According to the National Association of Realtors, up to 77% of home buyers will have an inspection of the house done before they agree to sign any documents and purchase the home. Home inspections are essential to ensuring you’re getting what you paid for and for avoiding nasty surprises in the future.

Fortunately, in the state of California, real estate law requires all residential real estate agents to disclose any defects or issues with the property before selling it to buyer. Failure to disclose defects of the property may result in criminal charges of misrepresentation, fraud, and/or deceit.

What laws protect me from an agent’s failure to disclose defects?
Laws pertaining to a failure to disclose defects regarding a property are the Common Law and the Statutory Law of California.

According to the Common Law of California, or Lingsch v. Savage 1963, the property seller and agent must inform the property buyer of all features or instances that may have impacted the value of the property.

These instances include deaths on the property, water damage, or pest infestations. Should the seller or agent fail to disclose this information before the signing of real estate contracts or in the contracts, they may then be held potentially liable for any damages.

Under the California Civil Code section 1102 in the Statutory Law of California, the seller of the property is required to procure a Transfer Disclosure Statement to the buyer in any document or real estate contract involving real property. The statement should include in-depth information about the property including natural hazard exposure, industrial use issues, dangerous conditions, physical burdens, etc.

Because of the extensive list of disclosures it may be in your best interest to have a real estate lawyer look over the document so there are no surprises later on.

Under what circumstances can I not hold the seller liable?
The seller of the property can’t be held liable for failure to disclose defects if the seller was not personally aware of the defects. However, there must be proof of an inspection having been performed in order to claim ignorance. If a reasonable inspection doesn’t reveal any property damage or issues and the property seller is unaware of the defects, they can’t be held liable in the future.

Additionally, it’s the property buyer’s responsibility to have the property inspected before purchasing. Under Loughrin v. Superior Court 1993, a seller can’t be held liable for failing to disclose defects of the property if the defects were easily visible or could be found during a regular inspection.

Only if the buyer has an inspection performed and the inspector is unable to locate anything wrong with the property and only if the seller is aware of the non-observable defects in the home can they be held liable.

Before signing a real estate contract with any property seller, it’s a good idea to have a real estate law firm look over the documents. Having an inspection performed on the property and a real estate lawyer California trusts analyze the finer details of the property transaction will grant you a better chance of being swindled.

In the case of eviction many Californians believe the rights of the tenant under state law only apply to those who are evicted from residential buildings such as apartments, townhouses, or houses. However, this isn’t true. The role of property law in business is quite resilient.

If you’re a commercial tenant in the state of California, you and your business have a number of affirmative defensive actions you can take against your commercial property owner in an eviction case. The following are some of the most common defensive actions a business can take when they are facing unlawful detainer action:

Defense against retaliatory eviction
In residential properties, the property owner must give the current tenant a total of 60 days notice before they must leave the property if they have been living there for over a year. During this time, the property owner cannot act in such a way that may be threatening as this not only breaks property law, but also may be taken into account as a part of retaliatory eviction. Retaliatory eviction is when the property owner evicts, or attempts to evict, the commercial tenant for an inappropriate reason as an act of retaliation against the tenant for previous actions.

That is, if the tenant cited problems with the property and the property owner followed this complaint with evicting the tenant or raising the rent considerably. Under the law of the California Supreme Court, both commercial tenants as well as residential owners have the ability to defend themselves in court in the case of retaliatory eviction.

Defense against construction eviction
A commercial tenant is granted the right to peaceful and beneficial possession of the property in which they rent. Because of this, a tenant can argue against their eviction by citing construction problems with the property that interfere with their ability to live peacefully.

For instance, if a commercial tenant requires parking for their business, but the parking is not available or is being used by the property owner and the tenant is given an eviction notice after complaining it may be safe to argue that the tenant is being faces with construction eviction.

The role of property law in business is alive and well. If you’re a business being faced with unlawful detainer action, you can challenge your eviction case against your property owner with retaliatory eviction and construction eviction claims should you have evidence of either. Property law and the rights of the tenant during the eviction process do not only apply to residential tenants or property owners. The role of property law in business is yours to use at your proper defense.

Real estate law differs depending on the state in which you live. Therefore, it’s important to research the real estate law of your state when you choose to move.

For instance, if a death has occurred on a property in the past three years it’s required under California state law that the real estate agent inform potential property buyers. However, in New York and New Jersey, the real estate agent is not required to inform potential buyers of any death in the home.

Researching your state’s real estate laws doesn’t mean you need to be a professional in the subject. However, before purchasing property in California, it’s important to have as much information about our peculiar laws as possible. Here are five important things you should know about California real estate law before moving to the Golden State:

1. Abandoned property belongs to the state government
   After a series of three years, any property that is lost or abandoned becomes the property of the California state government. You can reclaim the property as your own if it’s been less than three years, but only if you officially reclaim it in the court of law.

 

2. Contracts must be in writing
   Contracts that aren’t in writing are considered invalid under state law. These contracts include commission agreements, licenses, and leases. Have a California real estate lawyer write these contracts for you to avoid any costly mistakes.

 

3. Landlords must give tenants notices of eviction months in advance
   If a tenant has lived in a California apartment for over a year, a landlord is required to give a 60 day notification of eviction before the tenant is forced to leave the property.

 

4. Security deposits for rentals must be returned to tenants
   Security deposits in the state of California are not allowed to exceed the amount of two months rent. This security deposit is then required to be returned to the tenant at the end of the lease unless the tenant failed to pay rent for a given month.

 

5. Real estate agents are required to disclose property defects
   In addition to any death that may have occurred on the property in the last three years, the real estate agent must also disclose any defects of the property to potential buyers. This keeps potential buyers from being surprised by any problems that may come with the house.

Laws on the eviction process, buying a foreclosed home, and zoning restriction differ from state to state. It’s important to understand your new state’s real estate law to be prepared when you decide to look for a new house. For more information on California real estate law, contact the real estate law firm of DiJulio Law Group today.