BILL NUMBER: AB 1263 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 13, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Audra Strickland
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 1162 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
relating to unlawful detainer.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1263, as amended, Audra Strickland. Unlawful detainer: service
of notice.
Existing law governs unlawful detainer proceedings to effect the
removal of a tenant from the property. Existing law specifies the
manner of serving notice upon a tenant under those circumstances.
Existing law requires service of the notice by delivering a copy to
the tenant personally. If the tenant is absent from his or her place
of residence, and from his or her usual place of business, existing
law provides that notice may be served by leaving a copy with some
person of suitable age and discretion at either place, and sending a
copy through the mail addressed to the tenant at his or her place of
residence. If the residence and business cannot be ascertained, or a
person of suitable age and discretion there cannot be found, existing
law authorizes the notice to be served by affixing a copy in a
conspicuous place on the property and delivering a copy to the person
there residing, if that person can be found, and by sending a copy
through the mail addressed to the tenant at the place where the
property is situated.
This bill would revise the provision governing the methods of
serving notice upon a commercial tenant , as defined,
for purposes of the unlawful detainer provisions by deleting
the requirement that service be made at the tenant's place of
residence or usual place of business. The bill would instead
require that service be made by (1) delivering a copy of the notice
to the tenant personally, (2) leaving a copy of the notice at the
property with a person of suitable age and discretion and mailing a
copy of the notice to the tenant at the address of the property and
at an alternate address designated in writing by the tenant and
accepted in writing by the landlord, or (3) affixing a copy of the
notice in a conspicuous place on the property and mailing a copy of
the notice to the tenant at the address of the property and the
alternate address, if the process server attests under penalty of
perjury that he or she was unable to serve the tenant, using
reasonable diligence, by the other 2 methods. By expanding the scope
of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program provide that service upon a commercial
tenant be made by (1) delivering a copy to the tenant personally, (2)
leaving a copy with some person of suitable age and discretion at
the property and sending a copy through the mail, as specified, or
(3) by affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on the property and
sending a copy through the mail, as specified .
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: yes
no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1162 of the Code of
Civil Procedure is amended to read:
1162. The (a)
Except as provided in subdivision (b), the notices required by
Sections 1161 and 1161a may be served , either
by any of the following methods :
1.
(1) By delivering a copy to the tenant personally
; or, .
2.
(2) If he or she is absent from his or her place of
residence, and from his or her usual place of business, by leaving a
copy with some person of suitable age and discretion at either place,
and sending a copy through the mail addressed to the tenant at his
or her place of residence ; or, .
3.
(3) If such place of residence and business can not be
ascertained, or a person of suitable age or discretion there can not
be found, then by affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on the
property, and also delivering a copy to a person there residing, if
such person can be found; and also sending a copy through the mail
addressed to the tenant at the place where the property is situated.
Service upon a subtenant may be made in the same manner.
(b) The notices required by Section 1161 may be served upon a
commercial tenant by any of the following methods:
(1) By delivering a copy to the tenant personally.
(2) If he or she is absent from the commercial rental property, by
leaving a copy with some person of suitable age and discretion at
the property, and sending a copy through the mail addressed to the
tenant at the address where the property is situated.
(3) If a person of suitable age or discretion can not be found at
the rental property, then by affixing a copy in a conspicuous place
on the property, and also sending a copy through the mail addressed
to the tenant at the address where the property is situated. Service
upon a subtenant may be made in the same manner.
(c) For purposes of subdivision (b), "commercial tenant" means a
person or entity that hires any real property in this state that is
not a dwelling unit, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1940 of
the Civil Code, or a mobilehome, as defined in Section 798.3 of the
Civil Code.
SECTION. 1. Section 1162 of the Code of Civil
Procedure is amended to read:
1162. The notices required by Sections 1161 and 1161a may be
served by any of the following methods:
(a) By delivering a copy to the tenant personally.
(b) If the tenant is absent from the property, by leaving a copy
with a person of suitable age and discretion at the property, and
sending a copy through the mail addressed to the tenant at the
property and to any one alternate location specified in writing by
the tenant for these purposes, and acknowledged in writing by the
landlord.
(c) If service cannot be achieved by the methods described in
subdivisions (a) and (b), and the process server attests, under
penalty of perjury, that he or she has used reasonable diligence in
attempting service, then by affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on
the property and sending a copy through the mail addressed to the
tenant at the property and the alternate location described in
subdivision (b). Service upon a subtenant may be made in the same
manner. Attestation of reasonable diligence by a certified process
server shall be prima facie proof of that fact for purposes of this
subdivision.
(d) For purposes of this section, "property" refers to the
property that is the subject of the lease.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this
act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act or
because costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.