September 21, 2004
Amy
Sexton, Manager
Lakewood
Apartments
515 John Muir Drive
San
Francisco, California 94132
Reference:
Your "Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy" dated on or about August
28, 2004 and undated "Lease Addendum - Mold Notification"
Dear Ms.
Sexton:
We, the undersigned tenants of Lakewood Apartments (see attached endorsement page[s]) and members of the Lakewood Tenants Association hereby notify you that,
to the extent that we are legally entitled to do so, reject, in toto, your "Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy" dated on or about August 28, 2004 and
undated "Lease Addendum - Mold Notification" that we have heard you have issued as referenced above that purports to change, unilaterally, the terms
of our tenancy. While Civil Code 827 provides that "...[t]he notice, when served upon the tenant, shall in and of itself operate and be effectual to
create and establish, as a part of the lease, the terms, rents, and conditions specified in the notice, if the tenant shall continue to hold the premises
after the notice takes effec...t," that law has apparently been obviated in San Francisco by San Francisco's Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance.
Despite the existence of Civil Code 827, a rent increase is not effective in this city, contrary to Civil Code 827, merely by noticing the tenant in the manner
described therein. In addition, section 12.20 of the Rules and Regulations of San Francisco's Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board prevent landlords
from evicting tenants for refusing to accept a material change in the terms of the lease, which is what your notice purports to do.
Not only do we reject your "Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy" and "Lease Addendum - Mold Notification" because we believe that it is contrary to
San Francisco's rent ordinance, we reject paragraph #6 of the alleged lease addendum as a veiled attempt to circumvent Civil Code section 1954, which limits
a landlord's right to enter a rented dwelling to certain specified circumstances and paragraph #7 as an attempt to put words in our mouths (viz. "...[r]esident agrees..."),
to shirk your responsibility to keep the building free of mold and to shield yourself, unjustly, from any liability should you fail to do so.
Our rejection of your "Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy" and "Lease Addendum - Mold Notification" should not necessarily be construed by you as any
refusal on our part to maintain our respective rented dwellings habitable as may be required by law or common sense or to do any of the things, voluntarily,
that your notice purports we must do involuntarily.
We do not mean to violate any law or provision of any existing contract or agreement in rejecting your "Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy" and
"Lease Addendum - Mold Notification." Furthermore, we release and forever hold harmless the preparer(s) of this letter, Lakewood Tenants Association,
and the officers and members thereof from any and all claims that may arise related to this letter.
The officers of Lakewood Tenants Association, to the extent that we may be authorized to speak on their behalf, assert and extend the forgoing statements of
rejection to the benefit of each and every member of Lakewood Tenants Association. In addition, we assume that this rejection is in the best interest of all tenants
of Lakewood Apartments and, while we claim no inherent right to speak on the behalf of those tenants that are not members of this association, we nevertheless
put you on notice that we believe your "Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy" and "Lease Addendum - Mold Notification" are, for reasons stated above,
universally legally invalid and unenforceable regardless of whether or not any notice of rejection has been received by you from any one particular tenant.
Please direct any response to this letter to the Lakewood Tenants Association at the above address. Sincerely,
Mona Cereghino, President,
Ross C. Wilkinson,
Vice-president