By the time the 2015 legislative session wrapped up this past Saturday, the state Legislature had sent a number of rental housing-related bills to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration.
Below are summaries of key rental-housing related bills that Brown signed – and others still awaiting a decision by the governor.
Signed by Gov. Brown
AB 418 (D-Chiu) – Domestic Violence – AB 418 reduces the time limit for a tenant (who is a victim of domestic violence) to give a notice of intent to vacate to the landlord from 30 days to 14 days. The bill originally required the landlord to return the security deposit in 14 days as well, but that language was eliminated from the bill at CAA’s request.
SB 600 (D-Pan) – Discrimination: Immigration Status – SB 600 amends the Unruh Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of “citizenship,” “immigration status,” and “primary language.” Under this bill, a landlord who asks a prospective tenant to verify his/her immigration status will not constitute a violation of this law. CAA requested, and the author added, language to the bill to clarify that landlords need not provide documents in a language other than English unless the landlord negotiates contracts in another language (as already required by existing law).
AB 715 (D-Daly) – School Fees – AB 715 clarifies for local governments and school districts those portions of a new residential development that can and cannot be assessed for school fees.
SB 761 (D-Hall) – Short Term Rentals – SB 761 requires short-term vacation rental websites – such as Airbnb – to provide disclosures to tenants.
SB 658 (D-Hill) – Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) – SB 658 reduces outdated requirements imposed on building owners who voluntarily install Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).
Awaiting decision by Gov. Brown
The governor has until Oct. 11, 2015, to make a final decision on the bills summarized below:
AB 2 (D-Alejo) – Community Revitalization Authority – AB 2 allows specified “disadvantaged” areas of California to create a new entity called a Community Revitalization Investment Authority (CRIA). The purpose of the CRIA is to improve conditions in the area with the intent to increase employment opportunities, reduce high crime rates, repair deteriorating and inadequate infrastructure, clean up Brownfields and build affordable housing.
AB 35 (D-Chiu) – Affordable Housing Tax Credits – AB 35 would increase California’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit by $300 million for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing units across the state.
AB 428 (D-Nazarian) – Seismic Retrofit: Tax Credits – AB 428 would allow a tax credit in an amount equal to 30 percent of the qualified costs paid or incurred by a qualified taxpayer for any seismic retrofit construction on a qualified building.
AB 447 (R-Maienschein) Insurance Discrimination – AB 447 would prohibit insurers from discriminating against rental property owners who offer housing for tenants with Section 8 vouchers or other low-income programs.
AB 465 (D-Hernandez) – Arbitration Agreements – AB 465, among other things, would prohibit arbitration agreements in employment contracts.
AB 744 (D-Chau) – Density Bonuses and Parking Spaces – AB 744 would allow a developer who is requesting a density bonus and including affordable units in the development to also request that the city or county eliminate the minimum parking requirements for the development.
AB 1236 (D-Chiu) – EV Charging Stations: Permits – AB 1236 would require a city or county to adopt an ordinance that creates an expedited and streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations.
AB 1448 (D-Lopez) – Clotheslines – AB 1448 would require a tenant to obtain permission from the landlord prior to using a clothesline on the exterior of the building.
AB 1506 (D-Hernandez) – Labor Lawsuits – AB 1506 would curb some lawsuits under the Labor Code’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) by providing the employer 33 days to cure some minor, technical PAGA violations.
SB 251 (D-Roth) – Disability Access: Lawsuits – SB 251, among other things, establishes a presumption that certain “technical violations” are presumed to not cause a person difficulty, discomfort or embarrassment for the purpose of an award of minimum legal damages in a construction-related accessibility claim. The bill applies in those cases where the building or business owner is a small business and has corrected the accessibility violations within 15 days of receiving legal notice of the claim. The bill also protects small businesses from liability for minimum legal damages if the owner receives an accessibility legal claim within 120 days after the business owner obtains an inspection of its premises by a certified accessibility inspector.
SB 328 (D-Hueso) – Pesticide Use – SB 328 would require a landlord or the landlord’s agent who applies pesticides at the property to provide the affected tenants with a written notice.
SB 655 (D-Mitchell) – Mold – SB 655 provides that a landlord has no obligation to repair a dilapidation relating to visible mold until the owner has notice of the mold problem. The bill also holds the tenant responsible for mold that is caused by the tenant’s poor housekeeping. Under the bill, a property cannot be declared substandard unless a code enforcement officer makes the identification that the visible mold exists to the extent that it endangers the occupants. A property owner is not responsible for mold that is minor and found on surfaces that can accumulate moisture as part of their properly functioning and intended use. Under current law, the term “any nuisance” found in the health and safety code is used by code enforcement and tenant attorneys to make claims against the property owner about mold in the housing and the conditions surrounding mold growth.