Terminology
Blockbusting
The practice by realtors of frightening homeowners by telling them that people who are members of a particular race, religion, or other protected class are moving into their neighborhood and that they should expect a decline in the value of their property. The purpose of this scheme is to get homeowners to sell out at a deflated price. In alleged blockbusting cases, the courts have focused on what was heard, rather than what was said. Even in the absence of wrongful intent by the real estate salesman, or explicit reference to a protected class, liability will attach if the reasonable homeowner believes that the salesman is trading on his assumed fear of minorities to stimulate that homeowner to list his house for sale. [1]
In Basic Language:
For a residential lease, joint and several liability means that each tenant is jointly AND separately responsible for the entire rent amount and for any damages.
According to Nolo, here’s what it means for tenants:
One for all. You can demand the entire rent from just one cotenant. The rent-sharing understanding the tenants have with one another is immaterial to you. In other words, even if one tenant pays $400 for a tiny room and another roommate pays $800 for a master suite, each tenant is still liable for the full $1,200 rent, even if some of the tenants flake out.
All for one. Even innocent cotenants will suffer the consequences of one cotenant’s misdeeds. Unfair as it seems, the crazy party that one roommate threw can result in a termination notice directed to all tenants.
In Legal Terms:
“Joint and several liability” is where two or more persons are liable in respect of the same liability.
Under joint and several liability or all sums, a claimant may pursue an obligation against any one party as if they were jointly liable and it becomes the responsibility of the defendants to sort out their respective proportions of liability and payment.
This means that if the claimant pursues one defendant and receives payment, that defendant must then pursue the other obligors for a contribution to their share of the liability.
This obligation is normally spelled out in a lease clause, in leases which are signed by two or more tenants.
Lodger - in Private Residence
A lodger is a person who lives in a room in a house where the owner lives. The owner can enter all areas occupied by the lodger and has overall control of the house. Most lodgers have the same rights as tenants.
A lodger's status is considered a “Tenant at Will”. It requires that they be served a 30-Day Notice to Vacate. If they fail to vacate after the 30 days, the landlord would need to bring forth an unlawful detainer action. Anytime a person stays in the landlord's unit 30 days or longer, an eviction is required.
However, in the case of a single lodger in a house where there are no other lodgers, the owner can evict the lodger without using formal eviction proceedings. The owner can give the lodger written notice that the lodger cannot continue to use the room. The amount of notice must be the same as the number of days between rent payments (for example, 30 days). When the owner has given the lodger proper notice and the time has expired, the lodger has no further right to remain in the owner’s house and may be removed as a trespasser.
Steering
The process whereby builders, brokers, and rental property managers induce purchasers or lessees of real property to buy land or rent premises in neighborhoods composed of persons of the same race.
Steering is an unlawful practice and includes any words or actions by a real estate sales representative or Broker that are intended to influence the choice of a prospective buyer or tenant. Steering violates federal fair housing provisions that proscribe discrimination in the sale or rental of housing.