BILL NUMBER: AB 607	CHAPTERED  10/13/07

	CHAPTER  599
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 13, 2007
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 13, 2007
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 30, 2007
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 3, 2007
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 17, 2007

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brownley
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Hancock)

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2007

   An act to amend Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code, and to add
Section 17958.3 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to locking
mail receptacles at residential hotels.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 607, Brownley. Residential hotels: locking mail receptacles.
   Existing law states the Legislature's intent for the state to play
an important role in improving the quality of residential hotels as
a housing resource for persons of very low and low income. Existing
law also requires a lessor to maintain a building intended for the
occupation of human beings in a tenantable condition, subject to
certain exceptions.
   This bill would, after July 1, 2008, require all residential
hotels to provide each residential unit with a locking mail
receptacle, acceptable for mail delivery by the United States Postal
Service. This bill also authorizes, under certain circumstances,
cities, counties, and cities and counties to make and enforce
ordinances that provide greater protections and increased penalties
for a residential hotel's failure to provide an adequate locking mail
receptacle for each residential unit. This bill would, after July 1,
2008, make a failure to provide an adequate locking mail receptacle
a basis for considering a residential unit untenantable.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   1941.1.  A dwelling shall be deemed untenantable for purposes of
Section 1941 if it substantially lacks any of the following
affirmative standard characteristics or is a residential unit
described in Section 17920.3 or 17920.10 of the Health and Safety
Code:
   (a) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and
exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.
   (b) Plumbing or gas facilities that conformed to applicable law in
effect at the time of installation, maintained in good working
order.
   (c) A water supply approved under applicable law that is under the
control of the tenant, capable of producing hot and cold running
water, or a system that is under the control of the landlord, that
produces hot and cold running water, furnished to appropriate
fixtures, and connected to a sewage disposal system approved under
applicable law.
   (d) Heating facilities that conformed with applicable law at the
time of installation, maintained in good working order.
   (e) Electrical lighting, with wiring and electrical equipment that
conformed with applicable law at the time of installation,
maintained in good working order.
   (f) Building, grounds, and appurtenances at the time of the
commencement of the lease or rental agreement, and all areas under
control of the landlord, kept in every part clean, sanitary, and free
from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents,
and vermin.
   (g) An adequate number of appropriate receptacles for garbage and
rubbish, in clean condition and good repair at the time of the
commencement of the lease or rental agreement, with the landlord
providing appropriate serviceable receptacles thereafter and being
responsible for the clean condition and good repair of the
receptacles under his or her control.
   (h) Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.
   (i) A locking mail receptacle for each residential unit in a
residential hotel, as required by Section 17958.3 of the Health and
Safety Code. This subdivision shall become operative on July 1, 2008.

  SEC. 2.  Section 17958.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   17958.3.  (a) All residential hotels, as defined by paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b) of Section 50519, shall provide a locking mail
receptacle for each residential unit, consistent with the applicable
standards for apartment housing mail receptacles in the United States
Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual. Installation and maintenance of
each mail receptacle shall meet all of the specifications and
requirements of the United States Postal Service.
   (b) Notwithstanding the date of construction of the residential
hotel, each mail receptacle shall comply with the requirements of the
Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601).
   (c) Notwithstanding Sections 17922, 17958, and 17958.5, a city,
county, or city and county may enact and enforce ordinances which
provide greater protections, additional standards, and increased
remedies with respect to the provision of a locking mail receptacle
for each residential unit in a residential hotel.
   (d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2008.