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The California Apartment Association is taking a close look at proposed revisions to Proposition 65 warning regulations.
Released Jan. 16 by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the revisions are intended to provide more information to consumers and other members of the public.
While the current proposal is less onerous for the rental housing industry than the earlier version, significant issues remain, both with the proposed regulations and Proposition 65 in general.
In addition to analyzing the regulations, CAA will continue to work with its partners, such as the California Chamber of Commerce, and submit comments where necessary.
Enacted… Read More
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
One of the longest delays in processing evictions occurs when not all occupants are served personally (hand-to-hand) with the unlawful-detainer summons and complaint.
More often than not, the occupants know they must be legally served for the court to award a judgment for possession of the subject property. If they are sophisticated, they know that they can delay the time for the eviction by two to three weeks if they successfully avoid the process server.
If the unlawful detainer is not served in person, it can be served on another person who resides at the property or on the person… Read More
A CAA-opposed bill that would have encouraged jury trials in eviction cases — greatly delaying a landlord’s ability to speedily eject a nonpaying tenant — failed in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, May 7, and cannot return until at least next year.
AB 969 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, focused on cases in which a tenant claims he or she withheld rent because a landlord failed to make repairs to an apartment.
Under current law, a tenant already can use this argument in court to fight an eviction. The tenant, however, must be current on rent to do… Read More
Tagged: CourtsEvictionsLegislation
A judicial panel has rescheduled oral arguments in Stanford University vs. Christine Marie Ham, a case that threatens to make evictions more difficult and time-consuming.
California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal will hear the arguments at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 14, at 333 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose.
In the case, Ham, an ex-tenant at Stanford, argues that the University did not take sufficient steps to reach her in person before posting eviction paperwork on her front door and mailing them to her rental unit.
A process server for Stanford made five attempts — at different times and days… Read More
If an ex-tenant at Stanford University gets her way in appellate court, evictions across California could take much longer.
To fend off this scenario, the California Apartment Association has filed a brief in the case of Stanford vs. Christine Marie Ham.
The amicus brief holds that Stanford took sufficient steps to reach Ham in person before posting eviction paperwork — an unlawful detainer summons and complaint — to her front door and mailing them to her rental unit. In addition, Ham’s employer information was outdated, an additional obstacle to handing her the documents in person.
Ham, on the East Coast… Read More
Tagged: CourtsEvictionsLegal News
With California court systems cutting back, both tenants and landlords will face more waiting, longer drives, and no matter how you slice it, more hassle.
The following two articles – one a story in the Los Angeles Times, the other a column by an attorney at Fast Eviction Service – zero in on the impacts on renters and owners, respectively.
Feel free to add your comments, including experiences.
Tagged: ColumnsCourtsIn the news
Years ago, the process for an uncontested eviction took about 30 days.
Now, that process takes about 45 days.
Unfortunately, the process is about to take much longer and initial estimates project a 60 day uncontested eviction.
I recently attended the Eviction Hub meeting in downtown Los Angeles given by the presiding judge.
The Los Angeles County announced sweeping cuts to counteract a $60 million to $80 million budget shortfall. We learned that very soon — in fact, possibly beginning late this month — L.A. County will downsize its eviction courts from 25 to a five-court trial-hub system.
Basically, it… Read More
Tagged: ColumnsCourts Long Beach