AB 2405, as introduced, Ammiano. Landlord tenant: Ellis Act.
(1) Under the Ellis Act, public entities generally are prohibited from adopting any statute, ordinance, or regulation, or taking any administrative action, to compel the owner of residential real property to offer or to continue to offer accommodations in the property for rent or lease. The act authorizes, if an owner seeks to displace a tenant or lessee from accommodations withdrawn from rent or lease by an unlawful detainer proceeding, the tenant or lessee to assert by way of defense that the owner has not complied with the act, or statutes, ordinances, or regulations of public entities adopted to implement the act.
This bill would require, if an owner seeks to displace a tenant or lessee from accommodations withdrawn pursuant to the act solely on the basis of this withdrawal, the case to civil action other than a civil action for unlawful detainer in which the tenant or lessee may assert the above-described defenses.
(2) Existing law authorizes a court clerk to allow access to limited civil case records filed in unlawful detainer proceedings to specified persons and, after 60 days after the complaint has been filed, to any other person, with a specified exception.
This bill would prohibit the clerk of the court from allowing access to court records filed in the above-described civil action to displace a tenant or lessee from withdrawn accommodations, except as specified.
(3) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, and city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element that includes an assessment of housing needs.
This bill would, if a county or city and county fails to identify or make available adequate sites to accommodate its portion of the regional housing need allocated to specified income levels, authorize the county or city and county to compel the owner of a residential real property to offer, or continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease by adoption of a resolution or by a majority vote of the electors within the county.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature hereby finds and declares:
2(a) Legal issues in an Ellis Act eviction proceeding are complex,
3unlike unlawful detainer proceedings for nonpayment of rent and
4other common evictions.
5(b) Briefs in an Ellis Act eviction proceeding are often
6extensive. Drafting or responding to pleadings on an unlawful
7detainer timeline is a challenge. Exhibits are extensive in an Ellis
8Act eviction proceeding and need to be thoroughly reviewed to
9determine whether “strict compliance” has been achieved.
10 (c) Owners that invoke the Ellis Act are using a draconian
11remedy - removal from rental use - and careful
court review is
12warranted. Unlike a typical eviction for nonpayment of rent, which
13forces a tenant out, but doesn’t otherwise restrict the unit, an Ellis
14Act eviction results in a deed restriction on the unit, removing it
15from the rental market.
16(d) The detriment to owners from a longer civil action to recover
17rental property is fundamentally different. In an Ellis Act eviction
18proceeding, the owner does not allege damage or misconduct by
19a tenant that would otherwise require a prompt eviction.
20(e) It is very difficult for tenants to find representation in part
21because Ellis Act eviction proceedings are complex and attorneys
P3 1are required to drop everything to deal with tight timelines. Tenants
2cannot be expected to competently represent themselves in Ellis
3Act eviction proceedings. Converting these proceedings to be civil
4actions other than those for unlawful detainer could make
it easier
5to get representation or low income tenants.
6(f) To the extent that a civil action is brought to evict a tenant
7solely because the property owner wants to remove the residential
8unit from the rental market and the tenant did not engage in acts
9that would constitute a breach of the lease, the interest of the tenant
10in protecting his or her reputation as a responsible tenant outweighs
11the public interest in the outcome of the proceeding to evict the
12tenant.
Section 7060.6 of the Government Code is amended
14to read:
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insert If an owner seeks to displace a tenant or lessee
16from accommodations withdrawn from rent or lease pursuant to
17this chapterbegin delete by an unlawful detainer proceeding,end deletebegin insert solely on the basis
18of this withdrawal, the case shall be a civil action, other than a
19civil action for unlawful detainer, in whichend insert the tenant or lessee
20maybegin delete appear and answer or demur pursuant to Section 1170 of the
assert by way of defense that
21Code of Civil Procedure and mayend delete
22the owner has not complied withbegin delete the applicable provisions ofend delete
this
23chapter, or statutes, ordinances, or regulations of public entities
24adopted to implement this chapter, as authorized by this chapter.
25(b) The clerk of the court shall not allow access to court records
26filed in a civil action described in subdivision (a), including the
27court file, index, and register of actions, except as follows:
28(1) To a party to the action, including a party’s attorney.
end insertbegin insert
29(2) To any person who provides the clerk with the names of at
30least one plaintiff and one defendant and the address
of the
31premises, including the apartment or unit number, if any.
32(3) To a resident of the premises who provides the clerk with
33the name of one of the parties or the case number and shows proof
34of residency.
35(4) (A) To any person by order of the court, which may be
36granted ex parte, on a showing of good cause.
37(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “good cause” includes,
38but is not limited to, the gathering of newsworthy facts by a person
39described in Section 1070 of the Evidence
Code. It is the intent of
P4 1the Legislature that a simple procedure be established to request
2the ex parte order described in subparagraph (A).
Section 7060.8 is added to the Government Code, to
4read:
Notwithstanding Section 7060, if a county or city and
6county fails to identify or make available adequate sites to
7accommodate its portion of the regional housing need allocated
8to low-income and moderate income levels pursuant to Section
965584, the board of supervisors, by the adoption of a resolution
10or by a majority vote of the electors within the county, may compel
11the owner of any residential real property to offer, or continue to
12offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease until the
13county or city and county meets its portion of the regional housing
14need.
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