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A bill opposed by the California Apartment Association would invite $20,000 fines against landlords for even minor violations of the state’s new rent cap and “just cause” for eviction law.
The bill, SB 1190 by Sen. Maria Durazo, D-Los Angeles, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last week on a 5-1 vote with three abstentions. The legislation now heads to the Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Maria Elena Durazo
The bill would create a penalty system for AB 1482, the intensely negotiated bill that became the Tenant Protection Act of 2019.
Tagged: LegislationNews
A CAA-sponsored bill that would help landlords recover rent lost to the COVID-19 crisis — while also guarding tenants against mountains of rent debt — has passed its first hearing.
The Senate Housing Committee on Wednesday approved SB 1410 by Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, and Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, on a 10-0 vote.
“SB 1410 is critical to the financial security and well being of California’s renters who by no fault of their own, lost or had significant reductions in their incomes as a result of this pandemic,” Caballero told the committee.
Sen. Anna Caballero
The COVID-19 Emergency Rental… Read More
The most egregious provision of AB 828 by Assemblyman Phil Ting is gone.
The bill by the San Francisco Democrat no longer mandates that the courts reduce rent by 25%.
Ting removed that rent-cut provision from the bill following a grassroots opposition campaign spearheaded by the California Apartment Association. This included having members to send more than 55,000 opposition messages to lawmakers.
Assemblyman Phil Ting
While rent-reduction provision is out, AB 828 still includes problematic provisions such as:
Requiring very limited proof on the part of the tenant that they faced a COVID hardship in order to stay in the unit;
Protecting nuisance tenants by allowing them to initially ignore the unlawful detainer complaint and remain the unit;
Mandating that rental property owners demonstrate… Read More
Tagged: COVID-19LegislationNews
A CAA-sponsored bill that would streamline the conversion of hotels and motels into multifamily housing won approval Wednesday in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
The committee approved AB 2580 by Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, on a 7-1 vote. The measure now moves to the Appropriations Committee.
Assemblywoman Susan Eggman
The bill would address California’s unprecedented housing supply and affordability crisis by converting existing structures into long-term housing.
CAA testified to the benefits of hotel and motel conversions.
“To meet housing needs, we need novel housing solutions,” said Debra Carlton, CAA’s executive vice president of state public affairs. “Hotels and… Read More
Tagged: LegislationNews
The California Apartment Association’s offices will resume normal operating hours Tuesday, May 26.
Tagged: News
A bill that moved out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee this week would prohibit landlords from demanding security deposits in a single, upfront payment.
AB 3260 by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, would require property owners to allow a new tenant to pay a security deposit over a six‐month period or to obtain a security deposit insurance policy to cover damages they cause at the property.
Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks
The California Apartment Association has objected to this mandate.
Tagged: News
The California Apartment Association has defeated a proposal to extend Los Angeles County’s emergency eviction moratorium until Aug. 31.
The Board of Supervisors this week instead extended the moratorium until June 30. It can then be extended on a month-by-month basis.
Several concerning proposals, however, continued to advance and will come back for another vote.These include proposals to:
Classify unpaid rent due to COVID-19 as consumer debt and create a “private right of action” for violations of the eviction moratorium order.
Explore a “right to purchase” private properties. Under this proposal, an owner needing to sell a property would first… Read More
Tagged: News Los Angeles
The California Apartment Association has asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to ensure that rental housing owners are included in its COVID-19 relief efforts.
The Small Business Administration manages the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, part of the CARES Act stimulus program. The PPP is providing forgivable loans of up to 2.5 times average monthly payroll costs to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These includes sole proprietors and the self-employed.
But under pre-existing rules governing the SBA, the federal government considers many landlords to be “passive businesses,” which generally makes them ineligible for SBA loans.
In a letter… Read More
Despite immense opposition from CAA, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to prolong its COVID-19 related rent freeze by more than a year, and likely much longer.
Under the council’s decision, the rent freeze, which applies to locally rent controlled housing, will remain in place for one year following the expiration of the local COVID-19 emergency.
The emergency, though, lacks a definite end date.
The council also updated its eviction moratorium to give tenants a private right of action against a landlord, a move expected to create a cottage industry of lawsuits against property owners. The private right… Read More
Tagged: News Los Angeles
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and calls for rent strikes by extreme tenant activists, the California Apartment Association is hearing from members that some residents have not paid their May rent.
The association has created an informal poll to gauge the scope of the problem. The survey includes four questions and takes less than one minute to complete. The answers will remain anonymous.
Although unscientific, the poll results will provide CAA with valuable information to share with the rental housing industry, elected officials and the news media. The data also will help CAA advocate for government relief such as… Read More
Tagged: News