Dear Councilmember [Last Name]: Greetings. I strongly oppose the “Fair Chance Housing Policy” that has been proposed by the BRD. These “renter protection measures” are the opposite of what they are advertised to be! It would compromise all innocent renters, especially the weak and elderly. Below are some points you may want to consider. Regarding…
IN THE NEWS In the past few months, real estate investors in San Francisco settled two separate lawsuits for a total payment of $4.7 million. The lawsuits were brought by tenants who claimed they were illegally evicted by owners who wrongfully used the state’s “owner move-in” law, which allows property owners to evict rent-controlled tenants…
Big Sur and Morro Bay are terribly scenic locations beloved by romantics and those who wish he would become so. They are on the Pacific side of California, cooled in summer by the California Current, which also stabilizes winter temperatures along the coast. The climate changes as one moves away from the cooling Pacific, either…
Clients thinking about terminating their resident manager often want to know whether they will be able to evict after they end the resident manager’s employment. A simple question but — even ignoring any Covid eviction rules — one that does not always have a simple answer. Many factors come into play and, even after those…
In his January budget proposal to the state Legislature, Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a clear message: California needs to move people off the streets. “I don’t want to see any more people die in the streets and call that compassion,” Newsom said Monday, detailing his $286.4 billion blueprint. “There is nothing compassionate about someone dying in…
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,…
Under AB 1482, all cities in California are subject to statewide rent control. If your property is subject to this statute, good cause is required to terminate a month-to-month tenancy. With respect to rent limitations, AB 1482 prohibits landlords from increasing rent by more than 5% plus “the percentage change in the cost of living”…
Fortunately, there are still parts of the Golden State that qualify as “affordable” according to a new study of the “Most Affordable Places to Live in California” by SmartAsset. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not. The company crunched the numbers on taxes, homeowners’ insurance, and home costs relative to the local median income to come up with…
Below are questions asked by rental property owners regarding California rent control laws followed by answers provided by Attorney Richard Beckman. Question 1: Is there a bill in the Legislature that is supposed to end the Ellis Act? Answer 1: AB 854, which was moving forward in the legislature and appeared to be heading…
Below are questions asked by rental property owners regarding California property management and resident manager laws followed by answers provided by Attorney Franco Simone. Q: I am a landlord of a small apartment building. I am reviewing the new lease that I want to use this year. I want to make sure I can…