BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 551|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 551
Author: Nazarian (D)
Amended: 8/19/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 7/7/15
AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NOES: Moorlach
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 63-11, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Rental property: bed bugs
SOURCE: Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST: This bill requires landlords to provide prospective
tenants, on and after July 1, 2017, and to all other tenants by
January 1, 2018, specified information about bed bugs and
procedures to report suspected bed bug infestations. This bill
also prohibits a landlord from renting or leasing a vacant
dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a bed bug infestation,
as specified, and prohibits a landlord from retaliating against
a tenant for reporting a suspected bed bug infestation.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 eliminate certain provisions
relating to landlord and tenant duties.
ANALYSIS:
AB 551
Page 2
Existing law:
1)Regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies.
(Civ. Code Sec. 1940 et seq.)
2)Requires the lessor of a building intended for the occupation
of human beings, in the absence of an agreement to the
contrary, to put it into a condition fit for such occupation,
and to repair all subsequent dilapidations thereof, which
render it untenantable. (Civ. Code Sec. 1941.)
3)Provides that any building or portion thereof including any
dwelling unit, guestroom or suite of rooms, in which there
exists an infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents to an
extent that endangers the life, limb, health, property,
safety, or welfare of the public or the occupants thereof
shall be deemed a substandard building. (Health & Saf. Code
Sec. 17920.3.)
4)Creates an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment in every lease,
requiring that the tenant shall not be disturbed in his or her
possession by the landlord. (Civ. Code Sec. 1927; Pierce v.
Nash (1954) 126 Cal.App.2d 606, 612.)
5)Limits when a landlord may enter a rented dwelling unit,
AB 551
Page 3
including for purposes of making necessary or agreed upon
repairs, alterations, or improvements to the unit. Existing
law requires landlords to provide tenants with reasonable
notice prior to entry, and states that 24 hours shall be
presumed to be reasonable notice in the absence of evidence to
the contrary. (Civ. Code Sec. 1954.)
This bill:
1)Makes specified findings and declarations relative to bed bugs
and efforts to control bed bug infestations in residential
tenancies.
2)Requires a landlord, on and after July 1, 2017, for new
tenancies, and by January 1, 2018, for all other tenancies, to
provide tenants with a written notice concerning bed bugs and
the procedure to report suspected bed bug infestations to the
landlord, as specified.
3)States that entry to inspect a tenant's dwelling unit shall
comply with Civil Code Section 1954, that entry to inspect any
unit selected by the pest control operator and to conduct
follow-up inspections of surrounding units until the bed bugs
have been eliminated is a necessary service for the purpose of
Section 1954, and that tenants shall cooperate with
inspections to facilitate the detection and treatment of bed
bugs.
4)Requires the following actions following a pest control
operator's confirmation of a bed bug infestation:
The landlord shall notify in writing all tenants of
units inspected by the pest control operator within two
business days of the inspection; and
All tenants shall be provided notice of the pest control
AB 551
Page 4
operator's findings for confirmed infestations in common
areas.
1)States that a landlord shall not show, rent, or lease, any
vacant dwelling unit that the landlord knows has a current bed
bug infestation, as specified.
2)Precludes a lessor from retaliating against a lessee for
reporting a bed bug infestation by limiting the lessor's
ability to recover possession of the dwelling in an action or
proceeding, by causing the lessee to quit involuntarily, by
increasing the rent, or by decreasing any services, within 180
days following such reporting, as specified.
Background
According to a researcher at the University of Minnesota:
Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, have resurged to quickly become a
very important pest of the 21st century, as they invade
numerous urban areas. Our society has had a 30+ year
"vacation" from this pest, when bed bugs were almost
completely removed from North America as a result of mass
treatments with older types of insecticides (DDT, Chlordane,
Lindane). Recently though, bed bugs have found ample
opportunity to increase in numbers and spread through society.
Their success is a result of a combination of factors:
increased travel of people; improved treatment methods that
specifically target other insect pests (and thus [do] not
impact bed bugs); and the lack of public awareness. In
addition to homes and hotels, bed bugs are also being found in
schools, retail facilities, office buildings, libraries, and
other public areas. (Dr. Stephen Kells, Prevention and
Control of Bed Bugs in Residences
Page 5
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United
States Department of Agriculture all consider bed bugs to be a
public health pest. (EPA, Introduction to Bed Bugs
Page 6
bed bug infestation is discovered in a rental unit.
Comments
The author writes:
AB 551 is a critical step in providing landlords and tenants
processes and procedures to address bed bug infestations and
resolve the issue expeditiously. More often than not, a bed
bug infestation is not reported timely enough due to fear of
accountability. The absence of bed bug protocols and
management laws leave landlords and tenants without clear
direction on how to approach bed bug situations. This bill
ensures landlords and tenants alike are protected and work
together to resolve the issue in an equitable manner.
AB 551 creates processes and procedures between landlords and
tenants for situations pertaining to bed bug infestation.
They include:
The distribution of information relating to bed bugs.
Notification protocols for bed bug infestations between
landlords and tenants.
The initiation of a bed bug management plan in the event
of an infestation.
Rights pertaining to injunctive relief for violations,
for both landlords and tenants.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 328 (Hueso, Chapter 278, Statutes of 2015) requires a
landlord or the landlord's agent to provide a tenant, and any
tenant of adjacent units, with advance written notice of the use
of pesticides at the dwelling unit if the landlord or authorized
agent applies any pesticide without a licensed structural pest
control operator. The bill requires the posting of a similar
notice at least 24 hours prior to applying a pesticide in a
common area without a licensed structural pest control operator,
AB 551
Page 7
unless the pest poses an immediate threat to health and safety,
in which case the notice would be required to be posted as soon
as practicable, but not later than one hour after the pesticide
is applied.
SB 488 (Hueso, Chapter 89, Statutes of 2013) authorized a code
enforcement officer, upon successful completion of a course of
study in the appropriate subject matter as determined by the
local jurisdiction, to deem a building to be a substandard
building when the officer determines that an infestation of
insects, vermin, or rodents exists to the extent that it
endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare
of the public or its occupants, as specified.
AB 967 (Hueso, 2013) would have, among other things, authorized
a local enforcement agency, including an environmental agency,
housing department, or building department, to deem a building
to be a substandard building when the agency determines that an
infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents exists to the extent
that it endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or
welfare of the public or its occupants. This bill died in the
Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/22/16)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (source)
California Apartment Association
California Association of Realtors
Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/22/16)
AB 551
Page 8
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
San Diego County Apartment Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 63-11, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu,
Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Olsen, Perea, Quirk,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,
Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood,
Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harper,
Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chang, Gallagher, Hadley, Kim, Linder,
O'Donnell
Prepared by:Tobias Halvarson / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/22/16 22:32:17
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