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The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday voted to push forward with a mediation program intended to help settle disputes over rent increases exceeding 6%. The program, part of the city’s larger strategy to address rising housing costs, now moves to a second hearing set for April 23. The mediation program is included in the Tenant Protection and Relief Act introduced last year by Councilman Steve Hansen, Vice Mayor Eric Guerra and Councilman Rick Jennings.

Tagged: Sacramento Valley

A pair of bills that would greatly expand rent control in California will get their first test in the state Legislature next week. On Thursday, April 25, the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development will hold special hearings on AB 1482, which would apply rent control to every unit in California, and AB 36, which would weaken California’s Costa-Hawkins Act, allowing cities and counties to expand local rent control laws to single-family homes and newer construction.

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The California Apartment Association has launched a survey in its efforts to improve San Jose’s rental housing inspection program. Specifically, CAA Tri-County wants to hear from owners of rental property in San Jose that have been placed in either the “Tier 3” or “Tier 2” code enforcement categories.  Under San Jose’s Multiple Housing Program, apartment buildings are divided into tiers based on the number of violations per unit of the buildings. Each tier has a different inspection cycle and fee structure, with the fewest inspections and lowest fees for Tier 1 and the greatest for Tier 3. Although the city… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County

A bill that would create a statewide registry of rental units and require a myriad of information from California landlords each year advanced Wednesday from its first committee hearing.   AB 724 by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, would publicize a wide range of information about rental units, raising privacy concerns for both property owners and residents. The bill passed out of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on a 6-1 vote with one abstention and now heads to the Judiciary Committee.

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Over the objections of CAA, Los Angeles County supervisors Tuesday extended a temporary rent cap by six months and expanded eviction controls to all rental housing in unincorporated areas of the county. The interim rent cap, set at 3 percent annually, was initially approved last year and had been scheduled to expire in June. With today’s 4-1 vote, however, the rent moratorium will run until the end of the year, unless it is renewed again or replaced by a permanent rent control ordinance.

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Question: I have filed an eviction against one of my residents for failing to pay rent for the last two months. I served the notice on a Saturday, and someone said I had to serve it on a business day. Are they right? Answer: No. A three-day notice for breach of the lease can be served on any day of the week. The tenant has three full days to comply, but the last day of the notice must end on a business day. Question: I recently purchased a triplex, and the escrow will be closing in a couple of days.… Read More

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Question: I served one of my tenants with a 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. He did not comply, so I served a 30-Day Notice to Quit. If the tenant does not move out by the 30th day, should I call the sheriff to evict him? Answer: The sheriff will not evict your resident unless you have gone through the unlawful-detainer lawsuit and produced a judgment for possession. You could have filed the unlawful detainer action after the 3-day notice expired; you did not need to give the tenant an additional 30 days.

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Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday will consider extending a temporary rent cap they approved last year, a move that lays the groundwork to pursue a permanent rent control measure.   Supervisors also will consider expanding the “just cause” eviction provision to cover all properties, not just rentals built after 1995. 

Tagged: Los Angeles

Thanks in part to the efforts of CAA, the Milpitas City Council this week backed away from a proposal to bring impose rent control and “just cause” eviction policies. The council rejected these policies Tuesday after receiving a report from its Tenant Protection Task Force, which included both tenants and property owners. While tenants on the task force demanded rent control and just cause policies, property owners in the group suggested several alternatives, such as conducting educational workshops to help tenants understand their rights under state law, establishing a non-binding mediation program for disputes, and creating a “right to lease”… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the Long Beach City Council voted 6-3 to draft a tenant relocation ordinance that will bring a form of rent and eviction controls to the city. CAA remains opposed to the forthcoming ordinance, which is expected to require landlords with buildings of four units or more to pay relocation assistance when tenants receive certain types of termination notices. Buildings with four units would be exempt only when the owner lives in the building. 

Tagged: Los AngelesLong Beach