Policy Text
TRAINING BULLETIN
LANDLORD-TENANT DISPUTES
Bulletin Index Number: III - J.1
Master Alphabetical Index: Evictions
Landlords, Disputes with Tenants
Lock-outs
Self-Help Evictions
Small Claims Court
Tenants, Disputes with Landlord
Publication Date: 3 Jun 74
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1 COMMON CASES 3
METHODS OF SETTLING DISPUTES 4
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF 5
LANDLORDS AND TENANTS EVICTIONS 8
1
INTRODUCTION
Recent research conducted by the Conflict Management Detail has revealed that more than 20% of the landlord-tenant disputes handled by the Oakland Police Department involved a violation
of Penal Code statutes and that one of every 15 disputes escalated to violence. Thus, as most
police officers (particularly those in Patrol Division) are well aware, landlord-tenant disputes have posed a significant peace-keeping problem for the Police Department. The handling of landlord-tenant disputes is only one segment of the wide range of the highly complex peace-keeping functions that the patrol officer must perform. The officer
1s role as a
keeper of the peace requires that he deal with human conflict ranging from large scale rioting to the more frequent and often more complex disputes between merchants and their customers; between taxi-cab drivers and their riders; between husbands and wives; and between landlords and their tenants. Recognizing the need to equip officers to contri bute to the immediate and equitable solution of
such conflicts - solutions that will eliminate the need for repeated police involvement - the
Oakland Police Department embarked upon research designed to explore effective methods for the mediation of such calls and landlord-tenant disputes in particular. In late 1969, the Legal Unit undertook a limited experimental dispute-settlement program designed to prevent the escalation of minor landlord-tenant grievances into serious offenses, through the mediation of
disputes and the accomplishment of settlements that were lawful and equitable to both parties. These efforts attracted federal funding for an expanded program, and in 1971 the Landlord-
Tenant Intervention Unit began operations within the Conflict Management Detail, then the Conflict Management Section. The federally funded experiment ended in February, 1972.
This bulletin is a result of the research and experiences of the Landlord-Tenant Intervention Unit during the experimental phase. It describes th e common patterns of Landlord-Tenant disputes,
the methods that have been successful in their solution, and the relevant practical and legal considerations that should assist you in the settleme nt of disputes and in providing a service that
is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. During the six-month experimental period, the Landlord-Tenant Intervention Unit handled over 340 requests for police service. More than 260 of these cases were requests by citizens for information concerning various aspects of landlord-tenant law. The officer trained in landlord-tenant law could answer their questions often in no more time than would have been required, under traditional Departmental policy and procedures , to have explained that he didn’t know the
applicable civil laws. The other cases concerned situations where it was necessary for direct police intervention to resolve the conflict. Some of these situations included the landlord's removal of doors or windows; the landlord's termination of gas, water or electrical services; the tenant's willful destruction of the premises; or the tenant's refusal to return the keys after having vacated the premises. Using their knowledge of the laws and the procedures outlined in this training bulletin, the Landlord-Tenant Interventi on Unit was able to effect an immediate and
equitable solution in each of these potentially violent situations.
2
The Landlord-Tenant Intervention Unit was phased out as a specialized unit in October, 1972.
In-Service training in Landlord-Tenant Dis putes was then conducted for Communications
Dispatchers and will continue to be conducted for officers in the recruit academy and advanced officers schools in order to maintain the high level of service rendered citizens during the experimental stage. Departmental Policy
The Communications Section is responsible for the initial handling of all landlord-tenant calls. When any request for police services concerns a situation that has reached a violent stage
3 or one
that seems perilously close, a field unit will be dispatched to the scene. When the situation is more routine, Communications personnel will advise citizens over the phone. The primary objective in mediating a landlord-tenant disput e is to bring about a peaceful and lawful
settlement of the dispute without making arrests. Of the numerous disputes handled by the experimental unit, only one required an arrest. In the other cases, either the landlord complied or was vindicated by the production of extenuating or justifying circumstances, the controversy
ended because the tenant moved, or the complainant was referred peacefully to another agency. By offering information and assistance to landlords and tenants, the Department can defuse potential violence and afford more harmonious living conditions for all citizens. COMMON CASES
Although the circumstances may be quite varied, the most commonly perpetrated abuses by landlords fall into five general categories.
1. Lockout of the tenant, usually accompanied by the lock-in of the tenant’s possessions
.
A lockout is a misdemeanor prohibited by Section 418 of the Penal Code. (“Forcible Entry or Detainer of Land: Every person us ing or procuring, encouraging or assisting
another to use any force or violence in entering upon or detaining any lands or other possessions of another, except in cases and in the manner allowed by law, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”)
2. Seizure of the tenant's property
. Seizure of the tenant's property as security