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Can my employer use lie detector or not? what about the law?

I don't want to bleach the state land, thanks.

  • We recently moved to a new house and our washing machine hook-up does not drain properly. Instead of fixing it, our landlord keeps being pushy about how we should just drain it into the state land behind the house. We're in La Crescenta, CA. My husband and I have told our landlord multiple times now that draining onto the state land is unacceptable to us, but when we do this, the landlord gives us some vague platitude about fixing the drain sometime in the future, which has yet to materialize. He's had about a month to do this, and we've been in contact with him every four days or so, so we've heard this "sometime soon" excuse many times now and never thought it would go on this long. This is getting ridiculous, and I am irritated that we were told the house had working washer and dryer hook-ups when it essentially doesn't and the landlord has had a month to fix this and hasn't. We have gotten more forceful and unsympathetic when he gives us the vague reply, so we don't need help asserting ourselves. What I do want is some concrete information about the following so we can tell him very clearly what the laws are. I'm not sure he actually does know what the laws are, so that would be important -- we had to buy our own carbon monoxide detector even though the law says the landlord has to provide one -- but there's also the possibility that he does know the laws and hopes we don't. 1. What is the law in California about draining washer machine water onto state land? I would guess this is illegal, and we don't want to do it regardless, but if it were illegal it would be an easier conversation. And if he continues to insist we do something illegal, it might make it easier to break our lease if necessary. 2. What recourse do we have for being told that there are working washer and dryer hook-ups when the washer hook-up doesn't work? What rights do tenants have when a landlord lies (whether he considers it a lie or not) about these things? I am considering asking for money off our rent for the month (months? ugh) we're unable to do laundry but if this doesn't get fixed I don't want to pay the price we're paying to live here. We specifically wanted a place where we could use our washer and dryer and if I had known we couldn't, I wouldn't have even looked at this place. I don't think our landlord is intentionally being sleazy, he's just very old, losing his memory and health, and it seems to make him flaky and unable to manage his properties effectively. We're sympathetic to him as a person and don't think he's a bad guy, but he definitely does not seem to have accepted that he can't do things he used to do by himself. He will talk about his failing health so he's aware, sort of, but does not actually hire people to fix the problems and keeps trying to do stuff he says he used to do. It's also frankly starting to feel manipulative and unprofessional when we ask him to fix something and get a sob story instead of action. It doesn't seem reasonable for him to expect us to just go without laundry for months because he can't manage his properties anymore, but this is going to be a very awkward conversation and I don't want to get into anything contentious so early into the relationship with this guy. He's very nice, he just doesn't do his job and wants us to take shortcuts that we feel are absurd. If we could keep the conversation purely on "this is the law, comply with the law or we will take these legal actions" at least we'll get a resolution (either it's fixed, or we leave) and not a deflection. Thanks for any information!

  • Answer:

    I found this http://energycenter.org/index.php/technical-assistance/climate-change/climate-change-news/1701-new-california-gray-water-code-adopted which led me to http://www.hcd.ca.gov/codes/shl/2007CPC_Graywater_Complete_2-2-10.pdf. The relevant part in that pdf is under the 1603A.1 System Requirements. 1603A.1.1 Clothes Washer System heading/subheading where it says: 4. The graywater shall be contained on the site where it is generated. 5. Graywater shall be directed to and contained within an irrigation or disposal field. I don't know anything about legal terms or building codes or permits or anything of the such, so I might be off, but I feel like it's probably enough to show your landlord and say "Hey, look, what you're asking us to do seems illegal according to this."

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Your drain is clogged, possibly with roots. Call a plumber. Landlord is almost certainly on the hook for the cost of clearing the pipe. Expect from landlord's behavior now that other repairs will also require you to assert your rights, and decide whether you can put up with that, because a landlord who ignores plumbing isn't going to do maintenance on time, well, or to code.

zippy

of course zippy is right that the issue is the plumbing problem, but since this guy thinks he's offered you a viable solution, it might help to show him that "his way" is illegal and likely to result in fines or worse. If the solution is a $50 part, why not just buy it, install it and deduct from the rent? He's not going to sue you for that $50.

fingersandtoes

Here is a http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/lt-8.shtml. Generally speaking, anything that should/would normally work has to be maintained by the landlord. Fixtures, plumbing and electrical as well as all of the other obvious stuff like physical condition and general safety. Grey water is all of your water waste except for sewage, basically just your toilet. The thing is that unless all of your soaps, detergents etc. are made specifically to make your grey water reusable, say in yard or garden, then it's entirely not suitable at all and has to go through the sewer system. (Phosphates? It think that what I read years ago.) Any way google up renters rights and landlord responsibilities in CA and you'll be set. It's all there, even how to dispute without spending money for an attorney. I've been a landlord in rural CA areas and have utilized gray water systems and I agree with your thinking entirely. This isn't right and should be disputed.

snsranch

Whoever the local authority that deals with environmental regs is, will have information for you (but might result in fines etc if this is found out.) I'm thinking city/county authorities -- poke around the utility district that provides your water, you should find an authority that deals with hazardous materials and disposal etc. Might want to call anonymously before calling from your house.

fingersandtoes

I just happened to have this open in another tab: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf (PDF) It is a handy link to have around when renting in CA. There's a specific section on various remedies you can effect when the landlord won't have repairs done; the table of contents is hotlinked to the various sections of the document but not in a way I can link directly to here. There are several options detailed, one of which is for you to front the cost of the repair and then deduct it from your rent. And here's another potentially helpful link: http://www.fs.usda.gov/contactus/angeles/about-forest/contactus Presumably that's the land your washer is draining towards? Call the Rangers and ask them to point you in the right direction.

carsonb

You wouldn't be using h•e detergent in a non h•e washer, would you? This will often make the washer drain back up even though it should drain fine. If you are, try running a few loads with regular detergent and if should fix itself.

Yorrick

It sounds to me like your landlord basically has good intent, but is, at his age, in over his head. I would call him up or put it in writing and offer to call a plumber, get an estimate to fix and if he agrees, that you will pay the plumber and deduct from rent. You will become your own defacto landlord. If the house is worth it, it might be a better solution than constantly dealing with his guy.

JohnnyGunn

Your drain is clogged, possibly with roots. Call a plumber. Landlord is almost certainly on the hook for the cost of clearing the pipe. What leads you to suspect this is the problem? I doubt it's roots unless every other drain in the house is having problems. It could be clogged. But it could also be installed improperly. If this is an older house they might have added the washer drain at a later date. Which means the problem could be: no air vent behind the trap; improper slope on the drain line to the stack; improper fittings at corners that lead to build up; etc. Everything other than just "clogged" is a major issue. I suspect it's just a crappy line since the landlord seems so evasive about fixing it.

sbutler

Also the primary issue here isn't "is it OK to drain onto state land?" it is "the plumbing is broken / not up to code."

zippy

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