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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
Thanks to a bill signed into law this week, mom-and-pop rental property owners won’t have to worry quite as much about abusive disability-access lawsuits.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed SB 269 by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside. Under certain circumstances, the bill provides business owners with more time to fix minor ADA compliance violations before being subject to costly court battles.
For example, the law will protect small-business owners from liability for minimum statutory damages in a construction-related accessibility claim for the 120 days following a voluntary inspection by a certified access specialist. Under certain conditions, the business could then… Read More
Legislation that would encourage prospective hosts to review their insurance policies before getting into the home-sharing business has advanced to the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 1092 would require companies such as Airbnb, HomeAway and Flipkey to post disclosures about the importance of confirming insurance coverage related to short-term rentals.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, May 3, by a 6-0 vote.
The insurance notice builds on a disclosure required under legislation sponsored by the California Apartment Association last year.
That legislation, SB 761, requires that short-term rental companies post a notice advising tenants to check their rental… Read More
Tagged: LegislationShort-term Rentals
According to one lawmaker, a law already requiring property owners to have low-flow plumbing fixtures installed by 2019 doesn’t go far enough.
Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, has proposed legislation to require plumbing fixtures conserve more water than mandated by an existing Jan. 1, 2019 deadline, and he’s adding more fixtures to the list.
The current law demands water-conserving fixtures for residential, multi-family, and commercial properties. Fixtures that don’t comply must be replaced.
Hertzberg’s SB 1173, however, changes the definitions of noncompliant plumbing fixtures.
The bill calls for the replacement of the following:
Toilets that use more than 1.28 gallons… Read More
Tagged: LegislationNews
A Southern California lawmaker has proposed legislation that would help deter frivolous disability-access lawsuits against landlords and other business owners.
SB 1142 by Sen. John R-Moorlach, Costa Mesa, would provide property owners and businesses a “right to cure” within 120 days of any Americans with Disabilities Act violation without penalty or threat of lawsuit.
The bill would stipulate that a defendant is not liable for statutory damages, costs, or plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees if the violation is corrected within 120 days of service of a demand letter.
California law provides that a plaintiff is entitled to a minimum of $4,000 per… 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
California lawmakers continue to pursue ways to stop abusive disability-access lawsuits that persist against small-business and building owners, while ensuring that individuals with disabilities have access to those buildings.
“This is the first time that the Legislature as a whole is really recognizing that abusive ADA lawsuits exist, and that there are lawsuits that are more about money than justice,” said Kim Stone, president of the Civil Justice Association of California, in this Modesto Bee article.
Two lawmakers in particular are making headway: Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, and Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside.
Roth’s bill, SB 269, would protect a… Read More
The California Apartment Association now has forms and an instruction sheet available to its members for complying with a pesticide-notification law taking effect Jan. 1, 2016.
Under the new regulations, landlords and apartment complex employees who apply pesticides on a rental property must first notify their tenants. Click here for the forms. Note, you’ll need to sign in to access this material.
Since 1984, California law has required specific notification requirements of pest control companies when they apply pesticides at residential properties. SB 328 by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-Logan Heights, extends these requirements to landlords, their employees and agents when… Read More
Tagged: LegislationNews
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
By the time the 2015 legislative session wrapped up this past Saturday, the state Legislature had sent a number of rental housing-related bills to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration.
Below are summaries of key rental-housing related bills that Brown signed – and others still awaiting a decision by the governor.
Signed by Gov. Brown
AB 418 (D-Chiu) – Domestic Violence – AB 418 reduces the time limit for a tenant (who is a victim of domestic violence) to give a notice of intent to vacate to the landlord from 30 days to 14 days. The bill originally required the landlord… Read More
Tagged: LegislationLegislative Summary