Beginning June 1, 2016, rental agreements for properties with wood-burning heaters or fireplaces throughout the San Francisco Bay Area must include a document describing the health hazards from burning wood or any solid fuel as a source of heat.
The disclosure document is required within the boundaries of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which includes all of the following counties: Napa, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin, and part of Solano and Sonoma counties. Exact boundaries can be found here.
The disclosure requirement is part of the air quality district’s wood smoke rule, which concerns the following:
- Wood heaters: An enclosed wood-burning device capable of and intended for space heating such as a. wood stove, pellet-fueled wood heater, or wood-burning fireplace insert.
- Wood-burning devices: Any wood heater, fireplace, or any indoor permanently installed device used to burn any solid fuel for space-heating or aesthetic purposes.
CAA’s new Residential Fireplace Disclosure Addendum contains the notice that must be provided to tenants. The notice is not required for existing tenants with a fixed term lease until lease renewal. It is not required for existing month-to-month tenancies until the tenant signs a new rental agreement. CAA recommends that owners also use the “Spare the Air Addendum,” which spells out the duties of the tenant.