BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 612
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 612 (Leno)
As Amended June 12, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :38-0
JUDICIARY 9-0
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner, | | |
| |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson, | | |
| |Garcia, Maienschein, | | |
| |Muratsuchi, Stone | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Extends specified tenant protections to victims of
human trafficking, and expands the type of documentation that a
tenant seeking to end his or her lease early can show to
demonstrate proof of violence or abuse. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Allows a tenant to terminate his or her tenancy if the tenant
or a household member was the victim of human trafficking,
provided that the tenant gives specified notice accompanied by
supporting documentation of the act constituting an act of
human trafficking.
2)Authorizes, until January 1, 2016, a tenant to substantiate
the need for early termination of a lease or rental agreement,
based upon domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, elder
or dependent adult abuse, or human trafficking, by providing
documentation from a qualified third party, based on
information received while acting in his or her professional
capacity, indicating that the tenant or household member is
seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse as
specified.
3)Defines "qualified third party" as one of the following:
a) A domestic violence counselor, as defined in Section
1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
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b) A sexual assault counselor, as defined in Section 1035.2
of the Evidence Code.
c) A human trafficking caseworker, as defined in Section
1038.2 of the Evidence Code.
d) A health practitioner that is a physician and surgeon,
osteopathic physician and surgeon, psychiatrist,
psychologist, registered nurse, licensed clinical social
worker, licensed marriage and family therapist, or licensed
professional clinical counselor.
4)Provides that the above documentation may be signed by a
person who meets the requirements for a sexual assault
counselor, domestic violence counselor, or a human trafficking
caseworker only if the documentation displays the letterhead
of the office, hospital, institution, center, or organization,
as appropriate, that engages or employs, whether financially
compensated or not, this counselor or caseworker.
5)Prohibits a landlord from disclosing any information provided
by the tenant to a third party regarding the early termination
of a lease based on documented abuse unless the tenant
consents in writing to the disclosure or the disclosure is
required by law or court order.
6)Prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a
tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a
tenant's household member that constitute human trafficking,
except as provided.
7)Requires the Judicial Council to develop, by July 1, 2014, a
form that may be used by a party to assert in the responsive
pleading the grounds described above (relating to documented
abuse or violence) as an affirmative defense to an unlawful
detainer action.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This bill, co-sponsored by the California Partnership
to End Domestic Violence and the National Housing Law Project,
seeks to build upon existing California law by extending to
victims of human trafficking the ability to terminate a
residential lease with documentation of abuse or violence -- a
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protection already afforded to victims of domestic violence,
sexual assault, stalking, and elder or dependent adult abuse.
The bill also seeks to authorize the use of proposed new
documentation, as specified, with which a tenant may
substantiate the need for early termination of a residential
lease based on the above forms of violence or abuse, as well as
human trafficking. According to the author, "It is not always
feasible or advisable for a survivor of domestic violence or
human trafficking to obtain a restraining order or police
report. Survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking
are often reluctant to involve the court system or law
enforcement out of difficulty navigating the court system, fear
of retaliation or increased violence by their abusers, and fear
of the child welfare system. . . By expanding the accepted
documentation to include these professionals, more victims will
be able to obtain this safety protection."
Existing law allows victims of domestic violence, sexual
assault, stalking, or elder or dependent adult abuse to break a
rental or lease agreement in order to escape violence and
increase safety for them and their families, provided there is
specified documentation of the violence and certain notice is
given. Existing law also prohibits a landlord from evicting a
tenant if the abuse has been sufficiently documented, as
specified. This bill seeks to extend both of these protections
to victims of human trafficking. Proponents contend this
protection is needed because many such victims, especially
children who have been sex trafficked, are trafficked by people
they know or who know their family. This increases the
likelihood that their trafficker will be able to find them if
they escape, and in those cases, it is paramount that the victim
be able to relocate quickly in order to prevent further
victimization. According to the author, the ability under this
bill for trafficking victims to end a long-term lease early is
an important safety protection.
Existing procedures and limitations that apply to tenants who
are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and
elder or dependent adult abuse would also apply to tenants who
are victims of human trafficking when they seek to terminate
their rental or lease agreement before the end of its term.
Specifically, the tenant must provide written notice to the
landlord that he or she or a household member was a victim of
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human trafficking, as well as documentation of the abuse in the
form of a temporary restraining order, protective order,
emergency protective order, elder or dependent adult abuse
order, written report by a law enforcement agency or officer, or
documentation from a qualified third party. This notice to
terminate the rental agreement must be given within 180 days of
the date the court order, police report, or documentation from a
qualified third party was issued.
If the tenant gives the notice in writing, provides
documentation as required, and gives the notice of termination
of tenancy within the required 180 days, the tenant must pay
rent only for the 30 days following the date notice of
termination to the landlord was given. After that, the tenant
would be released from the obligation to pay rent and be able to
leave the residence before the end of the lease without
liability. It should be noted that victims of abuse or violence
who live in residential rental property pursuant to a
month-to-month lease may already relocate from a property within
a 30-day period simply by giving notice and failing to renew for
the next month. Accordingly, these protections are of effective
use only to those victims who are locked into a long-term lease,
and not in a month-to-month situation-a fact which demonstrates
the relatively narrow applicability of these provisions.
Under existing law, a tenant's notice to terminate tenancy must
be supported by a police report or court order, including a
temporary restraining order, emergency protective order or other
order, as specified. This bill would additionally allow a
statement from a qualified third party to accompany a notice to
terminate tenancy. The statement would have to be based on
information received while the qualified third party was acting
in his or her professional capacity. Under this bill, qualified
third parties include domestic violence counselors, sexual
assault counselors, human trafficking caseworkers, and various
health practitioners, including, among others, a physician,
surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist, registered nurse, or
licensed social worker.
This bill seeks to prohibit a landlord from disclosing any
information provided by a tenant regarding his or her notice to
terminate tenancy unless required by law or court order or the
tenant consents in writing to the disclosure. This is
necessary, according to the author, because documentation of
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abuse can include personal, sensitive information and may
jeopardize the safety of victims if disclosed to the wrong
person (e.g., the current address of a relocated human
trafficking victim if not shielded from the trafficker or the
trafficker's associates). In addition, victims searching for
new housing may be thwarted in their efforts if current or
previous landlords indicate to a potential landlord that the
prospective tenant has a history of being connected to physical
abuse, stalking, or trafficking.
In response to opposition concerns from some apartment
associations, the author recently amended the bill to provide a
standard form document that may be used for this purpose, or
modified as long as it contains the same information in
substantially the same form, as specified. This documentation
includes a signed statement by the tenant seeking to terminate
the tenancy attesting that he or she has been a victim of abuse
or violence, as specified, and identifying additional
information about the most recent incident and the person or
persons responsible for the acts of abuse or violence. The
documentation also includes a signed statement by the qualified
third party identifying his or her qualified profession, as
specified; licensing information, if applicable; name, address,
and phone number; and attesting that the tenant stated to the
third party that the tenant or a member of his or her household
was a victim of one of the forms of abuse or violence specified
under this bill.
In the event that the qualified third party is not a member of a
professional licensing board (as may be the case with domestic
violence counselors, sexual assault counselors, or human
trafficking caseworkers), the bill requires the documentation to
display the letterhead of the office, hospital, or other
organization that employs or oversees the counselor or
caseworker. Recent amendments to specifically identify the
range of qualified third parties who may complete the
alternative documentation have led the California Apartment
Association (CAA) to now support the bill, instead of opposing
it.
To address concerns raised by opponents that the qualified third
party documentation may be misused by ineligible tenants seeking
only to prematurely terminate a lease without penalty, the
author has recently amended the bill to include a January 1,
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2016, sunset date. This sunset date will allow the Legislature,
after two years of implementation should this bill be enacted
into law, to review the provisions of this bill related to
qualified third party documentation in order to ascertain
whether there has been any misuse of such documentation by
ineligible tenants or whether other unforeseen problems have
arisen.
Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001230