BILL NUMBER: AB 864 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Davis
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend Section 17980 of, and to add Section 17994 to, the
Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 864, as introduced, Davis. Substandard buildings: new ownership
interest: registration.
(1) The State Housing Law regulates buildings used for human
habitation and requires specified local agencies to enforce building
standards.
Under existing law, if any sale or other transfer of property to a
3rd party occurs during the period between the issuance of a notice
of violation relating to substandard buildings and the abatement of
the violation, or any administrative or judicial actions related
thereto, the transferor is required to record a Notice of Conveyance
of Substandard Property with the county recorder where the property
is located, within 5 days after the sale or transfer occurs,
identifying the name and address of the buyer or transferee. The
notice is required to be executed with a signature that the
information is true and correct, under penalty of perjury.
Under existing law, any person who obtains an ownership interest
in any property after a notice of pendency of an action or proceeding
relating to substandard buildings was recorded with respect to the
property is subject to any order to correct the violation, including
time limitations, specified in the citation or other notice of
violation.
This bill would require a person or entity that proposes to
acquire an ownership interest in a property for which an enforcement
agency has recorded with the county recorder any of specified
documents relating to substandard building violations, to register
with that enforcement agency by submitting specified information and
documents to the agency, signed under penalty of perjury, prior to
completing an agreement of sale, completing an exchange of property,
or closing escrow. The bill would impose a state-mandated local
program by imposing additional duties upon enforcement agencies.
The bill would make failure to comply with the reporting
requirements a misdemeanor, punishable by specified fines and terms
of imprisonment in the county jail. By creating a new crime, and by
expanding the scope of the existing crime of perjury, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
17980. (a) If any building is constructed, altered, converted, or
maintained in violation of any provision of, or in violation of
, any order or notice that gives a reasonable time to correct
that violation issued by an enforcement agency pursuant to this part,
the building standards published in the California Building
Standards Code, or other rules and regulations adopted pursuant to
this part, or if a nuisance exists in any building or upon the lot on
which it is situated, the enforcement agency shall, after 30 days'
notice to abate the nuisance or violation, or a notice to abate with
a shorter period of time if deemed necessary by the enforcement
agency to prevent or remedy an immediate threat to the health and
safety of the public or occupants of the structure, institute any
appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct, or
abate the violation or nuisance.
(b) (1) Whenever the enforcement agency has inspected or caused to
be inspected any building and has determined that the building is a
substandard building or a building described in Section 17920.10, the
enforcement agency shall commence proceedings to abate the violation
by repair, rehabilitation, vacation, or demolition of the building.
The enforcement agency shall not require the vacating of a
residential building unless it concurrently requires expeditious
demolition or repair to comply with this part, the building standards
published in the California Building Standards Code, or other rules
and regulations adopted pursuant to this part. The owner shall have
the choice of repairing or demolishing. However, if the owner chooses
to repair, the enforcement agency shall require that the building be
brought into compliance according to a reasonable and feasible
schedule for expeditious repair. The enforcement agency may require
vacation and demolition or may itself vacate the building, repair,
demolish, or institute any other appropriate action or proceeding, if
any of the following occur:
(A) The repair work is not done within the period required by the
notice.
(B) The owner does not make a timely choice of repair or
demolition.
(C) The owner selects an option which cannot be completed within a
reasonable period of time, as determined by the enforcement agency,
for any reason, including, but not limited to, an outstanding
judicial or administrative order.
(2) In deciding whether to require vacation of the building or to
repair as necessary, the enforcement agency shall give preference to
the repair of the building whenever it is economically feasible to do
so without having to repair more than 75 percent of the dwelling, as
determined by the enforcement agency, and shall give full
consideration to the needs for housing as expressed in the local
jurisdiction's housing element.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) and notwithstanding local
ordinances, tenants in a residential building shall be provided
copies of any of the following:
(A) The notice of any violation described in subdivision (a) that
affects the health and safety of the occupants and that causes the
building to be substandard pursuant to Section 17920.3 or in
violation of Section 17920.10.
(B) An order of the code enforcement agency issued after
inspection of the premises declaring the dwelling to be in violation
of any provision described in subdivision (a).
(C) The enforcement agency's decision to repair or demolish.
(D) The issuance of a building or demolition permit following the
abatement order of an enforcement agency.
(2) Each document provided pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
provided to each affected residential unit by the enforcement agency
that issued the order or notice, in the manner prescribed by
subdivision (a) of Section 17980.6.
(d) All notices issued by the enforcement agency to correct
violations or to abate nuisances shall contain a provision notifying
the owner that, in accordance with Sections 17274 and 24436.5 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code, a tax deduction may not be allowed for
interest, taxes, depreciation, or amortization paid or incurred in
the taxable year. In addition, in Los Angeles County,
the notice shall contain a provision notifying the owner
that within 10 days of recordation of a notice of
substandard conditions or similar document, the owner is
required to comply with Section 17997 17994
.
(e) The enforcement agency may charge the owner of the building
for its postage or mileage cost for sending or posting the notices
required to be given by this section.
SEC. 2. Section 17994 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
17994. (a) This section applies to a property for which an
enforcement agency has recorded with the county recorder any of the
following documents:
(1) A notice of pending action pursuant to Section 17985.
(2) A notice of substandard conditions or a notice of substandard
building pursuant to a local ordinance.
(3) A document stating that a building is uninhabitable.
(b) Prior to completing an agreement of sale, completing an
exchange of property, or closing escrow, a person who proposes to
acquire an ownership interest in a property that is subject to this
section shall register with the enforcement agency by doing all of
the following:
(1) Filing with the enforcement agency a notarized document
containing the following information:
(A) The person's name.
(B) The names of any coowners.
(C) The address of any person identified under subparagraph (A) or
(B). The address shall not be a post office box or other mailbox
number. If the property is vacant, the address provided under this
paragraph shall not be the address of the property.
(D) The telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of any
person identified under subparagraph (A) or (B).
(E) The address of the subject property.
(F) The date of the proposed transfer.
(G) A plan of correction for the substandard conditions that
includes relevant dates and amounts.
(2) Providing the enforcement agency with an identification
document, and the expiration date of that document. The
identification document shall contain the name, date of birth,
description, and picture of the person, and shall be issued by the
federal government, the State of California, another state, a county,
or a municipal government. The identification document may be, but
is not limited to, a driver's license, an identification card, an
identification card issued to a member of the United States Armed
Forces, or a passport issued by a foreign government.
(3) Verifying under penalty of perjury that the information
provided in the documents submitted under this subdivision is true
and correct.
(c) If the entity that proposes to acquire an ownership interest
in the property is a corporation, limited liability company,
partnership, limited partnership, trust, or real estate investment
trust, the information required under subdivision (b) shall be
supplied for the following person:
(1) For a corporation, a corporate officer.
(2) For a limited liability company, the managing or
administrative member.
(3) For a partnership or a limited partnership, a general partner.
(4) For a trust, a trustee.
(5) For a real estate investment trust, a general partner or an
officer.
(d) If the person or entity that proposes to acquire an ownership
interest in the property resides or is domiciled outside this state,
the person or entity shall designate for the purposes of this section
a natural person who resides in this state and who manages the
property. This designation shall be accompanied by a notarized
statement by the designated person that he or she accepts the
designation.
(e) In addition to the registration required under subdivision
(b), the person or entity that proposes to acquire an ownership
interest in the property shall deposit into an escrow account an
amount sufficient to fund the correction of the violations that are
the subject of the recorded notice described in subdivision (a).
(f) The enforcement agency, upon request, may disclose to the
subject property's tenants the name and address of the person or
entity that proposes to acquire an ownership interest in the
property.
(g) Nothing in this section prevents local government from
adopting and enforcing laws consistent with this section. Where local
laws duplicate or supplement this section, this section shall be
construed as providing alternative remedies and not preempting the
field of the subject matter.
(h) Notwithstanding Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 17995), a
person or entity that fails to comply with this section or provides
false information to an enforcement agency is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be punished by a term of imprisonment in the county jail
for a period of not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the term of imprisonment
and the fine.
(i) This section does not apply to real property owned by a
governmental entity.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.