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Thank You to Our Sponsors
New Laws 101
Debra CarltonSenior Vice President Public Affairs California Apartment Association
Karen McCayManaging PartnerPahl & McCay
2016 Legislative Year-End Review• Total bills introduced in 2015-2016
• 5020 bills introduced• Each bill amended on average 6.2 times• Staff reviewed approximately 32,240 bills
• Bills identified by CAA• 277 bills with potential affect on industry• CAA took a formal position on 148 bills• 69 of those bills went to Governor for consideration• 61 of those bills were signed by the Governor and 8
vetoed
New Laws for 2017Bed Bugs
AB 551 (D-Nazarian) – This law requires that on and after July 1, 2017, prior to creating a new tenancy for a dwelling unit, a landlord must provide a written notice to a prospective tenant about bed bugs. This notice must be provided to all other tenants by January 1, 2018. The law outlines what must be in the notice. It prohibits a landlord from retaliating against a tenant because the tenant reports or has a bed bug infestation. A landlord is prohibited to show, rent, or lease to a prospective tenant any vacant dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed bug infestation.A landlord must notify the specific tenants in units inspected by a pest control operator of the pest control operator’s findings. The notification must be in writing and made within two business days of receipt of the pest control operator’s findings. For confirmed infestations in common areas, all tenants must be provided notice of the pest control operator’s findings.
New Laws for 2017Bed Bugs
• Required Disclosures• 10 point type• General info about bed bugs• Procedure for reporting infestations• Recommended language: comply with all prep requirements
• Resident must allow entry for inspections and cooperate with remediation efforts• No “retaliation”• Who pays for treatment costs
New Laws for 2017Marijuana
Proposition 64 –The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act - passed by the voters on November 8, 2016; it legalizes recreational use of marijuana. The initiative expressly allows owners of private property to prohibit any of the actions related to marijuana as outlined in the proposition.CAA’s Rental/Lease Agreements specifically prohibit all of the actions related to marijuana (cultivation, use, etc.) that would otherwise be allowed by the initiative. In addition, the smoking prohibition within the CAA Rental/Lease Agreements has been expanded to include smoking of any substance, as well as the use of electronic cigarettes/vaping.
New Laws for 2017Marijuana
• Prop 64 makes it legal to use, grow, possess in a private residence (including apartments). The initiative expressly allows owners of private property to prohibit any of the actions related to marijuana as outlined in the proposition
• Still illegal under federal law • Leases & Rental Contracts
• Smoke-Free Addendum• Other lease provision which states marijuana use prohibited?• If not, nuisance theory to evict (Not “illegal activity”)• Use lease that prohibits control substances
• What about reasonable accommodation requests?
New Laws for 2017Water Submeters
SB 7 (D-Wolk) - Water Conservation - Beginning January 1, 2018, all new multi-family construction (defined as two or more units) must include water submeters for each individual unit. At the same time, if an owner has a building constructed before January 1, 2018, and he or she elects to install submetersor already has submeters, the disclosure and billing requirements in the state law must be applied when billing tenants for water.All property owners who are required to install submeters at their new buildings after January 1, 2018, must, at all times, bill residents for water service.This law does not affect ratio utility billing systems or RUBS. It does not prohibit their continued use in existing buildings.
New Laws for 2017Water Submeters
• New construction mandated to have submeters in 2018• Disclosure Requirement – all submetered properties
• Prior to signing lease or lease language• 10 point type• Can charge for water actual water usage, fixed fee by water provider, admin fee from third party
billing (max $4.75) and late fee• Disclosures to include, but are not limited to:
• Tenant billed separately for water• Estimate of monthly bill• Payment due dates• Statement that tenant to notify LL of leaks/drips and landlord to fix within 21 days• Disclose contact information for landlord or billing agent
New Laws for 2017Accessibility Access
SB 269 (D-Roth) – This new law lists specific technical violations that are presumed to not cause a person difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment for the purpose of an award of minimum statutory damages in construction-related accessibility claims, where the defendant is a small business (with 25 or fewer employees) and the defendant has corrected the violation within 15 days of notice.
New Laws for 2017Disability Access Laws
California has 12% of nation’s disabled population but 40% of the disability access lawsuits.• SB 269 - Handicapped Accessibility Claims (Technical violations)• AB 54 - Safe Harbor for Businesses• AB 1521 - Disability Access & Construction Related Claims• AB 2093 - CASp Disclosures (in commercial leases as of 1/1/17)
New Laws for 2017Bathrooms – All Gender
AB 1732 (D-Ting) - Beginning March 1, 2017, a single-user bathroom facility in a leasing office or other public area, must be identified with signage as an “all gender” facility. The signage must comply with Title 24 regulations. Under the law, single-user public bathrooms can’t have signs designating them for either men or women. A single-user facility is defined in the law to mean that it has no more than one toilet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user. Areas at the property that are open only to employees, residents, and their guests are not considered public areas.
The law will most likely affect a property with a bathroom associated with a leasing office. It may also include other areas if they are open to the public, such as a clubhouse that can be rented by non-residents
New Laws for 2017Masking UD Files
AB 2819 (D-Chiu)
Current Law mandated that UD records be masked for 60 days after filing only.AB 2819 mandates that UD records be masked unless:
• Landlord prevails within 60 days of filing• Landlord prevails after 60 days, records can be unmasked on court order
Allows court to dismiss cases if Proof of Service is not filed with the court within 60 days
New Laws for 2017Death of a Resident
AB 73 (R-Waldron) - Provides that an owner of real property or his or her agent, or any agent of a transferee of real property, is not required to disclose either of the following to the transferee, as these are not material facts that require disclosure:
• The occurrence of an occupant’s death upon the real property or the manner of death where the death has occurred more than three years prior to the date that the transferee offers to purchase, lease, or rent the real property.
• That an occupant of that property was living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or died from AIDS-related complications.
• no cause of action shall arise against an owner or his or her agent or any agent of a transferee for not disclosing the facts described above.
Fair Housing Laws,Cases & Trends
New Laws for 2017HUD Guidance: Criminal Background Checks
• Applies to all rental housing• Released on April 4, 2016• Purpose of the Guidance• Use of criminal background checks has a disparate impact on certain minorities
• Background checks must be narrowly tailored to meet a legitimate business objective• Can’t use arrest records• Use of convictions (when it occurred, nature of the crime, mitigating circumstances• Individualized assessment
• Growing trend toward limiting use of criminal background checks
New Laws for 2017Assistive Animal Certifications
• Common disability-related request• When can a landlord request verification?
• Rise in online services that provide certificates and/or verifications• Proposed DFEH Regulations
2017 Legislative Outlook
Tom BannonCEOCalifornia Apartment Association
Debra CarltonSenior Vice President Public Affairs California Apartment Association
New Laws for 2017
Bills Sponsored by CAASigned by the Governor
New Laws for 2017Expedited Permit Process
AB 2180 (D-Ting) – This law, sponsored by CAA expedites the housing construction permit approval process by reducing the time for a lead agency to approve a housing project from 180 to 120 days. In addition, AB 2180 reduces the approval process for any other responsible public agencies from 180 days to 90 days. AB 2180 will ensure that badly needed housing projects move through the building approval process faster.
New Laws for 2017Right to Legally Challenge
AB 2584 (D-Daly) – This law, sponsored by CAA, strengthens the state law known as the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) by expanding the list of those individuals and organizations that can help enforce its provisions. Specifically, it provides that a “housing organization” (like CAA) may file an action pursuant to the Housing Accountability Act to challenge the disapproval of a housing development by a local agency.
New Laws for 2017Second Units
AB 2299 (D-Bloom) – This law, sponsored by CAA, will ease some of the barriers to the development of second units. It will ease and streamline current statewide and local regulations for these units.
An application for a second unit must be ministerially and approved or disapproved within 120 days after receipt. AB 2299 provides that:
• The city or county cannot impose parking for an accessory unit if it is located within one-half mile of public transit; if it is located within an historic district; the unit is part of the existing primary residence; or when there is a car share vehicle located within one block of the unit.
• No connection fees or local capacity charges for utilities including water and sewer service may be imposed by the local government.
