BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 418
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
418 (Chiu)
As Amended April 20, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | |
| | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gallagher, Holden, | |
| | |Maienschein, | |
| | |O'Donnell | |
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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Analysis Prepared by: Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916)
319-2334 FN: 0000179