BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 418


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          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.








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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.








































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          Analysis Prepared by:           Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916)  
          319-2334          FN: 0000179