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The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21 heard oral arguments in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. This case, which deals with tax credits for low-income housing, will address the validity of disparate impact claims under the Federal Fair Housing Act.
Disparate impact discrimination occurs when a neutral, non-discriminatory policy has a disproportionate, adverse impact on members of a protected class. The classic example in such a neutral policy in the housing context is denial of tenancy based on criminal arrest records, which has a disproportionate impact on African-Americans. In the Texas case, the… Read More
Question: What is the best way to say no to an application and avoid a discrimination lawsuit? The prospect’s credit is worse than he said it was, and I want to avoid trouble.
Answer: You are required by law to inform the tenant of the reasons in writing for denying the application if the reason was partially or wholly based upon the credit report. The best way to deliver this news is to inform the prospective tenant that if he or she can get the credit history cleaned up, you would be happy to have this person reapply. Reject the… Read More
Under California law, smoke detectors with disposable batteries are vanishing from store shelves.
But they don’t have to disappear from your rental units. If you have an old fashioned device, you can leave it alone. Just make sure it works and has fresh batteries. Have some old fashioned smoke detectors in stock? You can install them, but only until July.
New regulations are being implemented across a variety of dates, and this has caused confusion about what landlords must do and when.
Watch this video from the California Apartment Association to help clear the air. Still have questions? Check out… Read More
The California Apartment Association on Dec. 1, 2014, published three new rental forms, as well as revisions to more than a dozen existing forms and related instruction sheets.
The Compliance Committee made these changes based on member requests and questions.
A complete list of changes appears in the Forms Change Chart, and all are accessible through our rental forms page.
Summaries of the three new forms:
Form 5.4 Change of Occupancy: This form allows one or more occupants of a unit to change, without the need for a new rental agreement
Form 16.4 Resident’s Request for Maintenance Review: This form… Read More
Tagged: News
Question: My rental property is a house in a rural area. I do allow animals but do not want any pit bulls. Can I specifically state that?
Answer: You can determine what type of animals, if any, you allow on the property and should make this clear in the lease or lease addendum. If the animal is a support animal for a disabled resident, however, different rules apply.
Question: Our tenant has a roommate who is paying him half the rent. The roommate is not on the rental agreement. When the tenant vacates, can I ask the roommate to also… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsComplianceLegal Q&A
In this members-only video, address legislative issues likely to surface in 2015, from bed bugs to AirBnB to rising rents.
Tagged: LegislationMultimedia
Make sure your company gets the attention it deserves as hundreds of rental housing decision-makers gather for CAA Connect – Northern California Rental Housing Conference & Expo.
This premiere California Apartment Association event returns to the Santa Clara Convention Center on Wednesday, April 8.
Exhibitor booths and sponsorship opportunities are now on sale. Take advantage of this opportunity to put your products in front of the most influential members of the multi-family housing industry.
What you need to know
What: CAA Connect – Northern California Rental Housing Conference & Expo
When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, April 8
Where:… Read More
Question: Can a resident legally drink alcohol in the outdoor common areas of an apartment community?
Answer: Landlords have the right to restrict the drinking of alcohol in the common areas of the premises.
Question: My tenant vacated and has damaged the unit more than the security deposit will cover. The tenant had a co-signer on the agreement. I have written the tenant and co-signer with no response after 30 days. Do I file a small claims action against both the tenant and the co-signer or should they be separate lawsuits?
Answer: You can file against both of them in… Read More
A domestic violence shelter in San Mateo County has undergone a major renovation, thanks largely to Essex Property Trust and the Housing Industry Foundation.
For our second highlights video from CAA’s legislative recap webinar, we review six bills that failed in 2014.
Each of these bills would have affected the rental housing industry — especially two proposals that threatened the Ellis Act. This landmark state law, passed in the mid 1980s, protects a landlord’s right to leave the apartment business. While dead for now, some of these bills may resurface in 2015.
Learn more through the videos below, which we’ve produced exclusively for CAA members.
You may also be interested in our first highights video, which focuses on six rental housing-related bills becoming law… Read More
Tagged: News