Practice areas of the firm built for rental property owners

 

As the Bay Area's authority in managing landlord-tenant relationships, our core competencies include, but are not limited, to the following areas.

 

Eviction for non-payment of rent

When the tenant does not pay rent or is chronically late, there are carefully choreographed steps to follow to remove the tenant and get cash flowing again.

 

Tenant buyout agreements

More than “cash for keys,” landlords can effectuate a voluntary vacancy for some sort of incentive and remove any legal claims that could arise from the tenancy.

 

Navigating complex rent control rules

In many jurisdictions, there are ordinances that limit the amount of rent that can be charged, the frequency of rent increases, and permissible reasons to evict. Bornstein Law can make sense of this patchwork of rules.

 

Disputes between buyers and sellers

The sale or acquisition of real property is an enormous undertaking and many variables can lead to misunderstandings that need to be sorted out through competent counsel. 

 

Accessory Dwelling Units

Despite their charm, the planning and construction of these pint-sized units can be fraught with legal issues and if the landlord is renting an unwarranted unit, liability can result from disgruntled tenants who sue the current landlord or the previous owner who collected the rent.

 

Short term rentals

The modern-day iteration of the temporary flop has evolved and the law has kept pace with technology. Bornstein Law can be called upon when disputes arise between hosts and guests, and when there is a suspicion of unauthorized subletting, we can close the revolving door of unwelcome guests.

 

Owner move-in (OMI) and relative move-in (RMI) evictions

Owners can recover possession of the rental unit for their own use or welcome in close relatives, with many procedural requirements that must be followed to the letter.

 

Recouping COVID-related rent debt

There is a mountain of rent debt that has accrued during the pandemic. Bornstein Law can make landlords whole by obtaining a judgment in civil court.

 

Defending against lawsuits that arise out of a tenancy 

There is a proliferation of lawsuits by tenants and their attorneys, and litigation can be analogous to a game of tug of war - when both sides pull harder on the rope, the tighter the knot becomes. Our goal is to untangle the knot.

 

Disputes in commercial real estate

When businesses suffer a loss of income, commercial landlords have to weigh the value of the tenancy against the risk of having an empty storefront or office.

 

Responding to nuisances

When a tenant becomes a problem, it can be loosely defined as a “nuisance” and the behavior can range from playing loud music to operating a meth lab, and everything in between. Bornstein Law can intervene to correct the behavior or transition the tenant out if the nuisance continues.

 

Ellis Act evictions

When a landlord wants to go out of business, they can throw in the towel by permanently removing rental units from the market, but this exit will not come without a host of statutory obligations, including ample notice and relocation payments to displaced tenants.