The Sacramento Report

New State Legislation Introduced

by Monica Williamson

Megan’s Law
Existing law gives landlords a conflicting directive: they must protect tenants from a known risk, but they also are effectively prohibited from using the Megan’s Law database in order to make housing decisions. A rental property owner and manager are effectively prohibited from using the database to evaluate a tenancy or to warn other residents about the presence of a sex offender.

The California Apartment Association is sponsoring Assembly Bill 2603 (Parra, D-Hanford) to bring clarity to this confusing and perplexing dilemma. CAA will seek to clarify that sex offenders are not a protected class for discrimination purposes. Clarification in the law is intended to provide owners the ability to refuse to rent to, or terminate the tenancy of, a registered sex offender.

Domestic Violence
Although federal laws have addressed the rights of domestic violence victims living in rental housing, Senate Bill 1745 (Kuehl, D-Santa Monica) is the first type of legislation on this subject for the rental housing industry in California. SB 1745 would require a residential rental property owner to replace or reconfigure locks upon the request of a tenant who has obtained a valid protective order against a person who is also a tenant in the unit. It prohibits the property owner from providing a key to the person against whom the protective order was issued. SB 1745 would also allow a tenant who has been the victim of domestic violence to prematurely terminate a lease without penalty. At the same time, it would not allow the co-tenant against whom the protective order was issued to be released from the lease. Also the bill would add “victim of domestic violence” to the protected classifications under California employment and housing laws.

Jury Waivers
Senate Bill 1386 (Morrow, R-Oceanside) and Assembly Bill 2258 (Villines, R-Fresno) are also worthy of mention. These bills would provide that in a civil case, parties to a contract may voluntarily agree to not demand a jury trial in any controversy arising under the contract. These bills are a response to a California Supreme Court case decided in August 2005. In Grafton Partners v. Price Waterhouse Coopers, the court clearly stated that parties may not agree by contract to waive the right to a jury trial before an actual lawsuit has arisen. If successful, these bills would take precedence over the Grafton decision. In the rental housing context, requests for jury trials have been used as a means to delay eviction.

60-Day Notice
Assembly Bill 1169 (Torrico, D-Fremont) would reinstate the 60-day termination-notice requirement that expired after last year’s unsuccessful legislative attempt by proponents to make the law permanent. (The law had a built-in sunset date; it terminated on January 1, 2006.)

Under current law, rental property owners must provide a 30-day notice to a tenant in order to terminate a tenancy. Previously, under the law in effect between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2005, a tenant who lived at the property for one year or longer was entitled to a 60-day notice if the owner wished to terminate the tenancy. AB 1169 seeks to return to this standard. The CAA has consistently opposed attempts to lengthen the amount of time required to terminate a tenancy.

In addition to state legislation, proponents have also targeted local jurisdictions in an attempt to mandate a longer notice period for termination of a residential tenancy. Similar requirements have been attempted in the past and have been preempted by the courts, which have held that “the extensive scheduling provided by the Legislature reveals that the timing of landlord-tenant transactions is a matter of statewide concern not amenable to local variations” (Tri-County Apartment Assn. v. City of Mountain View). Efforts at the local level will likely taper off until the fate of AB 1169 is decided by the Legislature.

While the legislative session is still in its early stages, preliminary indications are that CAA will be busy this year on both offensive and defensive maneuvers. We will continue to keep you posted as additional legislation is introduced.

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. Monica Williamson is the senior vice president of public affairs for the CAA. Copyright � 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.