Sacramento Report
by Debra Carlton
Recently, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 115 (D-Torlakson), legislation that establishes the ground rules for cash payments from tenants to property owners for residential rent and security deposits.
Effective January 1, 2005—with some limited exceptions—rental property owners or their agents cannot demand or require cash from a tenant or a prospective tenant as the exclusive form of payment for rent or a security deposit.
The owner can, however, demand cash if the tenant has previously attempted to pay the owner with a check drawn on insufficient funds or has stopped payment on a check, draft or money order. A demand for cash as the exclusive form of payment, however, can be made only for a period of three months following the tenant's attempt to pay with a check on insufficient funds or following a tenant's instruction to stop payment. If the owner chooses to demand or require cash under these circumstances, the owner must provide the tenant with a written notice that states the check has bounced or has not been honored, and that the tenant must pay in cash for a limited period of time, not to exceed three months. The owner must attach a copy of the dishonored check. If the owner has not spelled out the terms of this requirement in the initial lease, then the owner must provide the tenant with a notice to change the terms of the tenancy and serve this change notice as required by existing law. A tenant cannot be asked by the owner to waive this law. Any waiver is void and unenforceable.
The introduction of this bill occurred after members of the legislature received reports that some apartment managers required tenants to pay in cash and then refused to provide the tenant with a receipt as required by state law, pocketing the cash and reporting to the owner that the rent had never been paid. Legislative members also received similar reports about some apartment managers who required tenants to pay a higher rent payment than the amount required by the owner and then pocketed the difference.
Postscript: California's
Paid Family Care Leave Now in Effect
As a reminder, and as reported in past issues of this
magazine, California's
new Paid Family Care Leave Law took effect July 1, 2004. In addition to existing
state and federal laws that provide coverage for unpaid family and medical
leave for childbirth or family illness, the new state law creates a family
temporary disability insurance (FTDI) program that provides up to six weeks
of benefits to workers who take time off. It expands disability insurance rights
and benefits for employees who need to provide care for any sick or injured
child, spouse, parent or domestic partner, or after the birth, adoption or
foster care placement of a new child. For additional information and specifics
about the new law, see the California Apartment Association's detailed
overview, available on CAA's Web site at www.caanet.org under the Legislative
Center's Questions and Answers section.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Debra Carlton is senior vice president of legislative affairs for the California Apartment Association and is CAA's chief lobbyist. Copyright © 2004 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.