News: Posts by Mike Nemeth

Filter

The Lafayette City Council on Monday will discuss a proposed emergency moratorium that would limit rent increases. Lafayette is pondering such a move after the new owner of an apartment building, faced with costly renovations, imposed major rent hikes. Residents, confronted with substantial rent increases for the first time in years, complained to the city. The moratorium could initially last 45 days and then could be extended twice, bringing the maximum possible duration of the emergency measure to two years, according to this memo from the city attorney. Besides the temporary moratorium, Lafayette is considering whether to pursue permanent rent… Read More

Tagged: Contra Costa

A bill intended to give renters the right to hang clotheslines outside their apartments is now far less onerous, thanks to amendments requested by the California Apartment Association. The revised AB 1448 by Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, D-San Fernando, advanced Tuesday from the Assembly Judiciary Committee by a 6 to 3 vote. It heads to the Committee on Housing and Community Development on May 13. Under revisions to the bill, the placement of clotheslines outside apartments is subject to landlord approval. The landlord, for example, could reject a tenant’s request to place a clothesline in an area that causes an eyesore.

Tagged: Los Angeles

A union-led push to change Proposition 13 through the ballot box is in for a fight from the business community. On Thursday morning, a group called Make It Fair launched a campaign to put changes to Prop. 13 before voters in 2016, the Sacramento Bee reported. Resistance, however, is already mounting against any push for a split roll or stripping away of tax protections. “California’s small businesses struggle every day to overcome our state’s massive tax burden and keep their doors open,” Rex Hime, president of the California Business Properties Association, said in this Bee article. “By continuing to raise… Read More

Tagged:

Enjoying an Old World Wines theme, more than 150 attendees of this year’s CORK & SAND event got to sip wine from Italy, France and Spain while gazing at the Pacific Ocean on a beautiful evening in Santa Monica. It all happened April 16 at the Annenberg Beach House, where the California Apartment Association held  its annual fundraiser for CAA LA’s Political Action Committee. The committee helps CAA elect business-friendly officials who understand the importance of the rental housing industry to L.A.’s economy. The fundraiser also provides CAA the financial capacity to defend the apartment business against unnecessary and onerous… Read More

Tagged: Los Angeles

Stephen Pahl and Michael Pierce helped audience members bone up on legal issues surrounding pets and assistive animals during their presentation at April’s CAA Connect – Northern California Rental Housing Conference & Expo. Click below to listen to highlights. Audio story by Mike Nemeth Get in-depth info Want detailed information on assistive animals in rental housing? Our Knowledge Base, an exclusive resource for members, has the following documents: Assistive Animals in Rental Housing: Questions and Answers Issue Insight: Pets & Companion Animals White Paper: Pets & Companion Animals: When is a Pet not a Pet? – Accommodating Persons with Disabilities

Tagged:

Question: I rented an apartment to a young man; he signed a one-year lease and paid the deposit and first month’s rent in full. He moved in today, and less than 24 hours later, he is requesting to get out of his lease because another apartment that he prefers became available. Is there any kind of buyer’s remorse on signing a lease? Answer: Your tenant is obligated to pay rent through the lease term or until the time the premises are relet, whichever occurs first. There is no buyer’s remorse. Question: In one of my books on landlord/tenant law, it… Read More

Tagged:

Legislation that would curtail a landlord’s ability to check a prospective tenant’s criminal background before signing a lease gained momentum this week in the California Assembly. AB 369 by Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, now heads to the Appropriations Committee after passing the Committee of Housing and Community Development on Wednesday by a 4-to-2 vote. The author has cited four goals with AB 396: To reduce recidivism rates by providing stable housing. To keep families together. To prevent homelessness. To prohibit unfair discrimination that is based upon reasons that have no bearing on the success of a tenancy. The bill… Read More

Tagged: Los Angeles

These days, owning and managing rental housing in California is more complicated than ever. Turn to “Managing Rental Housing” for help. This reference book, released this spring in its ninth edition, serves as the cornerstone of the California Apartment Association’s educational product lineup. The book provides step-by-step guidance, sample legal forms and precedent-setting court cases. You’ll want to keep this go-to guide for managing your investment on your office desk or bookshelf. Beneficial for both novices and experienced professionals in property management, “Managing Rental Housing” provides the practical information needed to operate your rental property efficiently, ethically and profitably in… Read More

Tagged:

Updated June 9, 2015 John Burnard was elected to Riverside’s City Council’s Ward 7 seat in last Tuesday’s mail-in-ballot election. CAA Greater Inland Empire supported Burnard, who received more than 81 percent of the total vote. He’s a business owner who understands the need for multifamily housing downtown and will support the rental housing industry’s effort to provide it for the city. In addition, all three incumbents up for re-election, including Mike Gardner (Ward 1), Mike Soubirous (Ward 3) and Chris Mac Arthur (Ward 5) also won. Gardner, who is supported by CAA, was the only incumbent to face a… Read More

Tagged: Greater Inland Empire

Question: There was a grease fire in one of our rental units due to a tenant’s lack of knowledge of cooking.  What is my obligation to provide alternate accommodations for this tenant? Am I required to keep her as a renter? Answer: You are not obligated to put the tenant up. You may have a right to evict her based upon waste of the unit, which requires a three-day notice to quit. Question: The tenants living in one of our apartments signed a one-year lease which states that there will be no pets allowed. They now have two cats in… Read More

Tagged: