You think it's fair that you don't have to pay a dollar in rent for a year?
For almost two years, I had a broken window.
These are some of the photographs.
He was just taking pictures without my permission.
I have rats inside of my apartment.
I don't know how they found their way in with the mess I just saw.
[announcer] Today on Tribunal Justice.
[opening theme music plays]
This case was filed in San Diego, California.
[Byrd] Your Honor, this is case number 1030 on the calendar
in the matter of Minnich versus Reyes.
Parties have been sworn in. You may be seated.
-[DiMango] Thank you, Byrd. -Mm-hmm.
Mr. Minnich, you are the-- or were-- the landlord to the defendant, Mr. Reyes.
And this is about a lawsuit involving your request
for $7000 for past due rent and damages you say he caused.
-Correct. -And the story unfolds as follows.
You purchased this apartment building,
and you inherited the defendant, basically, as a tenant.
That was back in July 2020, right?
-During COVID. -Yes.
You say that he paid late
and he refused to pay his late fees and further that he was a hoarder.
And just to show something about that,
these are some of the photographs that you took of his apartment,
if I'm not mistaken, when the case was filed.
Would that be correct?
-Correct. -So, this is your apartment.
Would that be correct?
Yes, that's correct.
Okay, so you're looking for $5,970 for five months of back rent--
That would be from April through August and a late fee of $100
and the money for the repairs and the cleanup.
-Yes. -What you say, sir,
is you were living in this rent-controlled apartment
for five years before he came in, and you had no problems.
And, then, upon his entry, he raised your rent
and that he let residents from a nearby shelter or recovery unit
walk along the property which interfered with your peaceful enjoyment of your home.
He didn't make repairs in a timely fashion and that he would intimidate you,
violating all of the tenants' rules that he possibly could,
so, therefore, you owe nothing as a tenant.
-Correct. -So, that was your apartment, correct?
-Yes. -And you were not paying rent.
Would that be correct?
-Yes. -And did you apply for COVID Relief, sir?
Yes, I was--
When did you apply for COVID relief?
I applied for a COVID relief August of 2021.
I was recommended.
COVID relief through rental assistance through Travis.
Travis recommended me when I was hit with COVID.
Because I have four notices in my evidence wherein they sent you letters
saying I'm sorry, we cannot accept this it's an incomplete application.
Four times.
Now, sir, you had to get involved in that, did you not?
-I did. -In order to get the rent?
So, tell us what happened.
Tell us how this all came about?
Well, like you said, he kept getting denied.
And so I was trying to follow up with his caseworker
and figure out what the problem was.
And each time, he was not returning the requested documents.
Do you agree that you were not paying
any rent from September '21 until, basically, now?
Yes, that's correct, because it takes six to eight weeks
for rental assistance to approve the application.
And we did try and we worked together.
And even when I gave him my pass code information,
Travis tried to help me and they kept on denying it
and we kept on appealing it over and over to get approved.
So, Mr. Minnich, please tell us what you did to remedy this.
Getting involved, what was necessary?
They just wanted certain documents.
He was also applying for assistance to cover his SDG&E bills,
his gas electric bills, and they needed proof
that his past due balance didn't occur before a certain date
because they were only covering up to a certain date.
He didn't turn that in, so I had him give that to me
so I could forward it to them.
They wanted a letter from him saying that he wasn't working.
So, he hand-wrote a letter.
They wanted another letter stating something else,
so, I had him hand-write a letter.
It was information that he was privy to,
information that he had that was necessary.
It wasn't that he had to help bring you in
because you needed to give them information.
I had many tenants apply for it, and it was a very easy, straightforward process.
Now, part of his defense, also, that he wasn't paying rent
was really that when you let-- kind of like, you know,
you came in gangbusters and raised the rent.
-No. -Now, I have some information here
that you could increase the rent,
and, in fact, you raised it within the permissible amount.
So, the fact that he asked for an increase shouldn't be viewed by you
as a reason not to continue to pay rent.
Another reason, you contend, that you couldn't pay rent--
What about this recovery home that was near there
that you were permitting people to walk on the property?
What is that about?
My property isn't fenced in any way.
There's two driveways that go from the alley
So it's public-- public ingress and regress-- egress.
Yeah, and I've never heard anything from him
or any other tenant with concerns about--
Sir, what floor do you live on in the building?
I live in the first floor, and I did talk to the people
that were in charge of that recovery program.
I'm getting mad-dogged by the people.
They're getting out of jail.
They live in the recovery program, telling me they get permission from Travis
for them to cut through our apartment complex,
which is private.
We all pay our rent there.
The bottom line is, a landlord can't necessarily keep people
from walking off public sidewalks or areas that are not limited.
So, that's another thing that I think you're expecting him
to behave in a way that's not in his control,
and one of the other issues that you had here
was that he didn't believe that you applied for COVID.
Well, he didn't believe that you properly apply because you didn't properly apply.
He had to actually come around and do that.
So, he really hasn't done anything
in accordance with your reasons for you're not paying rent.
And you admit, sir, correct, that you did not pay rent April of '22,
May, June, July and August, correct?
Yes, ma'am, but my knowledge is with rental assistance,
you cannot raise the rent during rental assistance.
During the pandemic, he raised the rent during rent--
-No, he didn't. That was-- -He never fixed my window.
For almost two years, I had a broken window.
And I was very paranoid--
Did you not fix his window?
-I did not. -[DiMango] Why not?
Because he broke it.
I don't know if necessarily that gives you the reason that, you know, you could--
He told me that kids broke it, and I go out there
and all the glasses on the outside of the property on the ground.
So that means you broke it from the inside out.
Yes.
Because if I broke a window, it would go this way, not towards me.
And I would have to fix something through and then pull it at myself.
Why would I do that?
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
If you had this overwhelming smell of mildew in your apartment,
what you would need to actually do
is to get the stuff out of your apartment so that it could be addressed.
You couldn't even get yourself to do the paperwork
that would allow the rent to get paid so that you wouldn't get evicted.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Travis Minnich is suing his tenant, Jason Reyes,
for rent and apartment damage.
Jason claims Travis is a slumlord and refused to fix anything in the apartment.
I don't know if you have a right to kind of leave him
with a broken window, even though he caused the damage.
Travis just fixed it recently because he raised the rent by $800
more expensive than what I was paying.
-He has the right-- -It's the market rate.
Are you a month-to-month tenant?
-Month-to-month tenant. -Yeah, so did he give you notice
that he was going to raise it?
-Yes. -So, then, as long as he's within
the legal bounds of raising it, you had the option to leave
if you don't want to stay,
-Oh, yes. -But you stayed.
But you can't not pay rent.
Yes, and him paying for the trash once a month.
-[DiMango] That's your home. -[Reyes] Ridiculous.
-[Minnich] I'd like to speak to-- -[Reyes] I have rats--
-[DiMango] Just a second. -I have rats inside of my apartment.
I don't know how they found their way in with the mess I just saw.
And if they got in, I'm not sure they could find their way out.
-Judge Levy. -He came unannounced
and violated the 24-hour rule.
of landlords showing up to the property,
so, don't try and make up anything, Travis, please.
Okay, guys, Judge Levy's going to handle this.
Mr. Reyes, these are some of the photographs.
I just want to make sure, that the plaintiff provided--
They're in Plaintiffs Eight.
And they're photographs of your apartment from August of 2020.
Is that your living room?
That's the living room that he showed up unannounced.
I get that. And then in 2022, there were additional photographs
that were taken provided by the plaintiff. I understand what you're saying,
that he came in without 24-hours notice,
but I'm just trying to get an idea
of how you kept the apartment between 2020 and 2022.
So, this is again-- Is that the kitchen?
[Reyes] That is the kitchen, Your Honor.
Okay. And, again, 2022 and the same area in 2020.
I would have been better prepared to organize it,
but to my knowledge, he came over every so often unannounced.
That's okay, and I know that that was super-irritating for you.
I get that. What's that a photograph of?
That's the rat that I found that I had to trap myself
because Travis didn't want to do nothing about the window or the rat problem.
-Now, I grew up in the Bronx. -[Reyes] Mm-hmm.
-And, so, this isn't unusual to me. -All right.
And what I can tell you from my experience...
is that guy has been there a while.
-I'm not too sure about that. -Really?
Because that's the only one I found in five years.
-Okay. -That's the only mouse
I ever had a problem with.
This photograph was taken by whom?
-By me. -By you.
-Yeah. -Okay.
-I was never told of any... -Yeah.
[Levy] No, I get it. I get it.
I had to floods, and I think that's what caused
the mice to come into the apartment.
And this photograph here, Is this another one that you provided, Mr. Reyes?
-I provided that picture. -And what is that a picture of?
This is outside by the trash cans.
-I'd like to speak to that. -Yeah, please speak to that.
These are the dumpsters.
Republic Services, the trash collection, went on strike back in December...
-Okay. -...and weren't picking up for months.
Everybody's trash in San Diego looked like that.
This is another one that--
I picked all of that at myself and carted it to the dump myself for weeks
while Republic Services was on strike.
Mr. Reyes, do you have any reason to controvert
what Mr. Minnich just said about him personally removing that garbage
because the company was on strike and wasn't picking up garbage?
He is telling the truth. The company was on strike.
But the trash was never picked up.
I have neighbors that we all try to sweep and help
and pick up the trash every so often
because we don't have a maintenance person.
We don't have a Terminix person.
He does all the maintenance work, his self, which is not a very good job.
-[Levy] Now-- -And he doesn't hire any plumbers.
Nothing. He does all the work himself.
-So, we can agree-- -Going--
So, why don't we agree on this, in your mind's eye,
he's not the greatest landlord.
-Yes, -And can we also agree
that in his mind's eye, you're not the greatest tenant?
-Yes. -In your answer to his complaint,
you said that one of the reasons
why you didn't feel it was necessary for you to pay rent
was because there was some leaks and some floods.
You found a rat in your apartment-- and that was a rat in the apartment
with those photographs that we had shown each other
from 2020 and 2022, right?
And there was one rat in your apartment, which I know is disgusting.
But with all that other clutter in there, there was one rat that you found, right?
One rat that I found. It wasn't always like that.
-He came-- -I get it.
We don't know when he was there.
We don't know how long he was there, but it's just one,
and that you said that, "I had a smell of mildew in my apartment
from that day in April," until you moved out in August of 2022.
Now, if you wanted your landlord, the plaintiff here, to address the mildew
and to fix the problem with the mildew, that would have required you
to remove everything from your apartment.
Did you ever make that offer to him?
I mentioned to him that, um--
Did you ever make the offer to him?
You didn't expect him to move all that clutter out, did you?
No, of course I would have moved it.
But he never offered to even get the carpet cleaning work.
I'm not saying that he did, he didn't.
All I'm asking is that if you had this overwhelming smell
of mildew in your apartment, you knew that in order to address that
you would need, you would need to actually do something.
And what you would need to actually do is to get the stuff out of your apartment
-so that it could be addressed, right? -Yes.
And you couldn't even get yourself to do the paperwork
that would allow the rent to get paid so that you wouldn't get evicted. Right?
To a certain extent.
I do appreciate your honesty, and I have no further questions.
-Judge Acker. -Thank you, Judge.
Mr. Reyes, what do you do for a living?
I was moving furniture until the season got slow on me,
and until I caught the COVID. It's been an up-and-down situation for me.
Have you digested the fact that you went for about a year
without paying any rent at all.
-Yes-- -And I-- just, having digested that fact,
do you believe that the evidence that you've brought into court today
is sufficient in good faith and good conscience to say,
"You know what?
Maybe on these days my apartment was really messy,
but he came in when he had no business. And here is a picture of this rodent."
And then in May, I believe, Mr. Minnich,
when the eviction moratorium expired in May,
and by May you hadn't paid and he couldn't evict you.
But then there was a moment when he could have
and you still lived how many months in the property, sir?
Five. May through--
Five months after the rental moratorium expires.
And it's still your position, sir, that you don't believe you owe dollar in rent.
If you had a broken window that anybody could break in,
see that he doesn't want to fix for almost two years
and you can get to floods, and he's out of town for four days
and he doesn't want to come and fix the situation until he comes back,
-four days, doesn't offer-- -With respect to the window,
when Judge DiMango asked the plaintiff about that,
she pointed to evidence that indicated that
the window had been broken from the inside
and that was actually the plaintiff's testimony.
Did you break that window?
-Why would I break a window where I live? -I have no idea.
-I don't know you. The glass is outside. -It doesn't make any sense.
I don't need to know you. I know how physics works.
[theme music playing]
[announcer] Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
Now, if we say that we're going to penalize him,
to some extent, for that broken window,
you think that window costs $7,000?
[theme music playing]
Now, if you break something from the inside, the glass goes that way.
If you break it from the outside, the glass comes inside.
So, if there's glass outside of your window,
then the reasonable inference to be drawn is that you broke it.
Now, again, I don't know if that lets him off the hook,
but, so, let's say you had a broken window--
-The window was broken for two years? -Almost two years.
-You put up some Plexiglass? -Plexiglass and tape.
-Why don't you just fix it? -I guess I could have.
I didn't think it was fair, especially for someone who hadn't paid rent in a year.
That was my stance.
What did you do before you bought this building?
-Did you have other properties? -Mm-hmm.
Were you compromised financially in any way by not receiving any rent
from the defendant in a year
-or you made it okay? -I made it okay.
Okay, good. Thanks for your candor.
I still don't think that it's fair.
Even if somebody's not broke and starving,
they're entitled to get their rent money.
Now, if we say that we're going to penalize him,
to some extent, for that broken window,
you think that window costs $7,000?
-No. -Is that window worth
a year's worth of rent?
No, actually, rental assistance helped with seven months of it.
So, it wasn't a whole year.
And, Your Honor, that's why I gave my 30-day notice on July 31
because I felt like I couldn't come up with the money.
I told him a couple, um, dishonest things
that I was going to get some money in the mail
just because he kept on harassing me and belittling me.
Kept on showing up, saying that was such a hoarder.
Well, was he belittling you, or was he concerned
about the condition of the property and the fact
that he hadn't been paid for five months?
Do you think that that broken window
is worth five months of rent in good conscience?
No, but renters still have their rights.
-They sure do. -I still have my rights as a renter.
I shouldn't be harassed and made fun of that
I got too many things in my apartment, and I'm not that organized, you know?
Well, so, it was your feeling that because he was making
these unannounced visits, and making judgments
about how you kept the property that you felt belittled.
Mr. Minnich, would you like to respond to that?
I have never once showed up unannounced.
When I took the pictures, and he's saying I showed up unannounced,
I gave him 24-hours notice.
I have that in a text. He knows that.
I think that what we have to think about, Mr. Reyes,
is whether or not any of the conduct that you allege against this plaintiff,
if true, would justify relieving you from your rental obligation.
And, candidly, I'm not sure that I see that,
nor am I sure I see any evidence of belittling.
I see a plaintiff who wanted his rent money
and was disappointed at not getting it.
-I have nothing further, Judge. -[DiMango] I just have one question.
You read the lease, correct, Mr. Reyes?
Did you read the lease when you signed it?
Yes, Your Honor.
So, then you're familiar with paragraph twelve.
Paragraph twelve in the lease says, "Damages and destruction.
All persons signing this Agreement, as Residents are liable for all damages
to the Premises caused by the Resident, their occupants and their guests."
So, with regard to the window, if we find it credible
that the glass that fell outside the window
was caused by someone, something
or maybe the rat trying to run away to get out the window,
then maybe we can implore this paragraph twelve
and say that you would be responsible and you knew it when you signed the lease.
It was broken from the outside. Your Honor.
Unless anybody has got anything further, we're going to retire to deliberate.
-Thank you, all. -[Byrd] Court is in recess.
Parties are excused.
Okay. Well, I don't think the defendant presented any evidence
which would excuse his failure to pay five months rent.
After the COVID relief ended, any damages to the property,
the broken window, I definitely believe was caused by the defendant,
or someone within his apartment.
And maybe if somebody was in there,
he couldn't find them, so, he didn't know they were
in the apartment trying to get out.
Um, as to the $175
for the carpet cleaning and any other cleaning,
I mean, I think it was very reasonable
for him to be requesting the money that he did,
which would have been a hundred seventy five plus the broken window.
He clearly owes the rent, so I think the plaintiff
is clearly entitled to the money he's asking for, all $7,000.
You know, what struck me
is that we had this worldwide pandemic and people suffered
and tenants in particular suffered.
They lost their jobs. they were unable to pay their rent.
But the government stepped in, and the government provided those tenants
-with huge safety nets... -Mm-hmm.
...that would have allowed them
to continue paying rent, even though the plaintiff today
was quite honest and said that he didn't suffer anything financially,
and I took that to mean he didn't have a mortgage,
that he was going to be unable to pay for
as a result of the defendant's failure to pay his rent.
So, putting that aside, though,
that you have this huge safety net that the government offers
and the defendant couldn't find the time to just fill out the paperwork.
We have a plaintiff, who testified, credibly,
that he filled it out four times.
He was assisting. He was going out of his way
to help the defendant fill out that paperwork,
but when you can't even take the time to fill out a piece of paper
and send it back, and say to yourself, you know, it's not my problem.
Well, as he now knows, it is your problem.
He had himself a decent setup. Right? He's in this place for five years.
No one's really bugging him about the inside of his apartment.
He's got these little things going on with the landlord,
but for the most part, he's living his life.
He is on notice
that the landlord would be just as happy if he weren't there.
The writing is on the wall and that writing is, "Hey, if you're out,
I'm going to be able to rent this at market rate."
You should at least fill out the paperwork, and he didn't do it.
I-- I just don't have sympathy for him
and the plaintiff is entitled to his money.
I think that the defendant really wants this court case
to solve a bunch of problems that it can't.
He doesn't like the fact that his rent goes up, but that's what happens.
Landlords make investments in buildings.
They're entitled to raise rent. They're entitled to make a profit.
The defendant, like many people, fell on hard times.
He couldn't pay the rent
and didn't do what he needed to to get the extra help that he needed.
It's a sad case, but the plaintiff just did nothing wrong
and I think he's entitled to every dime.
So, yes, we'll give him everything he's asking for.
-Great. -Thank you.
[Byrd] Court is back in session.
Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
-[DiMango] Thank you, Byrd. -You're welcome, Judge.
Nobody here is a bad person.
Nobody here has done something intentionally to hurt somebody else.
But the bottom line is here
there is a right and wrong, and there is a just result
that the evidence speaks to and screams out for.
And, sir, we unanimously believe that that evidence screams out in your favor.
You have done nothing here to warrant nonpayment of rent.
And you are entitled to your rent.
And with regard to the way you were living,
it's true he let you live in the way you wanted to live.
And I kind of think in looking at those photographs,
that even if he gave you 124-hours notice,
you were not going to be able to clean up that mess.
So, we found, sir, that there was nothing you did.
that would not warrant you getting every penny that you've asked for.
So, the verdict is in your favor, unanimously, for $7,000.
-[Minnich] Thank you. -You're welcome.
[Byrd] This case is concluded.
Parties are excused. You may step out.
[theme music playing]
We're probably both right and wrong in certain ways.
I think justice was served.
I'm glad-- I'm glad it's done and behind us.
Yeah, it could have been settled outside the courtroom.
I just felt kind of uncomfortable with some of the situations
on a broken window and then the rat are found inside of the apartment.
I always try to work with my tenants as much as possible.
I learned a lot from this situation,
how to make myself a little bit more organized.
He just wanted to lie and string me along for as long as he can,
and when the excuses ran out, he was trying to ditch out.
[announcer] Does someone owe you money?
Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
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[end theme music plays]