News: Posts by Mike Nemeth

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San Jose has opened a petition period for landlords hoping to offset losses after discontinuing the use of Ratio Utility Billing Systems. The petition period opened today, July 5, and runs until Oct. 31. Any petition received after Oct. 31 will not be considered. If granted an offset, landlords with existing tenants who are paying a RUBS charge can petition for a portion of that charge to be added to the tenant’s monthly base rent. This spring, the City Council voted to ban the use of RUBS in the city’s rent controlled housing, defined as buildings constructed before 1979 with… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County

Tenant activists in the city of Santa Rosa have filed signatures in hopes of qualifying what would become the city’s second rent control measure in less than two years. Last week, the North Bay Organizing Project submitted  11,565 signatures on their petition to qualify a rent control and “just cause” eviction measure for the city’s Nov. 6 ballot. That submission kicked off a 30-day review period for the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters to verify at least 8,985 of the signatures are valid to qualify the initiative. The California Apartment Association and North Bay Association of Realtors are committed to… Read More

Tagged: North Bay

The California Apartment Association’s offices will be closed Wednesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. Normal operating hours will resume Thursday, July 5.

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Question: What kinds of changes to the rental agreement require the “change of terms” notice? Answer: Any material change to a month-to-month tenancy requires a written 30-Day Notice of Change 0f Terms of Tenancy. It may be served personally, by post and mail, or substituted service and mail. Question: How long do I have to mail the tenant the itemized security deposit? Answer: You need to send an accounting for the use of the security deposit within 21 days from the date you took back possession. If you do not have all of the amounts or receipts in time, you… Read More

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The California Apartment Association is pleased that the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California has joined efforts to defeat Proposition 10, which would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and bring extreme forms of rent control back to California. The CAA-sponsored campaign committee to defeat Prop. 10, Californians For Responsible Housing, issued a press release today announcing that the Building Trades Council, one of the most powerful labor groups in the state, has joined several other important statewide organizations in voicing opposition to the Costa-Hawkins repeal measure. Prop. 10 would create a major disincentive for investors to build… Read More

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The California Apartment Association is mobilizing members to help stop a temporary rent control ordinance planned for unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda L. Solis are trying to cap rent increases at 3 percent. If the board greenlights their proposal Tuesday, July 31, county staff will return in 60 days with the rent moratorium ordinance for board consideration. If the 3 percent rent cap is ultimately adopted, it would apply for six months but could be extended by the board. County officials have not discussed this proposal with the rental housing industry… Read More

Tagged: Los AngelesLong Beach

Multifamily properties in unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County are smoke-free as of Sunday, July 1. In March, the county Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the Contra Costa County Secondhand Smoke Ordinance, which prohibits smoking inside multifamily properties with two or more units. Although the ordinance takes effect July 1, property owners and operators have until July 1, 2019, to amend house rules and make the necessary transition to smoke-free housing before fines can be imposed. CAA Contra Costa does not oppose the efforts of local jurisdictions to promote smoke-free housing and protect residents from secondhand smoke. CAA Contra Costa… Read More

Tagged: Contra Costa

Question: What happens if we rent to someone who is under 18 and is not an emancipated minor? Answer: The lease is voidable because the tenant did not have legal capacity to legally enter into the agreement. Question: Where do I get the lead paint pamphlets? Answer: The California Apartment Association or one of its local affiliates, the office of HUD, or the Environmental Protection Services (EPA) has pamphlets available. Question: What is a prejudgment claim? When should it be used? Answer: A prejudgment claim is a document that can be filed along with the summons and complaint for unlawful… Read More

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An initiative that would bring rent control to the city of Santa Cruz has qualified for November’s ballot. Santa Cruz County election officials confirmed Thursday that the Movement for Housing Justice had filed the necessary 5,661 valid voter signatures to place the measure before voters. The California Apartment Association is fully engaged in a campaign to defeat the measure, which would go further than existing rent control ordinances in Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland. In the event that Costa-Hawkins is repealed, the measure is likely to apply rent control to single-family homes. The initiative threatens to: Limit rent increases to… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County

The California Apartment Association, FPI Management and the California Association of REALTORS on Thursday warned state lawmakers, during an informational Assembly Housing and Senate Judiciary meeting, that an initiative to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act would worsen the state’s housing crisis. Debra Carlton, CAA’s senior vice president of public affairs, testified that repealing Costa-Hawkins would return an extreme form of rent control to California, bringing with it a slew of unwanted consequences. If Costa-Hawkins is repealed, cities will be authorized to apply rent control to single-family homes and new multifamily housing. They’ll also be able to make rent caps… Read More

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