overview:
Of the more than 1,200 bills that landed on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for the 2023-2024 California Legislature, two in particular are a godsend for renters’ wallets.
Of the more than 1,200 bills that landed on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for the 2023-2024 California Legislature, two in particular are a godsend for renters’ wallets.
Newsom recently signed both AB 2493 and AB 2801 to help renters find new housing or move out of their current apartments. AB 2493, filed by state Rep. Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz), would prohibit landlords from charging prospective tenants screening fees for applicants who are not selected for a vacant space. AB 2801, filed by state Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), makes a number of changes to the law governing bond refunds.
In providing an update on the legislation to the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, legislative advocate Brian Augusta said the barriers tenants face “almost everywhere they go” are: It is an application fee, and he said he pays the fee even though he is not normally selected for the room. AB 2493 resolves this issue by providing a refund of fees to applicants who are not selected as tenants.
Alternatively, the landlord must have a review fee policy that states “applications will be reviewed in the order they are received, the first qualified applicant gets the unit, and no fees will be charged to applicants who are not considered.”
“I hope (this bill) will be a useful improvement for people who are paying multiple fees at each property to find a room,” Augusta added.
AB 2801, also signed by Newsom, changes bond regulations to require landlords to provide photographic evidence of needed repairs and proof of completion. For landlords to take part or all of their security deposits for unspecified repairs or damage, Rent Control Board Chair Anastasia Foster called it “an absolute fraud” and said the bill would “impair everyday people’s lives.” “It will change the world,” he said.
The City of Augusta said in a law update earlier this year that there is “a lot of fraud” with security deposits, adding that landlords “expect to get most of their security deposits back” from renters.
AB 2801 also states that a landlord may not provide professional carpet cleaning or other post-tenancy professional cleaning services “unless reasonably necessary to restore the premises to the condition at the beginning of the tenancy.” It stipulates that you cannot demand payment from the tenant. The bill also prohibits security deposits from being taken for “normal wear and tear” on the apartment.
Augusta pointed to other signed memoranda, including AB 846 filed by Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) and AB 2347 filed by Ash Kalra (D-San Jose). AB 846 requires the California Tax Credit Allocation Commission (CTAC) to adopt rent caps through regulations applicable to existing Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program properties. Earlier this year, the CTAC adopted regulations that would impose rent caps similar to the Tenant Protection Act on newly constructed LITHC properties, and AB 846 also extended the application to existing LITHC properties.
AB 2347, which Augusta said has been “long debated,” would extend the amount of time tenants facing wrongful detainer eviction lawsuits must file proper documentation to respond in court. It is something. The bill would extend the period from five to 10 days, which Augusta says would allow tenants to “seek advice, organize a defense, go to court, file the appropriate documents, and spend their day in court.” “More time will be given for this,” he said.
In the 2023-2024 legislative session, the state budget, which had a high level of surplus, has fallen into a large deficit in a short period of time, forcing housing advocates to invest time in measures that do not require much of the state budget. Ta. However, the governor’s office and the state Legislature have agreed to increase the LITHC program by an additional $500 million, which Augusta says is “some investment” even during the slow season.
“We went from having big dreams about how we could invest these public resources to actually trying to preserve what we have,” Augusta said. spoke.
Proponents of the legislation also previewed the proposal vote in the Nov. 5 election. That includes Proposition 5, which would allow local infrastructure and housing bonds for low- and moderate-income residents to be approved with a 55% vote, rather than the two-thirds vote currently required. .
Also looming is a vote on Proposition 33, which would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 and allow for greater local control of rent control laws. According to Augusta, the bill, which has failed to pass in the past few election cycles, includes a provision that, if passed by voters, would prevent opponents from “going back to Congress and re-enacting Costa-Hawkins.” The addition is said to be unique.
He said opponents are using this provision to argue that Prop. 33 would repeal more housing laws than just local rent controls, creating a “confusing” message for voters. Added to the fact that the proposal does not add to the law, but merely repeals it.
“It creates nothing more than an opportunity for local governments to regain the power to regulate rent in a way that Costa-Hawkins has prevented,” Augusta said.
