News: evictions
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A bill introduced last week would once again extend a California pilot program that helps rid apartment communities of tenants in who are in the illegal possession of guns, ammo or drugs.
The pilot program, which applies only to certain jurisdictions, allows prosecutors and city attorneys to initiate the eviction process, at a landlord’s request, to stop nuisances involving unlawful weapons, ammunition or drugs. The program allows those evictions to be based on law enforcement paperwork, such as an arrest report, and affects the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Sacramento and Oakland.
Tagged: Legislation
Lawmakers last week introduced a plethora of rental housing-related bills, including legislation that would double the renters’ tax credit, mandate training for landlords, and help remove gun-owning tenants from apartment buildings.
These are just some of the landlord-tenant related proposals introduced before the Feb 16 legislative filing deadline.
The tax credit bill, SB 1182 by state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, would increase the credit to $120 for renters filing their taxes as individuals and $240 for joint filers. It would be the first increase in the credit since 1979.
“This increase is long overdue,” Glazer said in a statement. “The… Read More
Tagged: LegislationLegislative Summary
Gov. Jerry Brown on Oct. 5 signed a bill that would crack down on rental property owners who discriminate against tenants based on immigration status.
Under AB 291, dubbed the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, a landlord could face civil penalties if he or she attempts to influence a tenant to vacate the dwelling unit or attempts to recover possession of the dwelling unit based on the individual’s immigration status. The legislation, by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, offers protections against eviction for tenants whose landlords demand to see Social Security numbers or other validating documents after the landlord previously approved… Read More
Tagged: ImmigrationLegislation
The California Assembly on Monday approved a bill that would crack down on rental property owners who discriminate against tenants based on immigration status.
AB 291 by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, won approval on a 54-8 vote with 9 abstentions. The bill now advances to the Senate.
Under the bill, rental housing providers would face fines for reporting existing tenants and occupants to immigration agents.
Tagged: Legislation
As early as May, the Concord City Council could vote to adopt a rent-mediation program for rent increases over 10 percent.
Tagged: Rent Control Contra Costa
The California Apartment Association has urged the state Legislature to stop providing funding for defense attorneys to help evicted tenants drag out the unlawful-detainer process.
The practice has occured for several years under a state law that CAA believes should expire in 2017.
Under the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act, defense attorneys receive money from the state to represent low-income Californians in a variety of legal areas, from evictions to custody disputes. Since 2011, the Legislature has spent $9.5 million annually on the program in seven areas across the state.
While the concept is laudable, it’s rife with abuse when… Read More
Tagged: EvictionsLegislature
A bill signed by the governor this past week will undercut eviction-delay tactics by unscrupulous tenant attorneys who claim mold as a substandard housing condition.
On Friday, Oct. 9, Gov. Jerry Brown approved SB 655 by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles.
What does this mean for the rental housing industry?
While the new law does add “visible mold” to the list of conditions that can make a property substandard or untenantable, SB 655 offers property owners a number of protections from bogus claims of mold contamination:
Visibility: The mold growth must be visible. No more air tests that tenants and… Read More
Tagged: LegislationMold
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
CAA has begun its campaign against a bill that’s back from last year and could help tenants drag out evictions without paying a penny.
Assembly Bill 969 by Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, would make it easier for tenants delay evictions in a number of ways — such as claiming retaliation by a landlord and encouraging disgruntled tenants to pursue jury trials.
Although successfully opposed by CAA in 2013, the legislation was later designated as a two-year bill. This allowed Ammiano to revive it as the second half of the 2013-14 legislative session, which began this week.
Ammiano’s AB 969, amended… Read More
Tagged: LegislationLegislature