CACI No. VF-4301. Termination Due to Failure to Pay Rent - Affirmative Defense - Breach of Implied Warranty of Habitability
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2023 edition)
Download PDF
VF-4301.Termination Due to Failure to Pay Rent - Affirmative
Defense - Breach of Implied Warranty of Habitability
We answer the questions submitted to us as follows:
1. Did [name of defendant] fail to make at least one rental payment
to [name of plaintiff] as required by the [lease/rental agreement/
sublease]?
1. Yes No
1. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then answer question 2. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
2. Did [name of plaintiff] properly give [name of defendant] a written
notice to pay the rent or vacate the property at least three days
before [date on which action was filed]?
2. Yes No
2. If your answer to question 2 is yes, then answer question 3. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
3. Was the amount due stated in the notice no more than the
amount that [name of defendant] actually owed under the [lease/
rental agreement/sublease]?
3. Yes No
3. If your answer to question 3 is yes, then answer question 4. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
4. Did [name of defendant] pay [or attempt to pay] the amount stated
in the notice within three days after service or receipt of the
notice?
4. Yes No
4. If your answer to question 4 is no, then answer questions 5 and 6.
If you answered yes, stop here, answer no further questions, and
have the presiding juror sign and date this form.
5. What is the amount of unpaid rent that [name of defendant] would
owe to [name of plaintiff] if the property was in a habitable
condition?
5. Include all amounts owed and unpaid from [due date of first
missed payment] through [date], the date of expiration of the
1204
three-day notice.
Total Unpaid Rent: $ ]
6. Did the [name of plaintiff] fail to provide substantially habitable
premises during the time period for which [name of defendant]
failed to pay the rent that was due?
6. Yes No
6. If your answer to question 6 is yes, then answer question 7. If you
answered no, answer question 8.
7. Did [name of defendant] contribute substantially to the
uninhabitable conditions or interfere substantially with [name of
plaintiff]’s ability to make necessary repairs?
7. Yes No
7. If your answer to question 7 is yes, then answer question 8. If you
answered no, [stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form. The court will
determine the amount by which the rent due found in question 5
should be reduced because of uninhabitable conditions/skip
question 8 and answer question 9].
8. What are [name of plaintiff]’s damages?
8. Determine the reasonable rental value of the property from
[date], the date of expiration of the three-day notice, through
[date of verdict].
Total Damages: $
[9. What is the amount of reduced monthly rent that represents the
reasonable rental value of the property in its uninhabitable
condition?
$ ]
Signed: Presiding Juror
Dated:
After [this verdict form has/all verdict forms have] been signed, notify
the [clerk/bailiff/court attendant] that you are ready to present your
verdict in the courtroom.
UNLAWFUL DETAINER VF-4301
1205
New December 2007; Revised December 2010, June 2013, December 2013,
November 2019
Directions for Use
This verdict form is based on CACI No. 4302, Termination for Failure to Pay
Rent - Essential Factual Elements, and CACI No. 4320, Affırmative
Defense - Implied Warranty of Habitability. See also the Directions for Use for those
instructions.
The special verdict forms in this section are intended only as models. They may
need to be modified depending on the facts of the case.
If the existence of a landlord-tenant relationship is at issue, additional preliminary
questions will be needed based on elements 1 and 2 of CACI No. 4302. Questions 2
and 3 incorporate the notice requirements set forth in CACI No. 4303, Suffıciency
and Service of Notice of Termination for Failure to Pay Rent.
In question 4, include “or attempt to pay” if there is evidence that the landlord
refused to accept the rent when tendered. (See CACI No. 4327, Affırmative
Defense - Landlord’s Refusal of Rent.)
If the day of receipt is at issue and any of the three days after the alleged date of
receipt falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or judicial holiday, modify questions 2 and 4 to
allow the tenant three days excluding weekends and judicial holidays to cure the
default.
Code of Civil Procedure section 1174.2(a) provides that the court is to determine the
reasonable rental value of the premises in its untenantable state to the date of trial.
But whether this determination is to be made by the court or the jury is unsettled.
Section 1174.2(d) provides that nothing in this section is intended to deny the tenant
the right to a trial by jury. Subsection (d) could be interpreted to mean that in a jury
trial, wherever the statute says “the court,” it should be read as “the jury.” But the
statute also provides that the court may order the landlord to make repairs and
correct the conditions of uninhabitability, which would not be a jury function. If the
court decides to present this issue to the jury, select “skip question 8 and answer
question 9” in the transitional language following question 7, and include question
9.
As noted above, if a breach of habitability is found, the court may order the
landlord to make repairs and correct the conditions that constitute a breach. (Code
Civ. Proc., § 1174.2(a).) The court might include a special interrogatory asking the
jury to identify those conditions that it found to create uninhabitability and the dates
on which the conditions existed.
VF-4301 UNLAWFUL DETAINER
1206
© Judicial Council of California.
