Defending Your Rights to a Safe and Livable Home
If you’re facing eviction or your rental unit has serious problems — like mold, broken utilities, or unsafe conditions — you may have legal grounds to fight back. I help renters navigate every stage of the eviction process and assert their right to a habitable home.
As a California tenant, when are you entitled to withhold rent until landlord fixes the problem?
Attorney-Client Relationship Formation:
1. Around 20-minute free consultation before signing the retainer agreement.
2. The attorney prepares a retainer agreement and sign.
3. The landlord(s) and/or the landlord’s agent(s) sign the retainer agreement.
4. Transfer $3,000 retainer fees into the attorney’s trust account to initiate the eviction procedure.
5. If the $3,000 retainer fees are not enough during the eviction procedure, then the landlord(s) and/or the landlord’s agent(s) have to transfer additional $3,000 retainer fees into the attorney’s trust account, otherwise the attorney will stop the eviction service.
6. After the case is done, the attorney will provide the details of fees and refund the unearned fees.
🤝 Step 0: Negotiation & Early Intervention
Protecting Your Rights Before Court Is Involved
Eviction doesn’t always begin with a formal notice — sometimes it starts with a heated conversation, an informal demand, or threats from a landlord. Whether the issue is mold, unsafe conditions, withheld rent, or a lease dispute, you have rights — and I can help you assert them early.
What I Can Do for You:
- Assess whether the landlord’s request is lawful or retaliatory.
- Negotiate directly with the landlord or property manager on your behalf.
- Draft clear, respectful letters asserting your tenant rights.
- Present documentation of unsafe or uninhabitable conditions.
- Demand necessary repairs or compensation (e.g., hotel costs, rent refunds).
- Push for lease termination or relocation assistance if warranted.
- Avoid escalation by offering structured solutions that preserve your tenancy or secure a dignified exit.
Optional: Consultation and communication, $330 per hour. 30 Messages/emails (less than 50 words per message/email) count as an hour.
Optional: Settlement conference, $330 per hour attorney fees.
Optional: Demand letter of settlement conference/Settlement agreement/or any other types of legal agreement, $300 per letter with three free modifications, after that $100 per modification.
⚠️ Step 1: Notice to Vacate
What I Can Do for You:
- Review the eviction notice for legal defects or improper service.
- Determine if the notice is retaliatory or based on uninhabitable conditions.
- Advise whether you can legally withhold rent due to serious issues list here.
📄 Step 2: Being Sued for Eviction
What I Can Do for You:
- Respond to the unlawful detainer lawsuit.
- Assert defenses based on habitability violations.
- Help you gather documentation: photos, repair requests, medical records.
- Explore rent escrow options to show good faith compliance.
- Negotiate with the landlord or their attorney for dismissal or settlement.
Court fees to answer eviction lawsuit:
- $225, amount up to $10,000,
- $370, amount over $10,000 up to $25,000,
- or $435, amount over $25,000.
E-filing fees, $14.1 per document (subject up to change).
⚖️ Step 3: Trial or Hearing
What I Can Do for You:
- Represent you in court and argue your case.
- Cross-examine landlord witnesses and present evidence.
- Highlight violations of the “implied warranty of habitability.”
- Request rent reductions or abatement for the time you lived in unsafe conditions.
- Advocate for your right to remain in the unit or receive relocation assistance.
🚪 Step 4: Lockout or Sheriff Eviction
This is highly challenging, I prefer you come to me before this happens.
What I Can Do for You:
- Challenge illegal lockouts or premature eviction actions.
- File emergency motions to stay the eviction.
- Help you recover damages for wrongful eviction.
- Advise on next steps for housing, credit protection, and tenant records.
Abies Law Firm 