Tenant Frequently Asked Questions
We are pleased that you have chosen a Seville Property Management (SPM)-Bay Area managed property for your new home. You have our assurance that every effort will be made to maintain friendly and efficient service from our staff.
You have been sent a “Welcome to Seville Property Management” email to the email address we were provide. The email contains a link for you to setup a login and password to your Tenant Portal.
Your Tenant Portal is to be used for online non-emergency maintenance requests, communication with the office, and monthly rent payments.
According to your lease, rent is due on the 1st day of each month and is considered late if not received by the 5th day of each month prior to 11:59pm. A Late Fee will be assessed if your rent is received after 12:00am on the 6th day of the month.
If you choose, your rent may be paid online via your Tenant Portal with your ACH (bank account) information. You will need your account number and routing number. There is a $1.50 convenience fee for this service.
If you prefer, you mail or deliver your rent to the following mailing address. Rent must be received (not mailed) on or before the 5th day of the month to avoid a late fee.
Seville Property Management
248 3rd Street, Box 462
Oakland, CA 94607
Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm or Saturday 10am to 1pm.
Rent payments made by mail or delivery must be in the form of a check, cashier check, or money orders. Cash is NOT accepted.
You should explore available options to obtain the money to pay your rent including borrowing the funds from friends, family, your bank, or whatever other resources you have. SPM is hired by the property owner to manage their property which includes enforcing the rental/lease agreement. Therefore, SPM has no authority to allow you to pay late. We will be forced to take steps to protect our client in the event the rent is late. This does not include allowing a payment to be paid late. You can expect that our office will be contacting you soon after the rent is late. This may include the service of a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. If the rent is paid late, you will incur late fees and service charges when a notice is served to your door.
Non-emergency maintenance requests must be submitted through your Tenant Portal. (Note: This is the only way to request maintenance at your property without being charged). Non-emergency maintenance requests are answered within 48 hours of receipt. Emergency maintenance requests must be submitted by telephone or text to (510)244-1289.
An emergency is defined as a maintenance problem that will cause a safety hazard to residents, or an imminent damage to property, so that fixing it cannot wait until the next business day. A few examples would be an overflowing toilet, a broken pipe, or sudden electrical short. If there is a gas leak, call the gas company in your area first, and if there is a power outage, call the electric company in your area first to see if there is a general power outage in the area (links to the gas and electric company websites can be found in our online directory). The operator on the hot line will determine if you have a true emergency, and if so, the operator will contact the SPM staff member on call, who will contact an emergency vendor.
SPM will give you a 24 hour Notice to Enter, unless you agree to allow Seville Property Management’s vendor to enter your home on an as-available basis. There is no requirement for you to be present, but you must provide access to your home, with proper notice, for purposes of repairs. There is no requirement for SPM to give you notice if there is a suspected emergency, such as a burst pipe.
We do not allow residents to perform repairs at the property they rent. You must contact us to request repairs and we will respond as quickly as possible. The only exception to this is to maintain the yard, but no deductions are allowed for this.
Please refer to your lease to confirm which utilities you are responsible for. Most Residents are responsible for electric, gas, and water. The Owner may be responsible for garbage services. Additional services, including cable, Wi-Fi, security alarm, etc. are the responsibility of the Resident.
If you decide to continue renting the property and a new lease is not signed, your agreement will renew on a month to month basis. If you have decided to move at the end of your lease, you must send us a 30-Day Notice to Vacate at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the lease. Do not move out of your property without a written notice as you will be responsible for rent for 30 days from the date you vacated.
Security deposits are not to be used instead of payment of rent, since the purpose of a security deposit is to pay for any damage caused by the tenant or their guests. If you do not pay any rent, including the last month you are in the unit, you will be subject to eviction proceedings. You are entitled to an accounting of your security deposit as well as the appropriate refund, within 21 days of your moving out of the unit.
This situation occurs frequently with roommates. SPM offers two options: 1) You can replace your current roommate with a new one: This new roommate will need to fill out a complete application, send in their most recent month of paystubs and 2 forms of ID to be screened. In the case they are approved a change is made. 2) If you want to keep the unit without adding another roommate: You will need to send in your most recent month of paystubs showing that you can afford that unit by yourself. If approved, then your roommate will be removed from the lease. In either case the security deposit must be handled between the roommates as SPM won’t release any deposit unless all roommates have vacated.
You can call a locksmith at your own expense or can call the SPM office during business hours to pick up a spare at an extra charge.
As a first step, if your neighbor is violating House Rules, we always suggest first talking to your neighbor in a friendly tone of voice. For instance, you may want to let him/her know that they may be unaware of the fact that it is late at night, their music or other noise can be heard in your unit. If you have already tried this, and the behavior continues, please inform Management, and SPM will contact the tenant. If the behavior continues even after SPM has made a direct request to your neighbor, please inform SPM, and further steps may need to be taken. If there is a loud party late at night and you feel you have no choice, please contact the Police Department.
Leave a courteous note for your neighbor letting them know. If the car is not moved within an allowable timeframe then call the SPM office during business hours for help.
- Make a police report;
- Call the office and report any damage to the property/unit so it can be fixed;
- Provide a copy of the police report to the office;
- Call your renters’ insurance policy and file your claim.
Although, most of our units are pet friendly your first step will be to call the office and find out if the property is pet friendly. There are also a list of restricted breeds of dogs due to insurance restrictions. The office will inform you right away if this is possible or not.You must complete a profile for your pet online at PetScreening.com before bringing in the pet. The office will let you know how much additional deposit is required.
Contact the SPM office immediately. The new occupant will need to fill out an application and provide 2 forms of ID along with the most recent month of pay stubs. Once approved, then they will be added to the lease.
If you have a 1-year lease, you are responsible for the duration of the lease. To terminate your lease early, inform the SPM office in writing. We will send a Notice of Early Termination form for you to complete, sign, and return. Once we receive the Notice, we’ll start advertising your unit to try to get a suitable replacement tenant. You will remain responsible for the rent of the unit until the date the new tenant moves in. You will also be responsible for the entire administrative fee incurred in the rental of the unit.