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Committee upholds rent reduction for tenant after persistent slow-draining sink
Summary
The RHC affirmed a hearing officer's decision that a landlord's failure to seek a permanent fix for a recurrent slow-draining sink amounted to a reduction in housing services; the committee left in place a 4.125% rent reduction and refund ordered to start March 11, 2024.
The Mountain View Rental Housing Committee on Jan. 23 unanimously affirmed a hearing officer's decision finding that a landlord's repeated failure to secure a permanent repair for an intermittently slow-draining bathroom sink constituted a reduction in maintenance and housing services.
The hearing officer ordered a 4.125% rent reduction, equal to $93.84 per month, effective March 11, 2024; a refund of $496.44 for the period March 11 through Aug. 20, 2024; and nullified a rent increase that the hearing officer found was imposed on Aug. 19, 2024 while the landlord was not in substantial compliance, leaving the lawful rent at $2,275.
At the hearing the tenant described repeated episodes in which the sink filled while the faucet ran and sometimes required turning the water off and waiting for drainage. The tenant presented videos and testimony that the issue recurred despite multiple maintenance visits and plumbers' visits. The landlord told the committee that the problem was intermittent, that multiple maintenance technicians and plumbers had inspected and snaked the drain, that a recommended acid wash could damage cast-iron sewer lines, and that a new sink and drain were ultimately installed on Oct. 17, 2024.
Staff recommended affirming the tentative appeal decision. The staff report emphasized that the hearing officer's decision was based not simply on the sink's intermittent behavior but on the landlord's March 11, 2024 statement that they would take no further action to address the issue; that failure to pursue a permanent solution supported a finding of lost housing services under the CSFRA; and that the hearing officer provided an adequate methodology for the rent reduction award.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about the record, the videos, and the standard for when the issue is considered resolved. Staff explained the standard in the hearing officer's decision: the sink must drain while the faucet is running 100% of the time to be considered resolved. Members noted the RHC's limited scope on appeal and that the committee must defer to the hearing officer unless the decision lacks substantial evidentiary support.
Member Robert Cox moved to accept the tentative appeal decision; the motion carried unanimously. Staff said parties may pursue a compliance hearing if they disagree later about whether repairs have permanently resolved the condition.
