Sacramento, California

June 5, 2008

7:00 a.m. - 9:00 .am.
 

Presiding:

Kevin Brown, Chair

Ruth Hayles, Vice Chair

Frank Nelson, Vice Chair

Jeannette Way, Committee Liaison
 

C.A.R. Staff:

Dave Milton
 

I. Opening Comments

II. State Legislation

A. C.A.R.-Sponsored Bill

AB 2363 (Ma) Megan's Law- "Just Cause Evictions" under Megan's Law- Municipalities with eviction controls only permit landlords to terminate a tenancy for a ?just cause.? Under these ordinances, the landlord must state, and potentially prove in court, a valid reason for terminating a tenancy which generally includes: non-payment of rent, illegal activity or holdovers, property damage, owner move-in, or the removal of units from the rental market. In February, C.A.R. introduced legislation to require local jurisdictions with a "just cause eviction" ordinance to permit landlords to terminate a tenancy of a registered sex offender if necessary to protect a person at risk, as is permitted in existing state law. With aggressive opposition in Assembly Judiciary Committee, C.A.R. chose to amend AB 2363 to require the Sex Offender Management Board to conduct a study on the availability of rental housing for sex offenders and to analyze what impact making registration as a sex offender a basis upon which to terminate a tenancy would have on public safety.

Status- Assembly Appropriations Committee

B. 2008 Bills of Interest

AB 410 (Adams) Unclaimed Property After Termination of Tenancy- Existing law permits landlords to dispose of any abandoned property left on the premises after a tenant has vacated the property provided the landlord believes that the total resale value of that property is less then $300. AB 410 proposes to increase this amount to $500. C.A.R. supports this measure because the original $300 threshold was set in 1982, and it is necessary that the state adjust that amount to better reflect today's economic realities. The process for disposing of unclaimed property that may be only slightly in excess of $300 results in a time consuming, long and costly process.

Position- Support
Status- Senate Judiciary Committee (Failed Passage)

AB 2450 (Davis) Termination of Tenancy Notices Following a Foreclosure- This measure is a "spot bill" and only states intent language to enact legislation that would require a landlord who acquires title to residential rental property through foreclosure to provide 90-days notice to a tenant before the tenant may be removed.

Position- Watch as Amended
Status: Assembly Rules Committe
 

AB 2586 (Torrico) Notice to Tenants of Property in Foreclosure AB 2586 (Torrico) Residential Tenancies - As introduced, AB 2586 would, for rental properties facing possible foreclosure, have allowed tenants to serve landlords with a 3-day notice that terminates the tenancy, beginning six months from the date of the recording of a notice of sale on the property. Lenders would have been required to provide tenants with a lengthy notice in six languages, while tenants would be permitted to deduct the amount for their utility bill from their rent without providing proof of payment to the landlord. This bill would have created a significant burden on multifamily property owners and could expedite foreclosures on buildings in default should tenants vacate the property en mass or deduct large utility payments from the rent, leaving the landlord with no resources to bring the mortgage up to date. Due to C.A.R.'s combined opposition with other property management associations, AB 2586 was amended to only apply to  "1-4" housing and permits foreclosing lenders to provide tenants with a 60 day notice of termination if the foreclosing lender decides a termination of tenancy is necessary. C.A.R. will remove its opposition when it obtains one final amendment to AB 2586 that will clarify and simplify the notices sent to tenants of foreclosed properties.

Position- Oppose Unless Amended
Status- Assembly Floor

AB 2609 (Davis) Mandatory Graffiti Abatement by Perpetrators- Requires a court, when appropriate and feasible, to impose the cleanup penalties for any defendant who was convicted of vandalism but whose sentence was suspended and placed on probation.

Position- Favor
Status- Assembly Floor

SB 1126 (Cedillo) Criminal Street Gangs - Liability for Damages- Under existing law, only assets derived from the criminal activity could be collected from the criminal street gang or its members to pay for a money damages award. This bill removes that restriction and allows the collection of any assets of the criminal street gang or persons who knew or should have known of the unlawful acts to pay for the money damages award. This bill also holds members of the criminal street gang who created, maintained, or contributed to the creation or maintenance of the nuisance personally liable for the money damages awarded.

Position- Favor
Status- Assembly Rules Committee

SB 1299 (Migden) Rental Property Price Controls in Contravention to Ellis Act- The Ellis Act defines the procedure for property owners to exit the rental housing business and permits tenant evictions when the owner demolishes or converts the building to another use. As introduced, SB 1299 proposed to grant local governments the authority to require demolished rent controlled units be replaced under the same rental restrictions as the demolished units. C.A.R. joined a coalition of property management groups to oppose SB 1299 because it would have eviscerated the Ellis Act and the protections it provides to rental housing property owners who must change the use of their properties due to a change in personal or financial conditions. SB 1299 would have created a major disincentive to the ownership and investment in rental housing, and effectively have guaranteed that no new rental housing would be constructed in rent controlled areas. The bill was "gutted" in the Senate Judiciary Committee at the beginning of May to become a "study" bill. C.A.R. has participated in several meetings in an attempt to reach an agreement on the study language and will continue to work on this measure until the study language is acceptable and approved by all affected parties.

Position- Oppose
Status- Senate Floor

SB 1518 (Correa) Sub-Metering of Water Charges in Multi-family Rental Properties- SB 1518 (Correa) Water Charges in Multiunit Residential Housing - This bill, sponsored by the California Apartment Association, would require all newly constructed multi-family rental housing to have water submeters or individual meters installed after January 1, 2012, as a condition of new water service to that property. C.A.R. supports shifting the burden of water use charges to individual tenants to encourage greater water conservation in apartment complexes and to legitimately allocate water use costs to users.

Position- Support
Status- Senate Floor

SB 1598 (Padilla) Landlord Authority to Restrict Smoking on Rental Properties - Sponsored by the California Apartment Association, this bill recently passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee following the acceptance of several amendments. It proposes to permit landlords to impose a ban on cigarette and tobacco smoking on residential rental property, including the interior of the rental unit. It would also require every lease or rental agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2009, for a residential unit located on a property subject to a tobacco smoking ban, to specify in the agreement as to the areas on the property where smoking is prohibited. A specific process is established if a landlord in a rent control jurisdiction wishes to impose such a prohibition. Amendments taken in the Senate Judiciary Committee would require a landlord to provide existing residents notice that they have 12 months to comply, or when the unit is vacated and a new tenant occupies the unit, whichever occurs first. This bill is a "work in progress," according to the Author and Sponsors, and will very likely undergo further revisions in the Assembly.

Position- Favor
Status- Senate Floor

III. Medicinal Marijuana Users/Distributors in Rental Housing*

IV. Invited Guest Speaker: Andrew Shalaby, Attorney at Law, San Francisco, CA

V. Smoke Detector Issues for Property Managers- A Committee Discussion

VI. Other

VII. Adjournment
 
* An Issues Briefing Paper on this subject will be included in meeting materials