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Question: One of the recent applicants to our apartment community claims he is paid “under the table.” How do I verify his income? Answer: You really can’t, and because he is committing fraud, you should not consider this a legal source of income. If they fail to otherwise qualify, deny his rental application. Question: One of our tenants was recently arrested and has not paid the rent. We served a notice by “nail and mail,” and it has been over three days. How do we serve the unlawful detainer (eviction) on the tenant while in jail? Answer: Most jails will… Read More

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The California Apartment Association’s Tri-County Division is opposing a plan to make sweeping changes to San Jose’s rent control ordinance. The proposal, introduced today, Friday, May 8, comes from City Councilman Raul Peralez and would include: Reduce the current 8 percent limit on rent increases to 4 percent by January 2017. Explore the necessity of additional tenant protections, possibly including a just cause eviction law. Extend rent control to units built between 1979-1995. Prohibit discrimination based on source of income and potentially require rental owners accept Section 8 vouchers. CAA Tri-County believes that this proposal is unwarranted and won’t address… Read More

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The city of Santa Monica this week gave its blessing to an ordinance barring landlords from rejecting prospective tenants based on their Section 8 status. The council, which requested the proposal, took it up Tuesday. The measure would prohibit housing discrimination based on source of income, including Section 8 vouchers and other rent subsidies, according to the city’s website. The ordinance, passed by a 7-0 vote in its first reading, also would increase penalties tied to discrimination. See coverage in the Santa Monica Mirror and the Santa Monica Daily Press and video highlights from the hearing below. http://youtu.be/Sz5103wv_o4

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The Lafayette City Council on Monday will discuss a proposed emergency moratorium that would limit rent increases. Lafayette is pondering such a move after the new owner of an apartment building, faced with costly renovations, imposed major rent hikes. Residents, confronted with substantial rent increases for the first time in years, complained to the city. The moratorium could initially last 45 days and then could be extended twice, bringing the maximum possible duration of the emergency measure to two years, according to this memo from the city attorney. Besides the temporary moratorium, Lafayette is considering whether to pursue permanent rent… Read More

Tagged: Contra Costa

A bill intended to give renters the right to hang clotheslines outside their apartments is now far less onerous, thanks to amendments requested by the California Apartment Association. The revised AB 1448 by Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, D-San Fernando, advanced Tuesday from the Assembly Judiciary Committee by a 6 to 3 vote. It heads to the Committee on Housing and Community Development on May 13. Under revisions to the bill, the placement of clotheslines outside apartments is subject to landlord approval. The landlord, for example, could reject a tenant’s request to place a clothesline in an area that causes an eyesore.

Tagged: Los Angeles

A union-led push to change Proposition 13 through the ballot box is in for a fight from the business community. On Thursday morning, a group called Make It Fair launched a campaign to put changes to Prop. 13 before voters in 2016, the Sacramento Bee reported. Resistance, however, is already mounting against any push for a split roll or stripping away of tax protections. “California’s small businesses struggle every day to overcome our state’s massive tax burden and keep their doors open,” Rex Hime, president of the California Business Properties Association, said in this Bee article. “By continuing to raise… Read More

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Enjoying an Old World Wines theme, more than 150 attendees of this year’s CORK & SAND event got to sip wine from Italy, France and Spain while gazing at the Pacific Ocean on a beautiful evening in Santa Monica. It all happened April 16 at the Annenberg Beach House, where the California Apartment Association held  its annual fundraiser for CAA LA’s Political Action Committee. The committee helps CAA elect business-friendly officials who understand the importance of the rental housing industry to L.A.’s economy. The fundraiser also provides CAA the financial capacity to defend the apartment business against unnecessary and onerous… Read More

Tagged: Los Angeles

Stephen Pahl and Michael Pierce helped audience members bone up on legal issues surrounding pets and assistive animals during their presentation at April’s CAA Connect – Northern California Rental Housing Conference & Expo. Click below to listen to highlights. Audio story by Mike Nemeth Get in-depth info Want detailed information on assistive animals in rental housing? Our Knowledge Base, an exclusive resource for members, has the following documents: Assistive Animals in Rental Housing: Questions and Answers Issue Insight: Pets & Companion Animals White Paper: Pets & Companion Animals: When is a Pet not a Pet? – Accommodating Persons with Disabilities

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Question: I rented an apartment to a young man; he signed a one-year lease and paid the deposit and first month’s rent in full. He moved in today, and less than 24 hours later, he is requesting to get out of his lease because another apartment that he prefers became available. Is there any kind of buyer’s remorse on signing a lease? Answer: Your tenant is obligated to pay rent through the lease term or until the time the premises are relet, whichever occurs first. There is no buyer’s remorse. Question: In one of my books on landlord/tenant law, it… Read More

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Legislation that would curtail a landlord’s ability to check a prospective tenant’s criminal background before signing a lease gained momentum this week in the California Assembly. AB 369 by Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, now heads to the Appropriations Committee after passing the Committee of Housing and Community Development on Wednesday by a 4-to-2 vote. The author has cited four goals with AB 396: To reduce recidivism rates by providing stable housing. To keep families together. To prevent homelessness. To prohibit unfair discrimination that is based upon reasons that have no bearing on the success of a tenancy. The bill… Read More

Tagged: Los Angeles