Los Angeles DWP has new rules. You will lose money if you do not comply.

Reduce your water usage or pay a premium is the message sent by the DWP and the City of Los Angeles. Effective June 1, 2009 the DWP has imposed some new rules and rate changes. While we are currently in Phase I of the water conservation plan the City has decided to skip Phase II and jump to Phase III. The rules affect when you may use your automatic sprinklers, how you may wash vehicles and how you may use water at your property for cleaning among other things. The goal of the ordinance is to reduce water usage by 15%. There is a big push coming from the City to enforce these rules and there are fines for failing to comply. Property owners need to be sure they know the rules and are doing their part to reduce water usage. Failure to do so will result in a dramatic increase in utility expenses. The DWP has set up a phone line to report offenders and they will have teams surveying neighborhoods to identify offenders. This will be additional revenue so I expect there to be a push to find situations that warrant a fine under the new ordinance.

You should make note of the items below because property owners that do not adhere to the ordinance will be fined.

RULES REGARDING USAGE:

WATERING THE LANDSCAPING:

• Automatic sprinkler systems may only be used on Monday's and Thursday's. Using the systems on any other days will result in a warning letter on your first offense. The second offense will result in a $100.00 fine and the fines increase to $600.
• You may not water, irrigate landscaped areas between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm on any day, including Mondays and Thursdays.
• You may use a hose and hand water on days other than Monday and Thursday before 9:00 am and after 4:00 pm but you cannot leave the hose unattended.
• When using an automatic system you may only water for 10 minutes per watering day per station.
• You may not water in a manner that allows excess or continuous water flow or runoff onto an adjacent sidewalk, driveway, street, gutter or ditch.
• You can be cited and fined for watering during periods of rain even.

DECORATIVE FOUNTAINS, PONDS, LAKES AND OTHER AESTHETIC WATER FEATURES

• You must have a recirculation system if you are going to use water to fill, clean or maintain water levels.

WASHING CARS:

• Nobody is allowed to wash a car with a hose that does not have a self closing water shut off device.

WASHING SIDEWALKS, WALKWAYS, DRIVEWAYS AND PARKING AREAS

• You may not use a hose to wash these areas unless you are using a Department-approved water conserving cleaning device. (A simple Spray nozzle does not qualify)

NEW RATES:

The new rates go into effective June 1, 2009 as well. At this time the Tier 1 allotment for each property will be reduced by 15%. This means that if your property is presently using all of the Tier 1 water allotment you will now be charged Tier 2 rates for the last 15% of the water used. This could be a substantial increase because Tier 2 rates are set to be increased by 44% as part of the new rate plan. All DWP customers must do their best to reduce their overall usage by 15% to avoid paying substantially more for the water each month. If you do manage to reduce the usage by 15% below your current Tier 1 level you should see a savings. If you want to determine your Tier 1 level you can do so on the DWP website lapwd.com . You will need your customer number and address. You can also find tips to reduce your water consumption on this website.

I recommend that you or your resident manager distribute a tip sheet to all your tenants. Most people want to preserve the environment and often just need a reminder. Owners should also routinely inspect every unit to be sure there are no water leaks, running toilets and such that are wasting water. A running toilet can waste hundreds of gallons of water each day. Hoping everything is OK because your tenants have not pointed out the issue will surely result in unnecessarily high water bills after June 1, 2009.

The DWP website lapwd.com has information about these new laws and rates. In addition to this site. You may also view articles recently published on the topic at

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lawn-watering23-2009apr23,0,2958435.story

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lawater18-2009apr18,0,2991632.story?track=rss.

A summary of the ordinance can be found on the DWP website as well or by clicking on this link.

http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp010964.pdf

Fair Housing: Reasonable modifications and reasonable accommodations. What do they mean?

Are you complying with the 1988 Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) at the properties you own? The obligations do not end with your leasing practices. This is especially true when you have tenants that have a disability. The rights of people with disabilities and a landlord's obligations to those people are often misunderstood. Part of the reason that there are misconceptions is that the rights of disabled persons are more complex than other protected classes. Landlords find themselves being sued because they do not fully understand that the discrimination not only encompasses refusal to rent and imposition of unequal terms and treatment, but also includes the denial of reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications. These requests may be made at the time the new tenant is applying, but often the requests are made after the tenant has taken possession of the unit.

Landlords must understand that they are required to make reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications when a tenant with a disability or their agent makes such a request, whether or not the request was made at the time the tenant signed their lease. The first step in avoiding a discrimination lawsuit is to make sure you and your employees understand the definitions of “reasonable accommodation” and “reasonable modification”. According to the FHAA a reasonable accommodation is “a change, exception or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service that may be necessary for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling” and a reasonable modification is “a structural change to existing premises, in order to afford a person with a disability full enjoyment of the premises.” If you are unsure whether a request falls under the protection of the FHAA you should contact your attorney and ask them to provide you a legal opinion. I also recommend that you review the Joint Statement issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice which can be found at http://www.teamlink.com/Disability_Accomodations_DOJ.pdf.

Some common examples of modifications and accommodations are listed below:

• Installation of a wheelchair ramp (modification)
• Removal of carpet and installation of hard wood flooring (modification)
• Having a dog or a cat or other assistive animal in the apartment or condo (accommodation)
• Widening a door way (modification)
• Provide a parking space closer to the occupants dwelling (accommodation)
• Request to have third party drop off the rent check rather than tenant personally delivering the check (accommodation)

It is best to start with the assumption that you are going to grant the request for either a modification or accommodation and then go through a check list to determine if the request is “reasonable”. The list below is not all inclusive but gives you some idea about the complexity of what is required of a landlord.

Does the request indicate a relationship between the modification/accommodation and the individual’s disability? If documentation is provided to establish that relationship or the relationship is obvious proceed to #2. If no, ask the requestor to explain and document the relationship. If there is no relationship the request may be denied. I again recommend consulting your attorney or management professional before denying a request.
IMPORTANT! If requesting documentation you may not inquire about the severity of the disability.
Was the request made by or on behalf of a person with a disability? If yes proceed. If no you may deny the request.
Will the modification/accommodation impose an undue financial and administrative burden on you? If yes you may deny the request but make sure you are clear on the requirements to qualify for this exception. It is complicated and the landlord must do to fully comply with the law.
Did you discuss alternatives with the requestor? This is imperative and doing so often leads to an effective result which does not pose an undue burden on the landlord, avoids lawsuits and keeps the tenant happy.

Once a request for a reasonable modification is granted, it is important that a landlord understand who is responsible for the costs associated with the modification and who is responsible for the maintenance of that modification. They are not always the same. In general the rule is that the requesting party is responsible for the cost of making the modification. However, if the modification is in the common area of the property the landlord is responsible for the maintenance of that modification. For example a wheelchair ramp is installed in the parking area. The requestor pays for the installation but the landlord must pay for the on going upkeep and maintenance. The law does state that a landlord may be required to make an accommodation or modification that involves some costs on their part so long as the costs do not pose an undue financial or administrative or a fundamental alteration of the landlord’s operations. When a modification is made that is used exclusively by the tenant, the tenant is typically responsible for the maintenance. Landlords who have made the mistake of passing on the maintenance of modifications made in common areas have found themselves in hot water, even though they happily granted the request for the modification.

When a request is received it is very important that you take each request seriously and that you determine how to respond to that request on a case by case basis. The laws are complex and typically the requestor is far more familiar with those laws than the landlord. When you are unsure about how to respond, and even when you think you are sure, it is a good idea to consult with a property management professional and your attorney. It is much cheaper to get a quick opinion on the front end of an issue like this than to pay for the cost of defending a lawsuit. Plus you end up with happy tenants that appreciate being dealt with professionally.

Property Management 101: Getting a job as a resident manager. Installment #1

Finding a job as a resident manager seems to be more popular than ever. Every business day for the past several months I have received no less than 5, and as many as 15 unsolicited resume submissions or emails from individuals hoping to become a resident manager. Some are looking for a second income, others to reduce their rental expenses and some are looking for a career change. When we did advertise for a position the volume was even more astounding. We had over 130 people show up for a two hour, cattle call interview session in March 2009. What has surprised me most was not the volume of unsolicited inquiries or the volume of those responding to active recruiting, but the few people who actually properly prepared for the interview. Less than 15% of those looking for work satisfied some very fundamental requirements. It was amazing that people, looking for work, submitted poorly written resumes full of grammatical errors and typos, did not wear business attire to the interview, did not submit resumes with their initial inquiry, blatantly disregarded the requests of the potential employer and passed the burden on to the employer to track them down. I will elaborate a little on each of these points in hopes that those interested in obtaining jobs incorporate these fundamental ideas into their job search.

1. Resumes must be proof read and should never be typed in all capital letters.
2. Always bring the resume to the interview even if you have sent it electronically or mailed it previously.
3. Always dress better than is required for the job for which you are applying. In 20 years I have never dismissed a prospect because they were over dressed but have dismissed many because they failed to wear proper attire.
4. Don't send emails or letters looking for work without including a current resume. When you do this, the message you are sending is that you were too lazy to include the information or there is something you want to hide. Neither is a good scenario for the applicant.
5. Follow instructions. If an employment ad says, "Please don't call the office", DON'T CALL THE OFFICE. Respect the potential employer’s wishes. Kidding yourself that you are somehow getting a leg up on the other applicants by doing so is foolish. You are showing the employer that you have trouble following simple instructions. If an advertisement says you are to submit a resume, do so with your first submission, also submit references, don't wait to be asked a second time.

You may wonder why anyone would anyone waste their time writing this article because the concepts are so basic. Certainly people looking for work know to follow these rules. That is what I thought until recently as well. Some where these rules did not get passed on or were forgotten. There are many other pointers that should go onto this list but I wanted to cover the basics first. While doing these things will not ensure that you get hired, not doing them will certainly ensure you will continue to look for employment as a resident manager or whatever job offer you are seeking.