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A bill that would require landlords to consider prospective tenants who use Section 8 housing vouchers advanced this week from the Senate Judiciary Committee.   SB 329 by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, would make it illegal to deny a tenancy based on the applicant’s participation in the federal Housing Choice voucher program.  Sen. Holly Mitchell The bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee. 

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Question: We have a one-year lease with a tenant that will expire in four months. If we sell the house now, and the buyer wants to move in, would we be able to break the lease? Answer: The buyer “steps into the shoes” of the seller and the lease is binding upon the new owner. Question: I served a three-day notice on my tenants, and they paid $300 of the $1,050 that was due. Do I have to serve another three-day notice to start the eviction? Should I have accepted payment?

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Debra Carlton, CAA’s senior vice president of public affairs, testifies against AB 1482. Photos by Bob Knapik A bill that would apply rent control and price-gouging protections statewide advanced today from its first committee hearing, while a second rent control proposal stalled amid strong opposition from CAA. Assemlyman David Chiu The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development approved AB 1482 by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, the committee chairman, on a 6 to 1 vote with one abstention.

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A tenant-unionizing bill is being expanded to allow California tenants to withhold payment in protest when a landlord raises the rent beyond the rate of inflation.   Under an amendment to SB 529 by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, a rent increase above the consumer price index is listed as a qualifying “grievance” to go on a rent strike without risking eviction. The amendment was added Tuesday during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo Debra Carlton, CAA’s senior vice president of public affairs, testified that the new element to SB 529 amounts to rent control.… Read More

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact Mike Nemeth, communications director (916) 449-6426, mnemeth@caanet.org Less than six months after Proposition 10 went down in crushing defeat, Michael Weinstein is again attempting to bring extreme forms of rent control back to California, a move that would decimate the supply of housing for California’s working-class families. Weinstein’s convoluted proposal takes a counterproductive approach to California’s housing crisis and undermines Gov. Newsom’s pledge to build 3.5 million housing units by 2025. “This past November, California voters of all political stripes rejected Proposition 10 by an overwhelming margin,” said Tom Bannon, chief executive officer of the California Apartment… Read More

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Question: A new tenant signed a six-month lease. Now, he claims he feels unsafe because of an incident at the property and wants to terminate the lease. The tenant claims he has a 72-hour period to rescind the lease after it is executed. Is this true? Answer: There is no 72-hour right of rescission for residential leases. Question: One of my two tenants on the lease moved out due to a job transfer. The remaining tenant would like to stay and pay the entire amount. Do I need to write up a new lease or simply prepare an addendum stating… Read More

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Less than six months after Proposition 10 went down in crushing defeat, Michael Weinstein is again attempting to return extreme forms of rent control to California, a move that would decimate the supply of housing for California’s working families. On Friday, Weinstein filed preliminary paperwork with the state attorney general to place another statewide initiative before voters, aiming for the 2020 ballot. According to initial paperwork filed with California Attorney General’s Office, the new initiative seeks to create the Rental Affordability Act. Under this measure, cities and counties would be free to impose rent control on buildings after they turn… Read More

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The Los Angeles City Council this week voted to draft an ordinance requiring landlords to consider prospective tenants with Section 8 vouchers.   If ultimately approved, the ordinance could take effect as early as Jan. 1 of next year.  Several other California jurisdictions have passed similar laws, including the city of San Diego, San Francisco, and Marin County, , and Long Beach is now considering such an ordinance.

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Question: I served one of my tenants with a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. He did not comply, so I served a 30-Day Notice to Quit. If the tenant does not move out by the 30th day, should I call the sheriff to evict him? Answer: The sheriff will not evict your resident unless you have gone through the unlawful-detainer lawsuit and produced a judgment for possession. You could have filed the unlawful detainer action after the 3-day notice expired; you did not need to give the tenant an additional 30 days.

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After hours of testimony Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to create a “just cause” eviction ordinance, rejecting two years’ worth of negotiations and compromise by the council-appointed Landlord/Tenant Task Force.   Although they sound innocuous, so-called “just cause” ordinances require rental property owners to prove a cause in court or before a political body every time they need to remove a problem resident.  This makes it very difficult to remove tenants who have no regard for their neighbors, destroy the property, and tenants who are involved in illegal activity. As a result, communities suffer the consequences as nuisance conditions are not easily remedied.  

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