BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 418 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 418 (Chiu) As Amended April 20, 2015 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | |----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------| |Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | | | | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | | | | |Cristina Garcia, | | | | |Gallagher, Holden, | | | | |Maienschein, | | | | |O'Donnell | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Extends indefinitely existing law that, until January 1, 2016, permits survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and other crimes to terminate a residential lease in order to escape their abusers. Specifically, this bill: 1)Removes the sunset date of January 1, 2016, for provisions that allow a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or dependent adult to terminate a residential tenancy before the end of the term, substantiated by documentation of abuse or violence, as specified, from a health professional, counselor, or other qualified third party. 2)Decreases the survivor's maximum rent liability following a notice to terminate from 30 days to 14 days. AB 418 Page 2 3)Clarifies that existing law on security deposits shall apply when a tenancy is terminated under this bill. FISCAL EFFECT: None COMMENTS: This bill, co-sponsored by the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Western Center on Law and Poverty, and the National Housing Law Project, seeks to remove the sunset date for existing California law that, until January 1, 2016, gives survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and elder or dependent adult abuse the ability to terminate a residential lease with documentation of abuse or violence. This bill also would lower, from 30 days to 14 days, the number of days that the survivor would be liable for rent after giving notice to terminate the tenancy under these provisions. According to the Western Center on Law and Poverty, these changes "will make the ability to terminate far more effective in allowing victims to escape abusive relationships. To the extent that victims will have the financial resources to move rather than stay, they may be of benefit to landlords and neighbors who might otherwise be in proximity to further abusive acts." Background of previous legislation establishing protections for victims of abuse. In recent years, the Legislature has recognized the importance of enabling victims of domestic violence and other kinds of abuse to terminate a residential lease without liability in order to escape their abusers. This bill is the latest in a number of previous successful efforts to further this important policy goal. In 2008, the Legislature passed AB 2052 (Lieu), Chapter 440, Statutes of 2008, which for the first time allowed a tenant to terminate his or her lease within 60 days of the issuance of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or written report by a peace officer alleging that he or she is a victim of domestic violence or stalking. Subsequently, AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez), Chapter 76, Statutes of 2011, lengthened the time period from 60 days to 180 days. The Legislature later passed SB 782 (Yee), Chapter 626, Statutes of 2010, and SB 1403 (Yee), Chapter 516, Statutes of AB 418 Page 3 2012, which extended these protections to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and elder or dependent adult abuse, and included protective orders among the acceptable supportive documentation. SB 612 (Leno), Chapter 130, Statutes of 2013, later extended these protections to victims of human trafficking and authorized documentation by a qualified third party professional to establish that the tenant was a victim of abuse for the purpose of terminating the tenancy. SB 612 also established confidentiality protections for the documentation, and established a sunset date of January 1, 2016, for all of these provisions. Summary of existing procedures for termination of tenancy set to expire at the end of this year. To help survivors of abuse get away from their abusers, existing law permits tenants who are victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, stalking, or elder or dependent adult abuse 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 one of these types of abuse 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, based on information received while the qualified third party was acting in his or her professional capacity. Existing law provides for a standard form document that may be used for this purpose, or modified as long as it contains substantially the same information. This documentation must include 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 must include a signed statement by the qualified third party identifying his or her qualified profession, as specified; licensing information, if applicable; 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 AB 418 Page 4 of the specified forms of abuse or violence. Under existing law, qualified third parties include domestic violence counselors, sexual assault counselors, human trafficking caseworkers, and various health practitioners, such as physicians, psychiatrists, and nurses. Existing law requires the notice to terminate the rental agreement to 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 provides documentation as required and gives the proper notice of termination within the required 180 days, he or she must pay rent only for the 30 days following the date notice of termination to the landlord was given. After that, the tenant is released from the obligation to pay rent and may vacate the residence without further liability. Existing law also prohibits 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. Confidentiality is necessary because documentation of abuse can include personal, sensitive information and may jeopardize the safety of victims if disclosed to the wrong person (for example, the current address of a relocated human trafficking victim if not shielded from the trafficker or the trafficker's associates). The provisions described above are all set to expire on January 1, 2016. The purpose of the sunset date was to allow the Legislature to review the law in order to ascertain whether there has been any misuse of qualified third-party documentation by ineligible tenants or whether other unforeseen problems have arisen. According to the author and sponsor, there are no reported issues of alleged fraud pertaining to the third party documentation and they are not aware of any unforeseen problems that have arisen since SB 612 was enacted in 2013. Proponents note that the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has allowed the same third party documentation option for over a decade, and they contend that landlords and housing authorities have generally not had a problem with this form of verification AB 418 Page 5 under VAWA, and in fact, some landlords actually request it as an additional way to document or corroborate instances of abuse. Accordingly, this bill would remove the sunset date from current law in order to establish these provisions indefinitely. After a notice to terminate is given, this bill lowers the liability for rent from 30 days to 14 days. As previously described, existing law requires a survivor of abuse to pay rent for 30 days after giving notice of termination to the landlord, as long as the tenant provides required documentation and gives the proper notice of termination within the prescribed statutory period of 180 days. This bill would decrease the period of time, from 30 days to 14 days, that the survivor of abuse is liable for the rent after giving notice to terminate the tenancy under these provisions. According to the author, reducing additional rent obligations will help more survivors find safe and decent replacement housing - something that is crucial to combatting homelessness among survivors. According to data from the National Sexual Resource Violence Center, 52% of all sexual assaults occur where the survivors live, and nearly 80% of sexual assault survivors living in public housing wanted to relocate because the perpetrator was nearby, but could not due to a lack of funds and housing options. In a 2006 report by the United States Conference of Mayors, 44% of the cities surveyed identified domestic violence as the primary cause of homelessness. Under current law, victims of abuse renting under a month-to-month lease may already relocate from a property within a 30-day period without further liability simply by giving notice and failing to renew for the next month. Therefore the current 30-day rent liability period primarily benefits those victims who have obligations under a long-term lease, rather than under a month-to-month lease. It should be noted that by establishing a shorter 14-day period, this bill would potentially benefit all victims of abuse under a lease, whether it be month-to-month or for a longer term. AB 418 Page 6 Return of security deposits governed by existing law. Recent amendments to the bill replace provisions stating that the landlord may not consider a termination of tenancy under this bill to constitute a default in payment of rent, and that the landlord may not deduct from the survivor's security deposit by reason of a termination of tenancy under this bill. Instead, the bill simply clarifies that existing law governing the security deposit shall apply in a termination of tenancy under this bill. With these amendments, the California Apartment Association supports the bill. AB 418 Page 7 Analysis Prepared by: Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0000179