BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2521|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2521
          Author:   Blumenfield (D)
          Amended:  8/6/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 7/3/12
          AYES:  Evans, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harman

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/14/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Landlord and tenant:  personal property 

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill increases to $700, from $300, the 
          threshold amount of determining whether the landlord must 
          dispose of the departed tenant's unclaimed property via a 
          public sale, with the proceeds of the sale (less storage 
          and sale costs) held for the tenant, or whether the 
          landlord may dispose of the property in any manner or 
          retain it for his/her own use.  This bill, among other 
          things, (1) requires a landlord to release the personal 
          property to the former tenant without paying the cost of 
          storage, if, the property remained in the dwelling and the 
          former tenant or other person reasonably believed by the 
          landlord to be its owner reclaims the property within two 
          days of vacating the dwelling; and (2) requires a landlord 
          to inform the tenant of his or her general right to recover 
          abandoned property in the notice to terminate a tenancy, or 
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          in the notice to request an initial inspection of the 
          property prior to termination.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/6/12 add double-jointing 
          language to address a chaptering-out issue with AB 1679 
          (Bonilla).

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law requires a landlord to provide 
          written notice to a former tenant of the tenant's right to 
          reclaim personal property left behind when the tenancy was 
          terminated.  The notice must inform the tenant whether the 
          landlord intends to hold a public sale for the property, or 
          to keep, sell, or destroy the property without further 
          notice because the landlord believes the property to be 
          worth less than $300.  (Civil Code (CIV) Section 1984 and 
          1988)
           
          Existing law provides the tenant at least 15 days to claim 
          the property if the notice is personally delivered, and at 
          least 18 days if the notice is mailed.  If mailed, the 
          notice must be sent by first-class mail to the tenant at 
          his/her last known address and, if that mailing address is 
          reasonably believed to be deficient, to another address 
          known by the landlord where the tenant may reasonably be 
          expected to receive the notice.  (CIV Section 1983) 
           
          Existing law authorizes a landlord to retain or dispose of 
          personal property left on the premises and unclaimed by the 
          former tenant if the landlord reasonably believes that the 
          property has a total resale value of less than $300.  (CIV 
          Section 1988)  
           
          Existing law requires the landlord to hold a public sale 
          with competitive bidding for unclaimed personal property 
          left by a former tenant if the value of the property is 
          believed to be worth $300 or more.  (CIV Section 1988)
           
          Existing law generally defines "reasonable belief" as the 
          actual knowledge or belief a prudent person would have 
          without making an investigation.  (CIV Section 1980(d)) 
           
          This bill increases the above monetary threshold value from 
          $300 to $700, thereby allowing a landlord to keep, sell, or 
          destroy a tenant's unclaimed personal property if the total 

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          resale value of the property is reasonably believed to be 
          less than $700.

          This bill requires a landlord to release the personal 
          property to the former tenant without paying the cost of 
          storage, if the property remained in the dwelling and the 
          former tenant or other person reasonably believed by the 
          landlord to be its owner reclaims the property within two 
          days of vacating the dwelling.

          This bill revises the notice of the tenant's right to 
          reclaim personal property so as to include language 
          informing the tenant that if he/she claims the property by 
          a specified date (not less than two days after the tenant 
          vacated the premises), the tenant may minimize the costs of 
          storage.  

          This bill also requires the landlord to inform the tenant 
          of his/her general right to recover abandoned property in 
          the notice to terminate a tenancy, or in the notice to 
          request an initial inspection of the property prior to 
          termination.

          This bill further allows the landlord to provide to the 
          former tenant by email, in addition to personal delivery or 
          first class mail, written notice describing personal 
          property left behind by the former tenant and how to 
          reclaim such property, but only if the former tenant had 
          provided the landlord with his or her email address.

          This bill is double-jointed with AB 1679 (Bonilla).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/6/12)

          Apartment Association, California Southern Cities
          Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
          Apartment Association of Orange County
          East Bay Rental Housing Association
          NORCAL Rental Property Association
          San Diego County Apartment Association
          Santa Barbara Rental Property Association

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           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

            AB 2521 would provide a one-time inflation adjustment in 
            the threshold for the handling of abandoned tenant 
            property by landlords to $700.  The bill also requires a 
            change in the notice to tenants consistent with the 
            threshold adjustment so tenants will be informed that 
            "Ýb]ecause this property is believed to be worth less 
            than $700, it may be kept, sold, or destroyed without 
            further notice if you fail to reclaim it within the time 
            indicated above."

            AB 2521 would provide a reasonable adjustment in the 
            dollar value of abandoned tenant property that triggers a 
            public sale, which has not been increased since 1983.  
            Using the Consumer Price Index as a measure for 
            inflation, the proposed adjustment would raise the 
            threshold to $700. 

            This legislation reflects the compromise we worked out 
            with the apartment owners and Western Center on Law and 
            Poverty to ensure that this bill not only benefits 
            landlords but tenants as well.  It would, for the first 
            time, allow tenants who act promptly to reclaim abandoned 
            personal property without charge.

            Additionally, AB 2521 propels the process into the 21st 
            Century by allowing landlords to contact tenants by 
            e-mail about abandoned property found - in addition to 
            the current mailed notification process.  AB 2521 would 
            also give tenants earlier notice of their rights to 
            reclaim abandoned property. 

            The bill does not change requirements that a landlord act 
            reasonably in removing and storing the tenant's abandoned 
            property.  The bill does not change requirements that a 
            landlord act reasonably in removing and storing the 
            tenant's abandoned property. The landlord still must take 
            specified steps to notify a former tenant who abandoned 
            property at the rental unit and store the property at the 
            tenant's expense if the property is reclaimed.  The 
            current costs of advertising, storage and sale paid by a 

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            landlord may far exceed the value of the abandoned 
            property.  According to the Apartment Association of 
            Greater Los Angeles, tenants often do not reclaim 
            abandoned property valued at under $300. Los Angeles 
            County reports receiving $26,149 as of January 31, 2012 
            from the public auction of abandoned tenant property with 
            few claims filed for proceeds from the sale of their 
            property.  AB 2521 would provide a much-needed update 
            that reflects today's economic realities.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/14/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Bill 
            Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth 
            Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, 
            Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, 
            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, 
            Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, 
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Atkins, Fletcher, Perea, Valadao


          RJG:m  8/6/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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