BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
2007-2008 Regular Session
AB 763 A
Assemblymember Saldana B
As Amended May 31, 2007
Hearing Date: June 19, 2007 7
Government Code 6
BCP:jd 3
SUBJECT
Condominium conversion: tenant notification
DESCRIPTION
This bill would revise and recast provisions in the
Subdivision Map Act concerning the notice required to be
given to actual and prospective tenants of residential real
property subject to conversion to a condominium project, a
community apartment project, or a stock cooperative
project. This bill would clarify and add, among other
things, the time period and form in which a tenant must
receive notice of their exclusive 90-day right to contract
for the purchase of their respective unit.
This bill would also require notices to be provided in the
tenant's primary language if the rental agreement was
negotiated in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or
Korean.
BACKGROUND
The Subdivision Map Act (Gov. Code Section 66410 et seq.)
vests the regulation and control of design and development
of subdivisions with the legislative bodies of local
agencies. Each local agency is required to adopt an
ordinance to regulate and control the subdivisions for
which the division requires a tentative and final or parcel
map. In general, tentative and final maps are required for
all subdivisions that create five or more parcels,
condominiums, or dwelling units.
(more)
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The conversion of residential real property into
condominiums is considered to be a subdivision and subject
to the Subdivision Map Act. The Act provides that prior to
approving a final map for the creation of a subdivision as
a result of the conversion of residential real property
into a condominium project, community apartment project, or
stock cooperative project, the legislative body must find
that tenants of the proposed subdivision have received
various notices. Those notices serve to both inform
tenants of their rights and protect them from being taken
advantage of during the conversion process.
This bill would revise and recast those notice provisions,
and add specific form notices to be given concerning their
90-day exclusive right to purchase their unit. This bill
would further require notices to be provided in the
tenant's primary language if the rental agreement was
negotiated in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or
Korean, and make other clarifying changes.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
1. Existing law , the Subdivision Map Act, prevents a
legislative body from approving a final map for a
subdivision created by the conversion of residential real
property into a condominium project, a community
apartment project, or a stock cooperative project unless
it finds that tenants have, or will have received various
notices. (Gov. Code 66427.1.)
This bill would clarify and recast those requirements for
the approval of a final subdivision map by requiring each
tenant of the proposed condominium project, community
apartment project, or stock cooperative project to have,
or will have received the following written notices:
Notice of intent to convert at least 60 days prior
to filing a tentative map;
Ten-day notice that an application for a public report
will be, or has been, submitted to the Department of Real
Estate (DRE), that the period for the tenant's right to
repurchase begins with the issuance of the public report,
and that the report is available upon request;
Notification within 10 days after approval of a final
map;
180-day notice of intention to convert, prior to
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termination of tenancy due to the conversion or proposed
conversion, but not before approval of a tentative map
for the conversion;
Notice of the exclusive right to contract for the
purchase of his or her respective unit on the same, or
more favorable, terms that will be initially offered to
the general public. That right shall commence from the
date of issuance of the subdivision public report, and
shall run for a period of not less than 90 days, as
specified; and
All other notices required by the Chapter.
This bill would additionally require tenants to receive
written notification that the subdivider has received the
public report from the DRE. That notice must be provided
within five days after the date the subdivider received
the public report from the DRE.
This bill would deem notice requirements satisfied if the
notices comply with legal requirements for service by
mail.
This bill would specifically state that the notice
provisions do not diminish, limit, or expand, other than
as provided in the section, the authority to approve or
disapprove condominium projects.
This bill would provide that if a rental agreement was
negotiated in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or
Korean, all required written notices regarding the
conversion of residential real property shall be issued
in the tenant's primary language.
2. Existing law provides a statutory form for various
notices sent to tenants of residential real property
concerning the conversion of the property into a
condominium project, a community apartment project, or a
stock cooperative project. (See e.g., Gov. Code
66452.5, 66452.8, 66452.9.)
This bill would add statutory form notices for the
180-day notice of intention to convert, and for the
exclusive right for at least 90 days to contract for the
purchase of a tenant's respective unit. That notice of
the exclusive right would be required to be provided on
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the date of issuance of the subdivision public report.
3. Existing law requires, after the approval of the final
map, prospective tenants to be given notice that the unit
they may rent has been approved for sale to the public as
a condominium project, community apartment project, or
stock cooperative project. That notice further provides
that their lease may be terminated, and that they will be
given a right of first refusal to purchase the unit if
they still lawfully reside in the unit. (Gov. Code
66459 (a).)
This bill would provide that while failure to provide
that notice shall not be grounds to deny the conversion,
the subdivider or their agent who fails to provide notice
shall pay each prospective tenant who becomes a tenant,
was entitled to that notice, and did not purchase his or
her unit, the sum of the following:
Actual moving expenses incurred, not to exceed
$1,000; and
First month's rent on the tenant's new rental
unit, if any, immediately after moving from the
subject property, not to exceed $1,100.
4. Existing law states that any action or proceeding to
attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the decision of
a legislative body concerning a subdivision must be
brought within 90 days after the date of such decision.
(Gov. Code 66499.37.)
This bill would clarify that the 90-day time limitation
to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the decision
of a legislative body concerning a subdivision applies
to, but is not limited to, the approval of a tentative
map or final map.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
According to the author:
As written, the section describing the required
notices is unclear and difficult to interpret.
This can cause real or perceived violations,
which can result in tenants being improperly
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notified, as well as costly appeals to the local
[governments and] litigation. Other
discrepancies are language discrepancies, and
lack of clarity on timing [and] content of these
notices.
The author further notes that this bill originated from
affordable housing advocates in San Diego, and advocates
throughout the state have collaborated on this bill. The
Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego County notes
that "AB 763 helps those being displaced by requiring
clear notices that provide an accurate and understandable
message about the proposed conversion and assures that
tenants rights are protected."
2. Notice provisions clarified and expanded by this bill
By repealing, and reenacting Government Code Section
66427.1, the author seeks to clarify the timing of
notices given to tenants of residential real property
subject to actual or proposed conversion to condominiums.
The Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP) notes that:
Existing law requires the service of various
notices on tenants, yet it fails to mandate the
order in which these notices must be served.
Tenants unfortunately receive many notices at the
same time, or in rapid succession, leading to
tenants moving quickly, unaware that they may be
entitled to relocation assistance or funds.
[This] bill lists the notices required by the
Subdivision Map Act in sequential order, thereby
facilitating notice that is actually useful.
Accordingly, AB 763 would revise Government Code Section
66427.1 to clearly state when notices are to be given to
the tenants regarding the filing of a tentative map, the
application for a public report, approval of a final map,
and of the intention to convert residential real
property. That revised section would additionally
require "[w]ritten notification that the subdivider has
received the public report from the [DRE] . . . within
five days after the date that the subdivider receives the
public report from the [DRE]."
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The bill would, additionally, require notice to be given
"on the day of issuance of the subdivision public report
to each tenant of his or her exclusive right for at least
90 days to contract for the purchase of his or her
respective unit . . ." in the form outlined in proposed
Government Code Section 66452.12. (Emphasis added).
That proposed statutory form notice provision would
clarify the time frame, and language of the notice
required for the tenant's 90-day exclusive right to
contract for their unit. While that notice is essential
for tenants who would seek to exercise that right, it may
be difficult, in reality, to notify all tenants on the
date of the issuance of the report.
In order to provide a more workable timeframe, the author
should consider amending the bill to allow a subdivider
five days from the time of receipt to provide notice to
tenants of their 90-day exclusive right to purchase.
That timeframe would be consistent with the proposed
requirement that the subdivider provide notice of receipt
of the public report. In order to preserve the full
90-day time period, the amendment should specify that the
tenant shall have at least 90 days from the time the
notice is received to exercise their right. As the right
commences upon the issuance of the subdivision public
report, that amendment may, in reality, extend that right
to 95 days, or more.
SHOULD THE BILL BE AMENDED TO ALLOW SUBDIVIDERS FIVE DAYS
FROM THE RECEIPT OF THE PUBLIC REPORT TO PROVIDE NOTICE
TO TENANTS OF THEIR 90-DAY EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO PURCHASE?
A related version of this bill, AB 2562 (Saldana, 2006),
opposed by the California Association of Realtors, failed
passage on the Assembly Floor. That bill would have
similarly recast provisions of the Subdivision Map Act
and imposed new restrictions on residential real property
subject to conversion. No opposition has been received
for the present bill.
3. Notices to be translated into the tenant's primary
language if the rental agreement was negotiated in
Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean
The required notices under the Subdivision Map Act
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relating to conversion of residential real property into
condominiums or other projects are essential for current
residents to evaluate their rights and options with
regards to their rental property. For residents whose
primary language is not English, the receipt of multiple
legal notices in English may cause confusion and
frustrate the purpose of those notices. According to the
Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity's
report on Californians' Use of English and Other
Languages, only 61 percent of adults and 57 percent of
children speak English at home. That report further
notes that:
Of the foreign-born population in California,
over half (51.7 percent) speak Spanish at home,
24.6 percent speak Asian / Pacific Island
language, 10.9 percent speak only English, 10.7
percent speak "Other Indo-European languages,"
and 2.1 percent speak "Other languages."
The Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality (AACRE)
contends that:
More than one-third of [Asian and Pacific
Islander American (APIA)] are limited English
proficient, including a majority of Vietnamese,
Hmong, Taiwanese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Korean
communities having limited English Proficiency.
In addition, greater than one-third of
Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Korean, Hmong, Chinese,
and Thai communities are linguistically isolated,
defined as households where no member 14 years or
older speaks English "very well."
To help ensure the effectiveness of the required notices,
this bill would require those notices to be issued in the
"tenant's primary language" if the rental agreement was
negotiated in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or
Korean. AACRE notes that those "translations would
ensure these residents are fully informed of the plans,
understand their rights to purchase the unit, and are
aware of any possible terminations of tenancy." Although
agreements may be negotiated in Spanish, Chinese,
Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, the tenant's primary
language may or not be that language. The author's
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office indicates that the intent was for the notices to
be provided in the language in which the rental agreement
was negotiated, regardless of whether the tenant's
primary language is other than the language in which
those negotiations occurred. To conform the bill to that
intent and remove the ambiguity discussed above, the
following amendment is suggested:
On page 3, line 24, strike "tenant's primary
language" and insert:
that language
While the limited list of languages appears to cover the
most common languages spoken by minorities in California,
it does omit many languages, such as eastern-European
Slavic languages, that may be prevalent among certain
communities within the state. The included languages are
based on Civil Code Section 1632, which requires any
person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates
primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or
Korean in the course of entering into specified contracts
to provide a translation of the contract into the
language in which the contract was primarily negotiated,
including a translation of every term and condition of
the agreement. The codified findings and declarations
for that Section state:
The top five languages other than English most
widely spoken by Californians in their homes are
Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and
Korean. Together, these languages are spoken by
approximately 83 percent of all Californians who
speak a language other than English in their
homes.
While certain languages are excluded, the included
languages are the most common throughout the state, and
are consistent with translation requirements elsewhere in
the code.
4. Remaining provisions would make consistent, clarifying
changes to the Subdivision Map Act
This bill would additionally prescribe the form by which
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tenants must be notified of the intent to convert a
building into a condominium project, community apartment
project, or stock cooperative project; provide penalties
for failure to provide notice to prospective tenants of
the approval of a final map; and clarify that the
approval of a tentative map or final map must be
commenced within 90 days after that decision.
Support: Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego County;
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO; Asian Americans for
Civil Rights & Equality (AACRE); California ACORN;
California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA);
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation; City
of San Jose; Conference of Delegates of California
Bar Associations; Congress of California Seniors;
Gray Panthers California; Protection & Advocacy,
Inc. (PAI); Western Center on Law & Poverty
Opposition: None Known
HISTORY
Source: Author
Related Pending Legislation: None Known
Prior Legislation: AB 2562 (Saldana, 2006), would have
similarly recast the provisions of the
Subdivision Map Act, in addition to imposing
other restrictions on the conversion of
residential real property. This bill failed
passage on the Assembly Floor.
Prior Vote: Asm. L. Gov. (Ayes 7, Noes 0)
Asm. H. & C.D. (Ayes 7, Noes 0)
Asm. Floor (Ayes 73, Noes 0)
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