News: rental

Filter

Rents are rising at a slower pace in the Bay Area as more people make the leap into homeownership and new rental housing enters the market, says Joshua Howard of the California Apartment Association. “Still, quite frankly, we don’t have enough rental housing in Silicon Valley to meet the demand,” said Howard, executive director of CAA’s Tri-County Division, in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. He also pointed to reductions in rent subsidies and the loss of redevelopment agencies for the slowing of rent increases. According to the Mercury News article, Bay Area rent prices rose in the… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County

At the California Apartment Association, we advocated for and against dozens of bills this year that could affect the rental housing business. In most cases, Gov. Jerry Brown agreed with us. While some bills below will affect multi-family housing more than others, each is important to landlords, tenants, and California as a whole. Check out the following roundup of laws taking effect in 2014, their anticipated impacts, and where CAA stood on them. Subdivision Maps: Extensions — AB 116 (D-Bocanegra) — CAA position: Support — Like other legislation before it, AB 116 extends the life of expiring subdivision maps by… Read More

Tagged:

Question: If a resident dies and was on a lease, does the estate still owe rent up until someone new moves in? What about a month-to-month agreement? Obviously the person couldn’t give a 30-day notice.  Answer: Death does not terminate term lease obligations. The resident’s estate remains responsible through the end of the lease term, unless the resident’s estate relinquishes possession of the premises to the landlord, and the landlord is able to re-lease the premises to a new tenant. Month-to-month residential tenancies terminate 30 days after the last rental payment by the deceased tenant (Civil Code §1934). A 30-day… Read More

Tagged:

Sen. Lois Wolk’s water submetering bill sank this year, but it’ll likely resurface in 2014. With some success at the negotiating table, it has a good chance of passing, too. SB 750  got close this year. But by the end of the legislative session, loose ends and disagreements about the bill’s wording had it taking on water. When Wolk introduced the bill in early February, she said it would help Californians “make environmentally and economically responsible choices and that they needed accurate information about their water usage and cost so that they can use existing supplies as efficiently as possible.”… Read More

Tagged:

In 2013, lawmakers derailed threatening bills to the rental housing industry and other business sectors. Some of the bills left floundering focused on parcel taxes, spit roll property taxes and putting tax hikes before voters. For example, here are two bills that CAA opposed and help put on ice until at least next year: AB 59 (D-Bonta) – Parcel Taxes – The intent of AB 59 is to overturn a recent court case that prohibits school districts from imposing different parcel tax rates on different types of property. If passed, AB 59 would allow school districts to impose different parcel… Read More

Tagged:

The state’s 2013 legislative session ends Friday with several CAA-supported bills already signed by the governor, on deck for last-minute passage by lawmakers or set aside for legislative consideration in 2014. Some of these California Apartment Association-supported bills and where they stand: Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown SB 196 (R-Cannella) – Gas Rates Disclosure – Apartment Buildings – SB 196 allows an apartment owner who has gas or electric submeters beyond the master meter to post a website address where the tenants can access the utility corporation’s rates.  Current law requires the property owner to post a copy of the… Read More

Tagged:

Question: We served a 60-day notice of termination of tenancy on a renter. We have not received a rent payment yet, so we served her a three-day notice to pay rent or quit. Do you recommend that we start eviction proceedings now or do we wait until the notice expires? Answer: You should proceed immediately with the eviction; if they do not have enough money to pay you, they may not have enough to move out. Question: A couple moved into our rental unit one month ago. Since they moved in, we have received eight complaints from the neighbors, who… Read More

Tagged:

Ever scratch your head and wonder: Where’d the money go? Without a budget, it’s bound to happen. And to succeed in the rental housing business, you can’t be foggy with the numbers. The California Apartment Association will help build your accounting acumen its next webinar, “Budget Development & Implementation.” The course will cover the benefits of a budget, how to develop one, and resources needed. Students will learn about various types of budgets, the difference between operating and capital expenses, and as well as software and templates. Learn how to: Evaluate a general ledger Calculate vacancy-and-rent losses Read a profit-and-loss… Read More

Tagged:

If your rental property has a master meter for power and gas, you’ve probably posted those lengthy utility rate schedules for your tenants to review. A bill on the governor’s desk would allow for a more convenient alternative. Senate Bill 196 by Anthony Canella, R-Ceres, would allow a landlord to post an Internet address where tenants can obtain a utility company’s rate schedule, instead of the current requirement that the rate schedule, in its entirety, be posted in a conspicuous place. Posting an Internet address takes up less space, time and money than posting the prevailing rate as published by… Read More

Tagged:

The East Bay CAA Network held the 10th Annual GEMM Awards on Aug. 22, showcasing the “Best of the Best” in the region’s rental housing industry. This year’s winners are all prime examples of professionals who have a real passion for excellence and customer service. Check here to see a slide show of the winners.

Tagged: Rental Housing Assn. of Southern Alameda