News: Section 8
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Beginning next year, rental property owners in unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County will be required to accept Section 8 housing vouchers. The requirement comes under an ordinance passed by the county Board of Supervisors requiring that all people with the ability to pay for a given housing unit be considered for that unit, including those who would pay rent using Section 8 housing vouchers.
The California Apartment Association argued that a mandated approach was the wrong one and that it is Section 8’s structural problems that dissuade many property owners from participating.
Tagged: Section 8 Tri-County
The California Apartment Association’s webinar about new laws taking effect in 2017 is now available for replay — a free benefit to CAA members — and as a class that nonmembers can purchase.
CAA’s New Laws webinar, originally webcast Tuesday, Dec. 1, covers legislation that will affect:
Bedbug disclosures
All-gender bathrooms
Pesticide notices
Water submeters
The webinar also reviewed the impacts of other new laws, including the legalization of recreational marijuana use. Moreover, CAA’s public affairs experts reviewed the makeup of the California Legislature following the Nov. 8 election and new and revised CAA forms.
It’s not too late to… Read More
Citing pending litigation, the California Apartment Association has urged Marin County supervisors to defer work on an ordinance that would force rental property owners to participate in the Section 8 program.
Despite CAA’s objections, county supervisors are scheduled to formally adopt such a law at their Nov. 8 meeting. The board granted preliminary approval of the proposal, an “ordinance to establish source of income protection,” on Oct. 25.
Yet as the Board of Supervisors considers its measure, the city of Santa Monica is embroiled in a lawsuit challenging its adoption of a similar ordinance.
Mallori Spilker, CAA’s vice president of… Read More
Participation in voucher program should remain voluntary
The Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider “source of income protections” for prospective renters that would essentially require rental housing owners to participate in the Section 8 program.
Supervisors can grant preliminary approval of the proposal during their Tuesday, Oct. 25, meeting. A second vote at a later date is required for formal adoption.
Tagged: Section 8 North BayMarin County
The California Apartment Association has stopped legislation that would have forced property owners to rent to Section 8 voucher holders.
SB 1053 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would have made it unlawful to deny housing based on an applicant receiving Section 8 assistance.
On Friday, the bill failed to move out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, effectively ending its chances of becoming law.
CAA strongly encourages members who have the resources to accept Section 8 vouchers. Moreover, the Association will continue working with local housing authorities to ensure the program is efficient and effective, enticing more landlords to participate.… Read More
Tagged: LegislationSection 8
A court brief filed by the California Apartment Association has led a plaintiff to give up her argument that Section 8 recipients are a protected class under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
In Morris v. Sacramento Manor, the tenancy was terminated when the owner decided to stop participating in the Section 8 program.
The tenant argued that Section 8 recipients should be considered a new protected class under the Unruh Act’s prohibition against any arbitrary discrimination.
On Feb, 23, 2016, CAA filed a brief in the Appellate Division of the Sacramento Superior Court supporting Sacramento Manor’s right to pull out… Read More
Should Section 8 voucher holders be considered a new protected class under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act? The plaintiff in Morris v. Sacramento Manor thinks so.
In that case, the tenancy was terminated when the owner decided not to participate in the Section 8 program anymore.
The tenant argues that Section 8 recipients should be considered a new protected class under the Unruh Act’s prohibition against any arbitrary discrimination.
Unlike most anti-discrimination laws, which protect only specific enumerated classes, California’s Unruh Act has been interpreted to prohibit any “arbitrary” discrimination.
Courts have previously found discrimination based on the following categorizations… Read More
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
To help California’s low-income families secure housing, elected officials should focus more on encouraging private residential development and less on existing government programs that subsidize construction or impose rent control, the Legislative Analyst’s Office says.
Removing barriers to private construction, however, will take time and a political shift, says the report, released Wednesday by the nonpartisan office, which advises the Legislature on fiscal and policy matters.
“Doing so will require policymakers to revisit long–standing state policies on local governance and environmental protection, as well as local planning and land use regimes,” says the study, Perspectives on Helping Low-Income Californians Afford… Read More