BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 319
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 14, 2014
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 319 (Campos) - As Amended: January 9, 2014
SUMMARY : Prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to
evict a tenant based upon specified acts of violence against the
tenant or a member of the tenant's household. Specifically,
this bill:
1)States that a local agency shall not require a landlord to
terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an
act or acts against a tenant or tenant's household member that
constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human
trafficking, or elder abuse.
2)Specifies that the number of 911 calls made relating to the
tenant or a member of the tenant's household being a victim of
one of the specified offenses cannot be the basis for a local
agency to require a landlord to terminate the tenancy or fail
to renew the tenancy.
3)Requires that the act or acts of domestic violence, sexual
assault, stalking, human trafficking or elder abuse be
appropriately documented and that the perpetrator cannot be a
tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant.
4)Defines a "tenant" as a tenant, a subtenant, a lessee, or a
sublessee.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits a landlord to file an unlawful detainer action against
a tenant in order to evict him or her when, among other
things, the tenant has committed waste upon the premises
contrary to the conditions of the lease, or has maintained,
committed, or permitted the maintenance or commission of a
nuisance upon the premises or used the premises for an
unlawful purpose. (Code Civ. Proc., � 1161, subd. 4.)
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2)Prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy based upon an
act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
against the tenant or tenant's household member, if the act or
acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking have
been appropriately documented, and the perpetrator is not a
tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant. (Code Civ.
Proc., � 1161.3, subd. (a).)
3)Mandates Judicial Council, on or before January 1, 2012, to
develop a new form or revise an existing form that may be used
by a party to assert in the responsive pleading the grounds
set forth in this section as an affirmative defense to an
unlawful detainer action. (Code Civ. Proc., � 1161.3, subd.
(e).)
4)Allows a landlord to terminate or decline to renew a tenancy
even if a tenant is protected as a victim of domestic
violence, sexual assault or stalking, if both of the following
apply:
a) Either one of the following:
i) The tenant allows the person against whom the
protection order has been issued or who was named in the
police report of the act or acts of domestic violence,
sexual assault, or stalking to visit the property; or
ii) The landlord reasonably believes that the presence
of the person against whom the protection order has been
issued or who was named in the police report of the act
or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
poses a physical threat to other tenants, guests,
invitees, or licensees, or to a tenant's right to quiet
possession; and
b) The landlord previously gave at least three days' notice
to the tenant to correct one of the above violations.
(Code Civ. Proc., � 1161.3, subd. (b).)
5)Requires a landlord to change the locks of a protected
tenant's dwelling unit upon written request of the protected
tenant not later than 24 hours after the protected tenant
gives the landlord a copy of a court order or police report,
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and give the protected tenant a key to the new locks. (Civ.
Code, � 1941.5, subd. (b).)
6)Requires a landlord to change the locks of a protected
tenant's dwelling unit upon written request of the protected
tenant not later than 24 hours after the protected tenant
gives the landlord a copy of a court order that excludes from
the dwelling unit the restrained person who is a tenant of the
same dwelling unit. The landlord shall give the protected
tenant a key to the new locks. (Civ. Code, � 1941.6, subd.
(b).)
7)States if a landlord fails to change the locks within 24
hours, the protected tenant may change the locks without the
landlord's permission, notwithstanding any provision in the
lease to the contrary. (Civ. Code, �� 1941.5, subd. (c)(1),
1941.6, subd. (c)(1).)
8)Allows a tenant or a household member who was a victim of
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to terminate a
rental agreement and be discharged from rental payments due.
The tenant must provide the landlord with a copy of a
temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or a
written report by a peace officer stating that the tenant or
household member has filed a police report alleging that the
tenant or household member is a victim of domestic violence,
sexual assault, or stalking. (Civ. Code, � 1946.7.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : "Many local government nuisance
ordinances limit 911 calls from certain residences. While the
intent of these ordinances is to protect neighborhoods from
disruptive and violent households, they can also have a
chilling effect on legitimate 911 calls. These ordinances not
only limit 911 calls, they also permit law enforcement
officials to require landlords to evict tenants who make too
many 911 calls. Because these ordinances treat all violence,
including domestic violence, in the same way, they force women
to choose between calling for help and losing their home.
This is an issue that is being talked about nationally, and in
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California.
"As a former city councilmember, I appreciate a city's need to
protect neighborhoods from disruptive households. But these
ordinances go too far when they apply to domestic violence 911
calls. All violence is not the same, especially when the
victim is also a tenant of the so-called 'nuisance' residence.
"In 2011, California law enforcement agencies received more than
150,000 domestic violence-related calls. There were 147
domestic violence-related homicides, and approximately 129
(88%) of the fatalities were female. 1-in-4 women and 1-in-7
men have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate
partner. Government should not be adding to the problems of
domestic violence victims.
"These ordinances are intended to stop violence being committed
by a tenant. And that makes sense. However, treating all
violence the same means that domestic violence committed by a
tenant against another tenant can also trigger eviction. This
one-size-fits-all approach punishes the domestic violence
victim all over again.
"AB 319 would fix this problem. The bill would prohibit any
limit on 911 calls for reporting domestic violence."
2)Existing Protections : In 2007, the Board of Supervisors of
the City and County of San Francisco adopted an ordinance
which provided for a defense to eviction for victims of
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. In 2008,
Senator Leland Yee introduced SB 782 to duplicate those
protections statewide. Specifically, the legislation
prohibited tenant evictions if the eviction is based on
incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
It also allowed landlords to change the locks on a unit if the
victim tenant makes that request after obtaining an emergency
protective order, and allowed a tenant to change the locks if
the landlord fails to do so within 24 hours.
( [as of Dec. 30, 2013].) These
protections were later expanded to include victims of human
trafficking and elder abuse. (See SB 1403 (Yee), Chapter 516,
Statutes of 2012; and SB 612 (Leno) Chapter 130, Statutes of
2013.)
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According to the Judiciary Committee's analysis of SB 782, there
were some early concerns that "tenants might abuse this right
by claiming to be victims in order to avoid eviction on other
grounds. However, the bill makes it quite clear that the
landlord is only restricted from terminating a tenancy if the
termination is "based upon an act or acts against a tenant
that constitute domestic violence . . . sexual assault . . .
or stalking." In other words, if a tenant fails to pay rent
or violates some other condition of the lease, the protection
provided by this bill will not apply even if the tenant has
documentation showing that he or she is a victim of domestic
violence. It is only when the landlord terminates the tenancy
because of problems created by the acts of the abuser - such
as loud noises that disturb other tenants, violence that may
threaten other tenants, or frequent police calls to quell
disturbances - that the victim may invoke the provisions of
this bill." (Assem. Com. on Judiciary, Analysis of Sen. Bill
No. 782 (2009-2019 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 10, 2010, p.
5.)
While there are existing protections for victim tenants under SB
782, this Committee has been informed that victims are still
being evicted based on 911 calls made about the incident or
incidents of violence. This bill will expressly prohibit the
unfair evictions of victims of violent crimes based upon the
number of 911 calls relating to the acts of violence.
3)Nuisance Eviction Ordinances : An example of a nuisance
ordinance which requires a rental lease addendum is Oakland
Municipal Code Section 8.23. "The purposes of the ordinance
codified in this chapter include: to establish a procedure
whereby rental property owners can be required to evict
tenants committing illegal activity on the premises; to
penalize such owners for maintaining a nuisance or authorize
the city to take other action against the rental property
owner for failing to take appropriate action against the
offending tenants; to enable rental property owners to assign
the eviction cause of action to the city and allow the City
Attorney to handle the eviction of the offending tenant; and
to authorize owners to remove from the rental unit only the
person engaged in the illegal activity and not other tenants
in the unit who may be innocent of the activity" (Oakland
Mun. Code, � 8.23.100, subd. A.)
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The categories of crimes that may lead to an eviction under this
code are drug related nuisance; gang-related crime; illegal
drug activity; illegal possession, sale, or use of a weapon;
violent crime; or threat of a violent crime. (Oakland Mun.
Code, � 8.23.100, subd. C.) Violent crime or a threat of
violent crime would be the categories of crime most relevant
to domestic violence. However, the ordinance specifically
excludes violent crime or a threat of violence crime
"committed against a person residing in the same rental unit
as the person committing the crime." (Ibid.)
When read in conjunction with the purposes of the ordinance,
specifically, "to authorize owners to remove from the rental
unit only the person engaged in the illegal activity and not
other tenants in the unit who may be innocent of the
activity," it appears that the ordinance is intended only to
evict perpetrators, not victims of violent crimes from their
homes. (Oakland Mun. Code, � 8.23.100, subd. A.)
Although Oakland's ordinance makes efforts to prevent evictions
of tenant victims, there are many other local ordinances that
may not include the same protections. By clarifying that
public agencies are prohibited from forcing landlords to evict
a victim tenant based on an incident of violence, including
the number of 911 calls made relating to the incident, this
bill would ensure that these local ordinances cannot be used
to unfairly evict a victim.
4)Argument in Support : None submitted.
5)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 612 (Leno), Chapter 130, Statutes of 2013, extends
tenant protections to victims of human trafficking.
b) SB 1403 (Yee), Chapter 516, Statutes of 2012, extends
tenant protections to victims of elder or dependent adult
abuse.
c) SB 782 (Yee), Chapter 626, Statutes of 2010, prohibits a
landlord from terminating a tenancy based upon an act or
acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
against the tenant or tenant's household member, as
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provided. Authorized a tenant to change locks of the
dwelling unit, or request the landlord to do so, as
specified, if the tenant has a restraining order against
another person based on that other person's acts of
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking against the
tenant.
d) AB 2052 (Lieu), Chapter 440, Statutes of 2008, provides
that a tenant or a household member who was a victim of
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking may
terminate a rental agreement and be discharged from rental
payments due.
e) SB 1745 (Kuehl), of the 2005-06 Legislative Session,
would have declared that it is against the public policy of
California to discriminate against a person in employment
because he/she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual
assault, or stalking, as defined. SB 1745 was vetoed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744