BILL NUMBER: SB 1477	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Runner

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2006

   An act relating to housing.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1477, as introduced, Runner  Owner-occupied housing.
   Existing regulates residential housing and permits property owners
to require by contract that people purchasing a house in a
development reside in the house. Existing law defines fraud as, among
other things, an act committed by a party to a contract, or with his
or her connivance, to induce another person to enter the contract
with a suggestion of something as a fact which is not true, with an
intent to deceive.
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to address the problems associated with absentee
landlords, including mortgage fraud and more effective enforcement of
contracts requiring owners occupy their houses.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (1) A concentration of absentee landlords can lead to neglected
properties and the deterioration of neighborhoods.
   (2) Mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing white collar
crimes in the United States and includes purposefully providing
misinformation on home loan applications, such as falsely declaring
that a home will be owner-occupied.
   (3) Many single-family housing developments require buyers to sign
owner-occupied contracts, stipulating that the buyer will occupy the
house for a specified period of time.
   (4) Many absentee landlords violate these owner-occupied contracts
when purchasing residential properties.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
address the problems associated with absentee landlords, including,
but not limited to, mortgage fraud and more effective enforcement of
contracts requiring owners occupy their houses.