In today’s regulatory environment, housing providers are navigating an increasingly narrow path between compliance and liability – where even a single misstep in wording, policy, or process can result in legal exposure. What was once a straightforward business: screening residents, protecting property, and managing risk, has evolved into a highly scrutinized operation shaped by expanding…
Below are questions asked by rental property owners regarding California and Orange County rent control laws, followed by answers provided by eviction attorney Dennis Block. Question One: I own an apartment building in Santa Ana that is under rent control. Twenty years ago, I leased an apartment to a couple. Within the last five years,…
Below are questions asked by rental property owners regarding California rent control laws, followed by answers provided by eviction attorney Dennis Block. Question One: I own an apartment building in Los Angeles that is under rent control. Twenty years ago, I leased an apartment to a couple. Within the last five years, their nephew…
Below are questions asked by rental property owners regarding California rent control laws, followed by answers provided by Attorney Richard Beckman. Question 1: I served a 60- day notice on tenants living in an exempt townhouse in Fremont. I received a letter from Project Sentinel Fair Housing Center asking for six months on the…
Fair housing mistakes rarely look like a locked door; they’re a stray line in a listing or a blanket rule that penalizes housing voucher holders or public assistance clients. Those “small” missteps are still housing discrimination, and they can lead to complaints, costs, and reputational damage. The Federal Fair Housing Act and California’s source-of-income rules…
A New Rochelle-based landlord group will pay $105,000 in damages after settling a housing discrimination case for denying housing to applicants with housing vouchers. The company had a “company policy” barring the use of Section 8 vouchers at some of their residential properties. Besides the fine, the company also agreed to set aside 20 units…
A landlord in California has no obligation to rent to a Section 8 tenant. Rather, the law prohibits a landlord from discriminating against applicants with Section 8 vouchers. The landlord is obligated to accept the vouchers as a source of income and cannot reject those using the vouchers out of hand. Under SB 329 and SB 222,…
Dear Governor: I strongly oppose bill AB 828! This bill places an unfair burden on all landlords who are already severely limited by rent control laws. Landlords are inundated with property taxes, mortgages, insurance, utility bills, vacancies, repair and maintenance. We are unable to properly maintain units as needed or get cited by the city…
Under SB 329 and SB 222, all landlords in California will be required to accept Section 8 and VASH vouchers and other forms of rental assistance and to consider them as part of an applicant’s income. Both went into effect on January 1, 2020.
Last year, the San Diego City Council approved a ban on discrimination against recipients of Section 8 Housing Vouchers. The measure passed on a 6:1 vote with two councilmembers absent. For those of you with residential rental properties within the City of San Diego, you cannot say “no” to an applicant based solely on whether…