Asked by user in California. Answered by Enjuris Editors.
Hello, Rachel:
It’s hard to gauge what’s happening here without some additional details. For instance, you mentioned that you paid the motel $700, but it’s unclear to me if that was the total amount you owed to cover your room for the time you were in jail. If you were not paying for the room, the motel would have been under no obligation to maintain it for you. A motel guest doesn’t have a lot of legal protections, unfortunately. However, if you’ve occupied a motel room for 30 consecutive nights, you could be considered a tenant under California law.
While becoming a tenant would give you some legal rights, you would lose them if you left the motel during the time you were in jail.
Even as a tenant, you can be evicted if you don’t pay for your room. The motel would provide you written notice demanding payment within 14 days. If you don’t pay, you could be evicted. If you believe that your payment on the room is up to date and you’re being unlawfully prevented from entering, you could call a landlord/tenant attorney or your state bar association to find some low-cost resources for legal help.