One of the most dreaded parts of renting a place to live is moving. Tenants generally bank on the fact that they will not see their security deposit again. This does not necessarily have to be the case, and tenants as well as landlords should stay informed about their rights to know how much of their deposit they are entitled to receive back from the tenant’s perspective, and how much can be held back...
Challenging a variance in California can be very difficult. In the recent case of Eskeland v. City of Del Mar, 224 Cal. App. 4th 936 (4th Dist. 2014), a property owner purchased a home with a pre-existing non-conforming structure. His front lawn was shorter than 20 feet, violating the city's zoning ordinances. On top of that, he wanted to build a new house on the same, non-conforming footprint as the house he bought, because the...