BILL NUMBER: SB 580 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section 54237 of the Government Code, relating to
surplus residential property.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 580, as introduced, Liu. Surplus residential property:
affordable housing: historic buildings.
Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature to preserve,
upgrade, and expand the supply of housing to persons and families of
low or moderate income, through the sale of specified surplus
residential property owned by public agencies. Existing law
establishes priorities and procedures that any state agency disposing
of that surplus residential property is required to follow. Under
existing law, specified single-family residences must first be
offered to their former owners or present occupants, as specified. If
the property is not sold to a former owner or present occupant,
existing law requires that the property be offered to a
housing-related private or public entity at a reasonable price for
either limited equity cooperative housing or low and moderate income
rental or owner-occupied housing, as specified.
This bill would authorize a local housing authority to purchase,
rehabilitate, and resell surplus residential property within its
jurisdiction. The local housing authority would be required to
dedicate any profits realized from the sale to the construction of
affordable housing. The bill would also require that, prior to
offering the property to a housing-related private or public entity
as specified above, that property that is a historic home, as
defined, be first offered to a housing-related public entity or a
nonprofit private entity dedicated to rehabilitating and maintaining
the historic home for public and community access and use.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 54237 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
54237. (a) Notwithstanding Section 11011.1, any
an agency of the state disposing of surplus
residential property shall do so in accordance with the following
priorities and procedures:
(1) First, all single-family residences presently occupied by
their former owners shall be offered to those former owners at the
appraised fair market value.
(2) Second, all single-family residences shall be offered,
pursuant to this article, to their present occupants who have
occupied the property two years or more and who are persons and
families of low or moderate income.
(3) Third, all single-family residences shall be offered, pursuant
to this article, to their present occupants who have occupied the
property five years or more and whose household income does not
exceed 150 percent of the area median income.
(4) Fourth, a single-family residence shall not be offered,
pursuant to this article, to present occupants who are not the former
owners of the property if the present occupants have had an
ownership interest in real property in the last three years.
(b) Single-family residences offered to their present occupants
pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) shall be
offered to those present occupants at an affordable price,
which price. The price shall not be less than
the price paid by the agency for original acquisition, unless the
acquisition price was greater than the current fair market value, and
shall not be greater than fair market value. When a
single-family residences are residence is
offered to present occupants at a price that is less than fair
market value, the selling agency shall impose terms, conditions, and
restrictions to ensure that the housing will remain available to
persons and families of low or moderate income and households with
incomes no greater than the incomes of the present occupants in
proportion to the area median income. The Department of Housing and
Community Development shall provide to the selling agency
recommendations of standards and criteria for these prices, terms,
conditions, and restrictions. The selling agency shall provide
repairs required by lenders and government housing assistance
programs, or, at the option of the agency, provide the present
occupants with a replacement dwelling pursuant to Section 54237.5.
(c) If single-family residences are offered to their present
occupants pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a), the
occupants shall certify their income and assets to the selling
agency. When a single-family residences are
residence is offered to present occupants at a
price that is less than fair market value, the selling agency may
verify the certifications, in accordance with procedures utilized for
verification of incomes of purchasers and occupants of housing
financed by the California Housing Finance Agency and with
regulations adopted for the verification of assets by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The income and
asset limitations and term of residency requirements of paragraphs
(2) and (3) of subdivision (a) shall not apply to sales that are
described as mitigation measures in an environmental study prepared
pursuant to the Public Resources Code, if the study was initiated
before this measure was enacted.
(d) All other surplus residential properties and all properties
described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (a) that are
not purchased by the former owners or the present occupants shall be
then offered to as follows:
(1) Except as required by paragraph
(2), the property shall be offered to a
housing-related private and or public
entities entity at a reasonable price,
which is best suited to economically feasible use of the property as
decent, safe, and sanitary housing at affordable rents and affordable
prices for persons and families of low or moderate income, on the
condition that the purchasing entity shall cause the property to be
rehabilitated and developed used as follows:
(A) If the housing-related entity is a
public entity, the entity may resell the property. The entity shall
dedicate profits realized from a sale pursuant to this subparagraph
to the construction of affordable housing within its jurisdiction.
(B) If the entity is a private
housing-related entity or a housing-related public entity that does
not use the property as described in subparagraph (A), the entity
shall cause the property to be developed as limited
equity cooperative housing with first right of occupancy to present
occupants, except that where the development of cooperative or
cooperatives is not feasible, the purchasing agency
entity shall cause the property to be used for
low and moderate income rental or owner-occupied housing, with first
right of occupancy to the present tenants. The price of the property
in no case shall be less than the price paid by the agency
entity for original acquisition unless the
acquisition price was greater than current fair market value and
shall not be greater than fair market value. Subject to the
foregoing, it shall be set at the level necessary to provide housing
at affordable rents and affordable prices for present tenants and
persons and families of low or moderate income. When residential
property is offered at a price that is less than fair market value,
the selling agency shall impose terms, conditions, and restrictions
as will ensure that the housing will remain available to persons and
families of low or moderate income. The Department of Housing and
Community Development shall provide to the selling agency
recommendations of standards and criteria for prices, terms,
conditions, and restrictions.
(2) (A) If the property is a historic home, the property shall be
offered first to a housing-related public entity subject to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) or to a nonprofit private entity
dedicated to rehabilitating and maintaining the historic home for
public and community access and use.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "historic home" means
surplus residential property that is listed on, or for which an
application has been filed for listing on, at least one of the
following by January 1, 2015:
(i) The California Register of Historical Resources, as
established pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 5020) of
Chapter 1 of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code.
(ii) The National Register of Historic Places, as established
pursuant to Chapter 3021 of Title 54 of the United States Code.
(iii) The National Register of Historic Places, as previously
established pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act (16
U.S.C. Sec. 470 et seq.).
(e) Any A surplus residential
properties property not sold pursuant
to subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, shall then be sold at fair
market value, with priority given first to purchasers who are present
tenants in good standing with all rent obligations current and paid
in full, second to former tenants who were in good standing at the
time they vacated the premises, with priority given to the most
recent tenants first, and then to purchasers who will be owner
occupants. The selling agency may commence the sales
sale of properties
property that former tenants may possess a right to purchase as
provided by this subdivision 30 days after the selling agency has
done both of the following:
(1) Posted information regarding the sales
sale under this subdivision on the selling agency's Internet
Web site.
(2) Made a good faith effort to provide written notice, by
first-class mail, to the last known address of each former tenant.
(f) Tenants in good standing of nonresidential properties shall be
given priority to purchase, at fair market value, the property they
rent, lease, or otherwise legally occupy.