Landlord Tenant
I live in a mobile home park. Utilities are individually metered, read by the park manager and a statement submitted each month noting lot rent and utility breakdown. According to the lease agreement, the landlord has the right to charge a 10% late charge on RENT. However, they apply the 10% to the utilities as well. It is my understanding that they cannot charge a late fee on utilities unless they (in turn) have to pay such a late fee. I see the possibility of a class action suit here. Am I correct?
Re: Landlord Tenant
A class action suit is probably not the remedy, as the average number of persons late in a park is about 8% of the population, and it tends to be the same 8% each month. That means there probably aren’t enough plaintiffs to qualify as a class. You couldn’t create a class of residents in all parks in CA because not all park owners use this practice, and each park resident is going to have a different set of facts sufficient to kill the commonality requirement.
As to your question, you are correct that utilities must be passed through based upon the amount used, and the current rate being paid by the park owner, however, there are some exceptions to that, and it probably covers that 10%. If you want to investigate this further, there are two firms in San Diego that work with park residents – Endeman, Lincoln, Turek & Heater, or The Singer Law Firm. Call one of them if you think you have something.
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