Last spring, my husband was blind. He became blind mid-December
And remained so until a final eye operation in mid-August.

During the period of March through April 2006, our six month lease
Was up. Moving would have been impossible - two doctors had stated at that time
That I was close to a nervous breakdown. Also, I needed to keep Mark inside the unit
We were renting - as he was familiar with everything in the unit. (When you are blind, you need to know where things are, and that is something that you attain only after familiarity.)

Knowing this - our landlords inserted a clause into the lease stating that we would now pay our utilities. As the unit's utilities are not separate from the main house, with only a single meter for both households -the utilities are exorbitant -
PG & E adds a "overage" charge to the utility bill as it looks to them as we are only
One unit and are not willing to conserve.

We protested in writing - but it came down to our agreeing to this increase in monthly rent expenses or moving out.

Now we are behind in paying the utilities and they have served us a three day notice
Because of the utilities not being paid.


Is there any way that we can fight this?

I would look into this as a violation of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Check out their Home page:

ADA Home Page - ada.gov - Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm)

You should be able to find a local branch who will help you with this.

If you had a lease which included the utilities, they can not change the lease on you. Or force you to.

If you are on a month to month rental, they can change the rental agreement with a 30 days notice.

If the reason they changed it was because normally you were not home all day but now you are home all day using a lot more electric,
But I could see a increase not a complete change.

But in the end you did have a right to move, and could have moved.
You did agree to the terms.

If you had a lease which included the utilities, they can not change the lease on you. or force you to.

If you are on a month to month rental, they can change the rental agreement with a 30 days notice.

If the reason they changed it was because normally you were not home all day but now you are home all day using alot more electric,
But I could see a increase not a complete change.

But in the end you did have a right to move, and could have moved.
You did agree to the terms.


Okay - Yes we could have moved.

Just as a person in the desert about to die from lack of water could refuse a
Person who came along and offered water but only if the person who'd been lost in the desert agreed to sign a contract stating from then on they would agree to buy all their water DAILY from the water-holder for $ 6 an ounce.

No they did not hold a gun to my head, but at that point in time I would rather HAVE BEEN SHOT than had to pack up and move.

I was a basket case. A total basket case. My husband was blind. (He was not born blind but had to suddenly cope with being blind, without any of the skills a long term blind person would have.) There must be someone in the now long histroy of the ADA that had a similar thing happen, and maybe the law has been diecided in the handicapped person's favor.