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Question: Can I require all overnight guests to register in the office?
Answer: Some judges may consider this an unreasonable invasion of the tenant’s right of privacy. It is so far untested in our courts.
Question: What should I do if I suspect drugs are being sold out of one of our apartments?
Answer: Call the police and report the incident. Ask the police for further direction. Document all of the calls and what you said, did and observed. If you can prove illegal activity, commence an unlawful-detainer action.
Question: If a resident dies and we discover the body, should… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
A second Bay Area city is on the verge of approving binding arbitration – basically rent control in disguise.
The Mountain View City Council will take up the proposal at its Tuesday, March 15, meeting. The session starts at 6 p.m. in council chambers, 500 Castro St.
Mountain View’s consideration of binding arbitration comes on the heels of Alameda’s approval of the same policy, which it formally adopted Tuesday, March. 1.
Under this approach to settling rent disputes, a tenant can have a mediator decide how much rent can go up — if at all. This plainly puts a control… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
Property owners would have to rent to Section 8 voucher holders under legislation proposed by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.
The California Apartment Association will oppose the legislation, SB 1053, which would make it unlawful to deny housing based on an applicant receiving Section 8 assistance.
The voucher program requires that owners and operators abide by federal regulations that differ from state and local laws. Moreover, it forces owners to work with a third party, the local housing agency. Many owners and managers believe that local housing agencies and their complex rules and regulations compromise the performance and financial viability… Read More
Tagged: LegislationSection 8
Efforts to impose or strenghten rent control through the initiative process have begun in Richmond, Alameda and Oakland. Meanwhile, Mountain View will soon consider binding arbitration, and the housing staff in San Jose has suggested tightening the city’s existing rent cap.
Read the stories below to find out what’s happening in each area.
San Jose
City would face stricter rent cap under city staff proposal
Rental property owners in San Jose would face a more stringent cap on annual rent increases underdraft recommendations released by the city’s housing department. Housing officials Tuesday recommended moving from the current 8 percent limit… Read More
Tagged: News
Rental property owners in San Jose would face a more stringent cap on annual rent increases under draft recommendations released by the city’s housing department.
Housing officials Tuesday recommended moving from the current 8 percent limit on annual rent increases to a model based on the rate of inflation.
Under the Housing Department’s recommendations, the annual allowable rent increase would be 100 percent of the consumer price index with a floor of 2 percent and a ceiling of 8 percent.
“City staff is proposing the most punitive form of rent control possible … that will only make the (housing) problem… Read More
Tenant advocates in Richmond and Alameda have filed preliminary paperwork to place rent control initiatives on the November ballot.
In both East Bay cities, the initiative efforts are in the early stages, and in neither case has signature-gathering begun.
The California Apartment Association, which remains opposed to rent control, is studying the filings and working to determine the best response in each city.
The pursuit of initiatives follows months of wrangling over how to address housing shortages in the East Bay and other areas of Northern California.
Last year, the Richmond City Council approved a rent control measure, but a… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-CountyContra Costa
CAA has expressed concerns in a letter to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment about the office’s proposed changes to regulations interpreting the state law commonly referred to as Proposition 65.
OEHHA’s proposed changes to Proposition 65 warning requirements would force rental housing owners and managers to replace all existing warning materials and signs to avoid litigation. The California Apartment Association outlined its concerns to OEHHA last month.
To date, more than 73,000 metal and plastic warning signs have been provided by CAA to its members.
Moreover, the changes would not provide more useful or meaningful warnings for housing… Read More
Tagged: Proposition 65
CAA Greater Inland Empire’s new location is 10390 Commerce Center Drive, C-240, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730.
Tagged: News Greater Inland Empire
Improvisational humorist and professional speaker Joel Zeff doesn’t waste any time getting his audience into the act.
Near the start of a recent 90-minute presentation, Zeff asked the roughly 200 rental housing professionals in the room to utter something rarely if ever heard in the leasing office.
“Bunny, bunny, bunny.”
As they did, raucous laughter began, as did one of Zeff’s key lessons.
“Look around. Everybody’s got a smile on their face — even the grumpy people. That’s the spirit of the bunny, bunny, bunny,” he said. “Because everybody looked foolish, and they did it together, it wasn’t a big… Read More
Tagged: Events Orange County
Question: Is a new owner subject to the pet policy of a previous owner with month-to-month agreements?
Answer: Yes, but the terms of a month-to-month agreement can be changed by properly serving a 30-day notice of change of terms of tenancy on the tenant.
Question: What is the best way to handle the 31-day month? When a tenant moves in mid-month, is it best to prorate the remaining days until the 31st or is it best to ignore the 31st day and consider all months to be 30 days?
Answer: There is no specific law on point so if your… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A