Sacramento Report
By Debra Carlton
Last month we reported some of the initial bills that were introduced at the State Capitol. The deadline has officially come and gone. Now the California Apartment Association (CAA) has identified over 250 bills that would, if signed into law, impact the rental-housing industry in one way or another. Below is an overview of the bills that would impact the day-to-day operations of rental housing. You can go to CAA’s Web site (caanet.org) for a complete list of all bills we have identified. The State Government Committee of CAA will take official positions on all bills identified.
SB 735 (D-Torlakson) Existing law provides that a person entering real property, during certain hours when invited by the occupant, to provide tenants’ rights information or to participate in specified associations is not civilly or criminally liable for trespass. This bill would provide that the property owner or the owner’s agent who prevents or attempts to prevent an entry is liable in a civil action for actual damages and punitive damages.
This bill would also require that not later than five days after ownership of a residential dwelling is transferred, the previous owner must notify tenants of the change in ownership and the name of the new owner. The bill would require the new owner, within 15 days of the transfer, to submit a written statement to each tenant with specified information and to attach a copy of the recorded deed of transfer. The bill would require an owner who engages a new agent to execute a notarized certificate of agency and to provide a copy of that certificate and other information to each tenant. The bill would provide that until an owner complies with these requirements, a tenant who appropriately pays rent pursuant to payment information that the tenant has already received is not liable for nonpayment of rent.
SB 540 (D-Kehoe) This bill would prevent a landlord from prohibiting a tenant from posting or displaying noncommercial signs, posters, flags or banners on or within any portion of premises that are leased by the tenant, unless the posting or display would violate a local, state or federal law. The bill would state that its provisions are declaratory of existing law.
SB 51 (D-Kuehl) Existing law, until January 1, 2006, requires that an owner of a residential dwelling give at least 60-days’ notice prior to termination of a tenancy if the tenant has lived in the dwelling for one year or longer. This bill would delete that date, thereby extending these provisions indefinitely.
AB 1528 (D-Jones) This bill attempts to overturn a court of appeal decision in the case Action Apartment Association v. City of Santa Monica. In this case, the court ruled in favor of property owners when it held that the portion of Santa Monica’s city ordinance that assessed penalties on a property owner for service of a Three-Day Notice to Quit was preempted by state law. Under state law, an owner who serves an eviction notice or files an unlawful detainer action is protected by the “litigation privilege,” which means that any communication in anticipation of litigation cannot serve as the basis for a lawsuit against the property owner. For example, if the owner makes claims or statements in the three-day notice that the tenant considers offensive or untrue, under the Santa Monica ordinance the tenant could sue the owner for malicious prosecution at the same time that the owner is moving forward with the unlawful detainer action. The court, in this case, held that state law requires the tenant to wait until he/she prevails in the unlawful detainer action before proceeding with a malicious prosecution action. This bill, like the invalidated local ordinance, would allow the tenant to sue the owner while the unlawful detainer is still in progress.
AB 438 (D-Parra) CAA is sponsoring AB 438, authored by Assemblymember Parra (D-Bakersfield). Currently the bill would require the Department of Justice to update the sex offender Web site (www.meganslaw.ca.gov) to correct the address of a registered sex offender within 30 days of receiving notice from a residential property owner that the registered sex offender no longer resides at the address listed on the Web site. Additional language is being crafted in consultation with interested parties that would provide property owners more flexibility and clear authority to take action against a sex offender in order to protect residents and the rental property owner.
AB 399 (D-Montanez) This bill would require an owner of a multifamily dwelling that requires the issuance of a new building permit, on and after July 1, 2006, to arrange for recycling services for residents. The bill would also require the recycler or the solid-waste enterprise that provides solid-waste services to a multifamily dwelling, by July 1, 2006, and biennially thereafter on or before July 1, to meet with the owner or manager in order to determine the solid-waste reduction, reuse and recycling programs that are appropriate for the multifamily complex. And last, the bill would require a solid-waste enterprise that provides solid-waste services to a multifamily dwelling, after July 1, 2006, to provide solid-waste reduction, reuse, and recycling programs that are appropriate for the multifamily dwelling if requested by the owner or manager.
AB 769 (D-Horton) This bill would, on and after July 1, 2006, authorize an enforcement agency to require an owner of residential rental property to successfully complete 15 hours of educational courses, seminars or workshops that are approved by the Department of Real Estate if he or she fails to comply within a reasonable time with the terms of an order or notice to repair or abate a building condition that is in violation of a housing or building standard to an extent that the health and safety of the residents or the public is substantially endangered.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of 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 © 2005 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.