News: Posts by Mike Nemeth
Filter
At the request of Mayor Darrell Steinberg, the Sacramento City Council is expected to discuss tenant protections, such as rent control and tenancy-termination restrictions, as well as ways to increase funding and streamline the permitting process for construction of affordable housing. CAA members are encouraged to attend the hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14.
In an editorial published by the Sacramento Bee, the mayor outlined a proposal he intends to present to the City Council. While lacking specifics, his general intent is to cap rent increases at 5 percent when vacancy rates are low; require owners to state… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Sacramento Valley
New warning signs now available
It’s time for California rental housing providers with 10 or more employees to prepare for a new Proposition 65 “safe harbor” warning regulation that takes effect Aug. 30.
Latest information available in this Industry Insight: Proposition 65 “Safe Harbor” Regulation Update
Under upcoming changes, a new, specific type of Proposition 65 sign will be required for property owners or management companies with 10 or more employees and an enclosed parking garage. A new Proposition 65 sign also will be required for such owners and managers with designated smoking areas on the property. Another change, not… Read More
Question: What is the first step to take if I want to evict a renter for non-payment of rent?
Answer: You should serve a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit for the rent. If they fail to comply, you can start an unlawful detainer action, but make sure not to accept rent after the action is commenced if you want the eviction to go forward.
Question: What are we allowed, by law, to charge a tenant as a security deposit?
Answer: You are allowed to charge up to twice the amount of the monthly rent as a security deposit,… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Although a rent control measure could be headed for the Nov. 6 ballot in Santa Rosa, a movement on the City Council is afoot to explore a rent control ordinance at City Hall as well.
On Tuesday, the council was scheduled to discuss a potential rent control ordinance, spurring members of the California Apartment Association to attend the meeting to voice their opposition.
The mayor ultimately pulled the item from the agenda, and it is unclear whether the council will revisit it.
Talk of a possible rent control ordinance from the City Council comes as election officials count and verify… Read More
Tagged: ElectionsNewsRent Control North Bay
Rent control proponents announced this week that they have suspended their signature-gathering campaign in Long Beach.
Housing Long Beach, the group that was collecting signatures, initially attempted to qualify its rent control measure for the Nov. 6 ballot, but it missed its June 1 deadline to submit more than the 27,000 signatures required to qualify.
The group then set its sights on submitting the signatures by the next deadline, July 30, in hopes of qualifying the measure for the March 2020 election. Although cutoff to submit signatures is still a couple weeks away, Housing Long Beach has pulled the plug… Read More
Wildfires have returned to California this summer, prompting a new set of emergency declarations from Gov. Jerry Brown and accompanying bans on rent increases exceeding 10 percent.
The most recent emergency declarations are for San Diego, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou and Lake counties.
Emergency declarations trigger the state’s anti-price gouging protections, which prohibit raising the price of many consumer goods and services, including that of rental housing, by more than 10 percent above pre-emergency levels after an emergency has been declared. The rent-gouging ban applies to existing tenants and at unit turnover.
The governor’s extension of prohibitions on rent-gouging related to… Read More
Tagged: Wildfires
Have you received an incorrect waste-hauling bill? Have there been missed trash collections at your property or business?
Chances are, if you live or work in the city of Los Angeles, you have experienced your own trash nightmare with the city’s waste-hauling franchise system, RecyclLA.
To help fix a wide range of problems with RecyclLA, the California Apartment Association has joined a new coalition, FixRecycLA, and is calling on L.A. rental housing providers to share their experiences with the trash-collection program.
In 2017, the city of Los Angeles launched the RecycLA program. The program divided the city into different zones… Read More
Tagged: News Los Angeles
Question: Can I give a rent increase anytime during the month or just on the first day of the month?
Answer: If you have a month-to-month tenancy with the tenant, you can serve a written 30-day notice (or 60-day notice if you are increasing the rent more than 10 percent within the last 12 months) to increase the rent at any time of the month.
Question: I have a tenant who caused a fire in an apartment which resulted in a substantial amount of damage. The fire department concluded the tenant was at fault. Can he be liable for my… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Time has run out for signature gatherers to qualify a rent control initiative for the November 2018 ballot in the city of Sacramento.
However, the Housing 4 Sacramento coalition, which includes the Alliance for Californians for Community Engagement and Service Employees International Union, continues to collect signatures with hopes of meeting the Sept. 4 deadline to qualify the charter amendment for the next general election, which comes in 2020.
“We suspect they just were unable to collect the required number of signatures by the deadline,” said CAA Senior Vice President Jim Lofgren. “Now let’s hope we can shift our focus… Read More
An initiative that would bring rent control to National City, a municipality in San Diego County, has qualified for November’s ballot.
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters confirmed this week that the National City Rent Control and Community Stabilization Ordinance (accessible here) will be officially slated for November’s ballot. The push for rent control in National City is being driven by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.
The California Apartment Association is fully engaged in a campaign to defeat the measure and has retained a campaign consultant with expertise specific to National City.
“Along with coalition partners, ranging… Read More