BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 825 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 825 (Corbett) As Amended August 6, 2012 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant JUDICIARY 7-3 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Feuer, Atkins, Dickinson, | | | | |Huber, Monning, | | | | |Wieckowski, | | | | |Bonnie Lowenthal | | | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Wagner, Gorell, Jones | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Maintains existing law for six years with respect to notifying tenants of rights when rental property is sold in foreclosure. Specifically, this bill continues existing law in effect for an additional six years requiring that any notice to quit served within one year after a foreclosure sale include additional notice to renters regarding specified rights and responsibilities with respect to the new owner. FISCAL EFFECT : None COMMENTS : In support of the bill the author states, "California enacted important tenant protections which seek to give tenants additional time to search for a new home and move when the unit in which they are living is foreclosed upon. President Obama likewise recognized the importance of additional time and signed the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, requiring that tenants be given 90-days' notice and that fixed-term leases be honored. Despite the establishment of these important protections, many innocent tenants have received notices to vacate that are unclear and contain different timeframes in which the tenant must vacate the property. For example, some notices state that the tenants must leave in three, 30, 60, or 90 days. These multiple and conflicting timeframes - combined with complex legalese - are confusing to tenants. In addition, some tenants have received a three-day notice to quit that is SB 825 Page 2 addressed to the homeowner, but not to the tenant. Innocent tenants do not realize that they must take certain steps to protect their rights. In other cases, innocent tenants are unaware of their rights under federal law and take the three-day notice to quit at face value and assume that they must leave within three days. SB 825 will help to protect tenants and ensure that they receive the full benefits of the important protections that have been enacted over the last few years by extending the sunset on important protections put in place by SB 1149 (Corbett, 2010)." This bill would continue existing law in effect for an additional six years, consistent with other foreclosure-related measures. Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0004498