News: Posts by Mike Nemeth
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Rent increases limited to 10 percent while protections in effect
With wildfires continuing to spread in Southern California, Gov. Jerry Brown has declared states of emergency in San Diego and Santa Barbara counties. The declarations on Thursday come just days after the fires prompted Brown to declare emergencies in the counties of Los Angeles and Ventura.
The governor’s declarations once again trigger the state’s anti-price gouging law. When activated, Penal Code Section 396 prohibits raising the price of many consumer goods and services, including that of rental housing, by more than 10 percent after the emergency has been declared.
The… Read More
Question: Several of our tenants have complained to us about the neighboring property. The people who live there work on their cars in the driveway at all hours and have loud and wild parties almost each weekend until dawn. What are my legal responsibilities?
Answer: You have a right to inform the owner of the neighboring property and request their assistance in resolving the problem. Recommend that your residents contact the police during the time of the disturbances.
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
The California Apartment Association has published seven new rental forms and has updated many of its existing forms and instruction sheets.
CAA’s Compliance Committee made these changes based on new laws, member requests and questions submitted through CAA’s Landlord Helpline.
A complete list of changes appears in the Forms Change Chart, which can be found here.
Tagged: Forms
The Santa Cruz City Council next week is poised to consider rent control as a possible way to address the city’s housing crisis.
Rent control is included as a policy option in a staff report called “Santa Cruz Voices on Housing: Fall 2017 Community Engagement Report,” and on Tuesday, the council is scheduled to discuss the document.
Tagged: News Tri-County
The California Apartment Association is once again encouraging members with available units in Napa or Sonoma counties to contact CAA and consider making special considerations for fire victims.
Special considerations may include offering reduced move-in costs or discounted deposits for those who lost their homes.
CAA members with available units are asked to send an email to CAA.
Tagged: NewsWildfires 2017 Wildfires North Bay
Question: One of our tenants recently requested that we paint the inside of her apartment. She has threatened to do it herself and deduct the cost of the paint from the rent if we do not have it painted within the next two weeks. Is she legally able to carry out her threat?
Answer: Unless the condition of the walls rendered the premises uninhabitable, the owner is under no obligation to paint the unit at the request of the tenant.
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
Tenant advocates in Pasadena have filed preliminary paperwork to place rent control on an upcoming city ballot.
In addition to rent control, the proposed initiative would seek just-cause eviction policies in Pasadena and the establishment of a rent board.
After hours of debate, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday rejected a proposal to begin basing its annual rent cap on the rate of inflation.
At the urging of CAA, the council instead voted 6-5 to maintain the city’s current 5 percent limit on annual rent increases.
The California Apartment Association attended Tuesday’s meeting in force, with members speaking against the proposal to base rent control on the Consumer Price Index. The CPI is now about 3.4 percent but fluctuates.
The city’s 5 percent cap, on the other hand, provides a fixed, predictable limit, making it easier for owners… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
In the wake of the wine country wildfires, Sonoma County prosecutors have received more than 60 reports of rental price gouging, however, most of the allegations did not represent violations of law, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.
The article also clarifies that the state’s price-gouging law does not apply to units just now entering the rental market.
“If you want to move out and rent your house for a year, you can set whatever price the current market will bear without penalty,” Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch told the Press Democrat.
Tagged: NewsWildfires 2017 Wildfires North Bay