BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 418|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 418
Author: Chiu (D), et al.
Amended: 4/20/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/16/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Tenancy: termination: victims of violent crime
SOURCE: California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
National Housing Law Project
Western Center on Law & Poverty
DIGEST: This bill extends indefinitely the authorization to use
documentation from a qualified third party based on information
received by that third party while acting in his or her
professional capacity, as specified, to support a notice to
terminate a tenancy when the tenant or a household member
becomes the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault,
stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or dependent
adult. This bill reduces from 30 to 14 days the obligation of a
tenant who becomes a victim, as specified, to pay rent after
providing the landlord with notice to terminate the tenancy, and
states that thereafter the tenant shall be released from any
rent payment obligation under their lease or rental agreement
without penalty.
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ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Defines the rights and duties of landlords and tenants,
including presumptions regarding the terms of the hiring, the
lawful means of terminating a lease or rental agreements, and
the remedies available to the respective parties in the event
of a breach of a lease or rental agreement. (Civ. Code Sec.
1940 et seq.)
2)Provides that if a tenant or lessee of real property breaches
the lease and abandons the property before the end of the
term, the landlord may deem the lease terminated and seek
damages, or continue to perform under the lease and seek rent
as it becomes due. (Civ. Code Sec. 1951.2; 250 LLC v.
Photopoint Corp. (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 703.)
3)Allows a tenant to terminate his or her tenancy if the tenant,
or a household member, was the victim of domestic violence,
sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or dependent
adult or elder abuse. The notice to terminate a tenancy must
be in writing, with one of the following attached: (a) copy of
a temporary restraining order, protective order, or emergency
protective order, as specified; or (b) copy of a written
report by a peace officer, as specified. (Civ. Code Sec.
1946.7(a)-(b).)
4)Provides, until January 1, 2016, that documentation from a
qualified third party based on information received by that
third party while acting in his or her professional capacity,
as specified, may be used to support a notice to terminate a
tenancy under the above provision. (Civ. Code Sec.
1946.7(b).)
5)Requires the notice to terminate a tenancy to be given within
180 days of the date that any order was issued, or within 180
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days of the date that any written report was made, or the time
period otherwise required for termination of tenancy. (Civ.
Code Sec. 1946.7(c).)
6)States that if notice to terminate the tenancy is provided to
the landlord under the above provisions, the tenant shall be
responsible for payment of rent for 30 days following the
giving of the notice, as specified, and thereafter shall be
released from any rent payment obligation under the rental
agreement without penalty. (Civ. Code Sec. 1946.7(d).)
7)Provides that, if within the 30 days following the giving of
the notice under the above provisions the tenant quits the
premises and the premises are rented to another party, the
rent due on the premises for that 30-day period shall be
prorated. (Civ. Code Sec. 1946.7(e).)
8)States that the above provisions shall not relieve a tenant,
other than the tenant who is, or who has a household member
who is, a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault,
stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or a
dependent adult and members of that tenant's household, from
their obligations under the rental agreement. (Civ. Code Sec.
1946.7(f).)
This bill:
1)Extends indefinitely the authorization to use documentation
from a qualified third party based on information received by
that third party while acting in his or her professional
capacity, as specified, to support a notice to terminate a
tenancy under the above provisions.
2)States that if notice to terminate the tenancy is provided to
the landlord under the above provisions, the tenant shall be
responsible for payment of rent for no more than 14 calendar
days following the giving of the notice, as specified, and
thereafter shall be released from any rent payment obligation
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under the lease or rental agreement without penalty. This
bill also states that if the premises are relet to another
party prior to the end of the obligation to pay rent, the rent
owed under this provision shall be prorated.
3)Makes other technical and conforming changes.
Background
Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking,
elder and dependent adult abuse, and stalking face numerous
challenges when seeking to regain control of their lives.
Depending on the situation, a victim may need to change his or
her telephone number, participate in the Safe at Home Program
through the Secretary of State, or even move to create a safe
environment for themselves and their family. Victims who rent
their homes face additional challenges when attempting to leave
a dangerous environment if they are a party to a long-term
lease. Absent a voluntary release from their landlord, victims
who are forced to relocate in order to find safety - prior to
recent changes in state law - could find themselves subject to
liability for breaching their leases.
In response to concerns regarding the inability of victims to
terminate leases without liability, AB 2052 (Lieu, Chapter 440,
Statutes of 2008) authorized 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 the tenant, or household member, is a
victim of domestic violence or stalking. AB 2052 also provided
that a tenant who terminated his or her lease under this
provision would be discharged from having to pay rent for any
period following 30 days from the date the tenant notified the
landlord of their intent to terminate. Subsequently, AB 588
(Perez, Chapter 76, Statutes of 2011) increased the allowable
time to terminate upon issuance of a court order or police
report from 60 to 180 days. SB 1403 (Yee, Chapter 516, Statutes
of 2012) extended these protections to victims of elder or
dependent adult abuse and included protective orders among the
appropriate supporting documentation allowed when victims seek
to terminate leases prematurely. SB 612 (Leno, Chapter 130,
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Statutes of 2013) further extended these protections to victims
of human trafficking, and, until January 1, 2016, included
documentation from a qualified third party indicating that the
tenant or household member is seeking assistance for physical or
mental injuries resulting from violence or abuse among the
allowable types of supporting documentation.
This bill extends indefinitely the provision recognizing
documentation from a qualified third party as among the
allowable types of documentation supporting a tenant's notice to
terminate a tenancy. This bill also reduces from 30 to 14 days
the period during which a tenant is responsible for payment of
rent following the giving of notice to a landlord of a tenant's
intent to terminate their tenancy.
Comments
The author writes:
For survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault,
elder/dependent abuse, human trafficking or stalking, fleeing
a dangerous situation could mean life or death.
Unfortunately, many survivors are unable to leave their
current situation because of their residential lease
agreements and rent obligations. Assembly Bill 418 would
remove the sunset date of an existing state law that allows a
survivor of domestic violence to terminate a residential lease
in order to move to safer housing without any economic
ramifications. The bill would also decrease the survivors
remaining rent obligation from 30 days to 14 days.
If the existing sunset date is not removed, a survivor could
only terminate a lease by going to court and obtaining a
restraining order or by filing a police report. Many
survivors cannot currently take either of those actions. In
many cases, survivors who seek restraining orders or contact
the police face a real risk of escalating violence by their
perpetrators. Furthermore, in 2005, the California Attorney
General's Task Force on Criminal Justice Response to Domestic
Violence reported that there were significant burdens placed
on survivors seeking family court restraining orders. These
burdens included completing lengthy forms that were hard to
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understand. In addition, immigrant survivors are often
reluctant to contact the authorities due to their cultural
aversion to involving outsiders in family matters or prior
negative experiences with the police and the justice systems
in their native countries. Also, limited English proficient
individuals continue to face language barriers when
interacting with the court system. Removing the sunset would
ensure that survivors can continue to terminate leases for
safety reasons without having to turn to the courts or the
police.
Even with the streamlined procedure that AB 418 would make
permanent, there are barriers to early termination because the
survivor must still pay for 30 days of additional rent after
he or she provides notice to the landlord and must wait 21
days after vacating the unit to get back the security deposit.
Together, these time periods deprive survivors of funds they
desperately need to secure new rental housing. AB 418 would
additionally reduce a survivor's rent obligation from 30 days
to 14 days.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 612 (Leno, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2013) - See Background.
SB 1403 (Yee, Chapter 516, Statutes of 2012) - See Background.
AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez, Chapter 76, Statutes of 2011) - See
Background.
AB 2052 (Lieu, Chapter 440, Statutes of 2008) - See Background.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/16/15)
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (co-source)
National Housing Law Project (co-source)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (co-source)
Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus
American Civil Liberties Union of California
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
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California Apartment Association
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California Communities United Institute
California Women's Law Center
Casa de Esperanza
Catalyst Domestic Violence Services
City and County of San Francisco
Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse
Greater Napa Valley Fair Housing Center
Housing Equality Law Project
Interface Children & Family Services
Junior League of San Francisco
Laura's House
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Monarch Services
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Council of Jewish Women California
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
Peace Over Violence; Rainbow Services
Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments
San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium
Shepherd's Door Domestic Violence Resource Center
Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition
Tenants Together
Wild Iris Family Counseling & Crisis Center
YWCA of Glendale
one individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/16/15)
Apartment Association, California Southern Cities
Apartment Association of Orange County
East Bay Rental Housing Association
Nor Cal Rental Property Owners Association
North Valley Property Owners Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to Tenants Together, current
law allows a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault,
elder/dependent adult abuse, human trafficking, or stalking to
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terminate a residential lease early by providing a landlord with
a qualified third party statement from a health professional,
domestic violence counselor, a sexual assault counselor, or a
human trafficking caseworker indicating that he or she is a
survivor of abuse. This provision is due to sunset at the end
of this year. Removing the sunset would ensure that survivors
can continue to terminate leases for safety reasons without
having to turn to the courts or the police.
In addition, they support changes to the law to remove barriers
to lease termination arising from excessive rent liability. AB
418 decreases the maximum rent liability following a notice to
terminate from 30 days to 14 days.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the East Bay Rental
Housing Association, when multiple tenants rent a dwelling unit,
each tenant is jointly and severally liable for the entire
rent-they are all responsible for the full amount of rent.
Because they are all responsible for the full rent amount,
landlords typically only accept one rent check a month for the
full amount.
Tenants often make agreements with one another about how much
each tenant pays toward the entire rent. Sometimes tenants
agree that each owes an equal amount, like 50/50, or split into
thirds if three tenants are renting a unit. More often than
not, however, tenants split the rent into unequal shares
depending on a variety of factors including who makes more
money, or who gets the bigger room.
Landlords are never privy to the agreements tenants make about
how much of the rent each tenant is responsible for. A landlord
in this circumstance would have no idea what share of the rent
was paid by the terminating tenant. It would be unfair to the
other tenants, and the subject of a lawsuit, if a landlord
assumed the tenant's share of the rent was precisely 1/3 and
paid her back accordingly.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
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Page 9
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Salas
Prepared by:Tobias Halvarson / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
6/19/15 11:17:36
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