probably won’t hire you. A better idea is to obtain the job and then have the agreement checked by an attorney. Have the attorney identify the locations where it’s deficient and ask the landlord or the management company to bring that agreement into compliance with California law.

Additional Information On Apartment Management Employment Law

Employees need to save their receipts, keep track of their time, journal their efforts, and try to maintain their own set of our hours that they worked. That is critical because if it later becomes an issue, those records will be imperative in reconstructing the actual hours worked. They should also keep copies of all of their correspondence with their landlord or the management company.

For more information on Onsite Apartment Manager’s Residence, a case evaluation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (619) 464-1500 today.