Sacramento Scene

A myriad of bills regarding landlord/tenant issues have hit the docket for this 2005 legislative session. In this article we will first outline only the Tier I issues to be addressed – these are the highest priority bills for our consideration.

Our new lobbying firm Norwood & Mattock will be working hand-in-hand with the landlord’s rights coalition in Sacramento to preserve our property rights. You will – during the course of this session – be asked to assist us the red alerts from time to time. By joining together, we can protect our industry – that’s what an association is all about!

Oppose: SB 51 (Kuehl) Current law requires a 60-day notice to terminate a residential tenancy if the tenant has resided in the dwelling for more than one year. The 60-day notice provision sunsets on January 1, 2006. The bill would delete the sunset. The Senate Judiciary approved the measure on a party line vote. The author claims, amongst other things: low income tenants have a difficult time to locate replacement units and certain working class cities like Long Beach have a severe shortage of rental housing and rents are continuing to rise. She nor the proponents believe good tenants are adversely affected by the bill.

Oppose: AB 1400 (Laird, and most of the members of the progressive caucus) The Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits landlords (and other businesses) from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition. The bill would further prohibit discrimination on the basis of familial status, marital status, or sexual orientation, thereby mirroring the provisions of California Fair Housing and Discrimination Act.

However, it would also state that the identification of particular bases of discrimination is ILLUSTRATIVE rather than restrictive. The result for landlords would be chaotic. Would felons, registered sex offenders, persons on limited income assert discriminatory actions? Would minimum income qualification requirements be subject to challenge? Would landlords be required to rent to Section 8 tenants?

Oppose unless amended: Methamphetamine Properties. Two bills have been introduced on this subject matter that is of great concern to the real estate community. The most important measure is AB 1078 (Keene). It is a comprehensive bill that would create a methamphetamine cleanup act. CAR has written over two hundred amendments and is working with the apartment industry and title company interests. Amendments include: assuring remediation, inspection and eviction are uniform state standards and are not left to the locals for interpretation or different requirements; properties can only be cited if they ACTUALLY contain specified hazardous chemicals; properties will not be permanently stigmatized by recording a notice of contamination on the property; requiring locals to immediately inspect and determine if the property is contaminated; locals must evict the occupants as opposed to landlords seeking the eviction; etc.

The other bill is SB 566 (Bowen) which would simply require the state to develop remediation standards (this is also addressed in the Keene bill).

Oppose: AB 781 (Leno) would amend the Ellis Act, a 20-year old law that permits landlords to legitimately go out of business (the law is used in all rent control and just cause communities). The bill would prohibit landlords from going out of business for the first five years of ownership.
On March 15th the Assembly member proposed the following: gut the bill and in its stead, absolutely permit a condominium conversion, provide for a right of first refusal to existing tenants, tenants that did not purchase their unit to be given a life tenancy, cities could not impose new zoning code requirements such as changing the parking space minimums nor could locals require building code upgrades etc.

The significant point is that remaining tenants would be given a life tenancy and property owners could not occupy their properties where the original tenant remains in the property. The bill would be heard in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee in several weeks.
Oppose unless amended: AB 399 (Montenez) Recycling in Multifamily Units. Amongst other things the bill would:

1) require the CA Integrated Waste Management Board to develop a model ordinance for recycling:
2) require cities and counties to provide information of recycling to owners of multifamily dwellings when the city or county issues a building permit;
3) require owners to notice existing tenants and new tenants about methods of recycling;
4) MOST IMPORTANTLY, require owners to arrange for recycling if they pull a “new permit” (this term is not defined) and
5) REQUIRE recyclers to meet with owners once a year to discuss solid waste reduction.

Oppose unless amended: AB 769 (Horton) As introduced it will require slumlords to attend a class how not to be a slumlord. The class may only be approved by the Dept. of Real Estate. In conversations with the sponsors they are will to have the classes approved by cities and counties. The author will propose the bill to be amended to require that all rental agreements contain the actual wording from several pertinent statutes about landlord and tenant law. This may include: security deposit law, retaliatory eviction, right to enter property, notices to tenants, anti harassment etc.
Watch: Megan’s Law. There are approximately 13 bills that have been introduced this year on this subject. Of great interest: AB 438 (Parra) will be amended to address: changing the disclosure notice to include the internet web site of the Attorney General; in some fashion or another rights of landlords to refuse tenancy to sex offenders, etc. AB 1323 (Vargas) is a comprehensive measure that would make changes to the disclosure notice in real estate sales and rental contracts, change the definition of the crime, require persons to pay a fee that make a public inquiry (this will be very controversial for business and public interest groups). Another bill, SB 43 (Battin) would add persons who have been convicted of spousal rape accomplished by use of force of violence to the list of violent sex offenders.

Watch: AB 1574 (Jones) Housing Discrimination. The bill is intended to be used to permit locals from adopting and enforcing the federal Fair Housing Act. Non uniform interpretation could result.
Oppose unless amended: SB 735 (Torlakson) This is another Western Center on Law and Poverty sponsored bill. It proposes to amend existing law concerning tenant organizers to state that if a landlord prevents or attempts to prevent an entry on to the property by a tenant organizer that has been invited by a tenant that he or she shall be liable for actual and punitive damages. It does not address: what if the organizer disturbs the quiet enjoyment of the property, how many times may an organizer be on the property per day per week per hours, organizers do not have to follow the rules of landlords.

The second provision of the bill is the worst: it provides that not later than five days after a change in ownership (not defined) that the owner shall notify all tenants of that fact and shall provide a copy of the deed to the statement to tenants that a change in ownership has occurred. This is not only impossible to meet, but is ludicrous on its face. Additionally, if there is a change in management, that the landlord must execute a notarized certificate of agency and must notice all tenants of the change in management and attach a copy of the notarized certificate to the written statement. Is there a problem that tenants are not being apprised of a change in ownership or management? Is this widespread?

Oppose: AB 304 (Hancock) Building Standards. This bill would permit all cities and counties to order reconstruction standards to all buildings that have existing wood-frame buildings where the ground floor portion of the structure has parking or other “similar open floor space that causes soft, weak or open-front wall lines”. The theory of the bill is to protect the buildings from falling down. This type of construction is particularly popular in older style and small unit buildings, possibly affecting the 8 to 10 unit buildings in Long Beach. Major engineering and reconstruction would result. In rent control communities, landlords may not be able to pass through the costs of construction.