Existing law specifies that a hiring of residential real property, for a term not specified by the parties, is deemed to be renewed at the end of the term implied by law unless one of the parties gives written notice to the other of that party’s intention to terminate. Existing law requires an owner of a residential dwelling to give notice at least 60 days prior to the proposed date of termination, or at least 30 days prior to the proposed date of termination if any tenant or resident has resided in the dwelling for less than one year, as specified. Existing law requires any notice given by an owner to be given in a prescribed manner, to contain certain information, and to be formatted, as specified.

This bill would, with certain exceptions, prohibit an owner owner, as defined, of residential property from terminating the lease of a tenant that has occupied the property for at least 12 months without just cause, as defined. The bill would require, for certain just cause terminations that are curable, that the owner give a notice of violation and an opportunity to cure the violation prior to issuing the notice of termination. The bill would require, for no-fault just cause terminations, as specified, that the owner assist certain tenants to relocate, regardless of the tenant’s income, by providing a direct payment of one month’s rent to the tenant, as specified. The bill would provide that if the owner does not provide relocation assistance, the notice of termination is void. The bill would except certain properties and circumstances from the application of its provisions. The bill would require an owner of residential property to provide notice to a tenant of the tenant’s rights under these provisions at the beginning of the tenancy by providing an addendum to the lease to be signed by the tenant when the lease is signed. signed, and to translate the notice into the language that was used to negotiate the lease, if applicable. The bill would not prevent local rules or ordinances that provide a higher level of tenant protections, as specified. The bill would void any waiver of the rights under these provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2023.

Existing law governs the hiring of residential dwelling units and requires a landlord to provide specified notice to tenants prior to an increase in rent. Existing law, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, prescribes statewide limits on the application of local rent control with regard to certain properties. That act, among other things, authorizes an owner of residential real property to establish the initial and all subsequent rental rates for a dwelling or unit that meets specified criteria, subject to certain limitations.

This bill would, until January 1, 2023, prohibit an owner of residential real property from increasing the rental rate for that property more than once annually, and prohibit the owner from increasing the rental rate in an amount that is greater than 7% plus the percentage change in the cost of living, as defined, or 10%, whichever is lower, more than the lowest rental rate charged for the immediately preceding 12 months, subject to specified conditions. The bill would exempt from these provisions deed-restricted affordable housing, specified dormitories, housing that has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 10 years, housing subject to a local ordinance that imposes a more restrictive rent increase cap than these provisions, and specified single-family housing. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to submit a report, on or before January 1, 2023, to the Legislature regarding the effectiveness of these provisions. The bill would void any waiver of the rights under these provisions. The bill provides that these provisions apply to all rent increases occurring on or after March 15, 2019. The bill would provide that in the event that an owner increased the rent by more than the amount specified above between March 15, 2019, and January 1, 2020, the applicable rent on January 1, 2020, shall be the rent as of March 15, 2019, plus the maximum permissible increase, and the owner shall not be liable to the tenant for any corresponding rent overpayment.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires the owner of an assisted housing development in which there will be an expiration of rental restrictions to, among other things, provide notice of the proposed change to each affected tenant household residing in the assisted housing development subject to specified procedures and requirements, and to also provide specified entities notice and an opportunity to submit an offer to purchase the development prior to the expiration of the rental restrictions.

This bill would authorize an owner of an assisted housing development, who demonstrates under penalty of perjury compliance with the provisions described above with regard to the expiration of rental restrictions, to establish the initial unassisted rental rate for units without regard to the cap on rent increases discussed above, but would require the owner to comply with the above cap on rent increases for subsequent rent increases in the development. By requiring an owner of an assisted housing development to demonstrate compliance with specified provisions under penalty of perjury, this bill would expand the existing crime of perjury and thus would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.