sacramento report

by Monica Guillén

Midway through the 2008 legis-lative year, there are a number of rental housing bills that continue to advance through the process. Here’s an overview of the bills moving along—and a few that haven’t been so lucky.

Foreclosures: SB 1137
Status: Signed by Governor
On Monday, July 8, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1137 (Perata, D-Oakland). It takes effect as law immediately. This bill enacts several changes to the procedures that must be followed before the holder of a mortgage can issue a notice of default or notice of trustee sale. In addition, it adds new requirements when there is a tenant residing at the foreclosed property. Under the bill, a mortgagee (bank) must mail a notice to any tenant(s) at the property on which foreclosure proceedings have begun. That notice must contain the following information:

“Foreclosure process has begun on this property, which may affect your right to continue to live in this property. Twenty days or more after the date of this notice, this property may be sold at foreclosure. If you are renting this property, the new property owner may either give you a new lease or provide you with a 60-day eviction notice. However, other laws may prohibit an eviction in this circumstance or provide you with a longer notice before eviction. You may wish to contact a lawyer or your local legal aid or housing counseling agency to discuss any rights you may have.”

The bill also provides that a bank or anyone who purchases a foreclosed property in which a tenant or a subtenant resides and who wishes to terminate that tenancy must provide the tenants or subtenants with a 60-day written termination notice to vacate the property.

As originally introduced, the bill would have required a 90-day notice to terminate such tenancies. CAA successfully negotiated amendments to the bill that reduced the notice from 90 days to 60 days and an amendment that added a sunset date
to the law, which means that the 60-day notice provisions will expire on December 31, 2012, unless extended by subsequent legislation.

Domestic Violence: AB 2052
Status: Pending Senate Action
As originally introduced, this bill (Lieu, D-Torrence) would have allowed a tenant or household member who has been a victim of domestic violence to terminate his or her rental agreement and be discharged from payment of rent upon presentation of a valid protective order issued by a court or written proof provided by a qualified third party. A qualified third party was broadly defined to include law enforcement, any employee of an organization that provides social or legal services to victims of domestic violence, any licensed health care practitioner or a member of the clergy. CAA sought amendments to the bill to narrow this definition and, as a result, the bill now requires a protective order from a court or a police report to be issued and presented to the property owner before termination of the lease may be initiated by a tenant. Also as introduced, the bill would have allowed a tenant who prematurely terminates a rental agreement as a result of a domestic violence incident to obtain the security deposit, less any allowable deductions. CAA successfully sought amendments to the bill to remove the security deposit language. The bill may be heard on the Senate floor at any time.

Ellis Act/Rent Control: SB 1299
Status: Cancelled by Author
As introduced, SB 1299 (Migden, D-San Francisco) would have amended state law—known as the Ellis Act—to allow passage of local ordinances to require that each demolished rent control unit be replaced by another rent control unit. Although the purpose of the bill was to ensure no net loss of rent controlled units, the effect would have been to make it prohibitively expensive for owners to get out of the rental business. Moreover, it would have gutted Ellis Act protections for owners in rent control communities. In the face of stiff opposition, the author amended the bill to remove the offensive provisions and to include language that would require a study of the loss of affordable rental housing units resulting from condominium conversions of rent controlled properties, and examine the authority of public entities to regulate withdrawal of rent controlled units from the market. CAA opposed the initial version of the bill.

Carbon Monoxide: SB 1386
Status: Awaiting Assembly Action
SB 1386 (Lowenthal, D-Long Beach) would require the State Fire Marshal to approve carbon monoxide alarms for use in dwelling units and require the alarms to be installed in any dwelling unit that contains fossil fuel burning appliances or fireplaces or those with an attached garage. The installation requirement will apply to dwelling units intended for human occupancy, upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy or an owner’s application for a permit for alterations, repairs or additions, exceeding $1,000, on or after July 1, 2011. It will also apply to all single-family dwellings sold on or before July 1, 2010, and to all multifamily buildings sold on or after July 1, 2011. CAA has worked actively to add to the legislation valuable liability protection for rental property owners. It makes tenants responsible for notifying the owner if the carbon monoxide detector is inoperable. The owner will not be in violation of this section for a deficient carbon monoxide device when he or she has not received notice of the deficiency. The carbon monoxide alarm may be battery powered or a plug-in device with battery backup. The bill is awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Tobacco: SB 1598
Status: Held in Committee
This CAA-sponsored legislation (Padilla, D-Los Angeles) would have allowed but not required landlords to restrict tenants and their guests from smoking tobacco at the rental property. Tenant organizations opposed the bill, arguing that it was discriminatory toward low-income tenants who, as a class, have a higher propensity to smoke. The Lung Association also opposed the bill, expressing concerns that the measure would curtail its local efforts to adopt local smoking bans. As a result, CAA elected to hold the bill in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and the bill’s author elected to make a public statement about the issue. In his statement, Senator Padilla expressed the importance of breaking the cycle that places the health of low-income children and their families at risk from secondhand smoke. As he noted, a wide variety of interests continue to exist with disparate and diverse concerns about public health, renters’ rights and rent control.

Senator Padilla has committed to continue his legislative work with CAA on this topic. With no consistent statewide policy on this topic, CAA members can expect to see local governments and antismoking advocates continue their work to implement ordinances that mandate specific actions by landlords. A number of cities have already adopted, or are considering, smoking restrictions at multifamily properties.

Green Buildings
In addition to the bills mentioned above, CAA has been actively engaged in green building legislation. As reported in the July “Sacramento Report,” a number of bills were introduced this year to impose efficient building standards. While the goals of these proposals are laudable, most legislative mandates introduced this year will have severe negative repercussions, including the reduction of private industry incentives, reduction of economic benefits to local communities and creation of additional costs to property owners and tenants. In addition, many of the current proposals rely on technology that either does not exist or is otherwise not feasible.

Below is a small sample of some of the “green building” legislation.

Zero Net Energy: AB2112
CAA Position: Oppose
Status: Senate Policy
AB 2112 (Saldana, D-San Diego) would require “Zero Net Energy” usage for residential developments and would require all new buildings to generate 50% of used power onsite (using sustainable technology.)

Energy Use Reductions: AB 1065
CAA Position: Oppose
Status: Senate Appropriations
This bill (Lieber, D-Mountain View) would require all new buildings to use 50% less energy by 2020 and 80% less energy by 2030.

Transportation Planning: SB 375
CAA Position: Oppose
Status: Assembly Appropriations
SB 375 (Steinberg, D-Sacramento) proposes to withhold transportation funding from local governments as a stick to try and direct them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Monica Guillén is CAA’s vice president of public affairs. Copyright © 2008 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.