SB 658: Real property impacted by the 2025 Eaton or Palisades Fires: notification of owner’s intent to sell.

Existing law establishes various real estate disclosure requirements applicable to the transfer of residential real property. On January 7, 2025, the Governor proclaimed a state of emergency to exist in the Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura due to fire and windstorm conditions that caused multiple fires, including the Eaton and Palisades Fires.

This bill would provide require the County of Los Angeles to develop a process for specified governmental or nonprofit organizations a right to match the price and terms of an offer to purchase certain residential or fire-damaged commercial to notify the county of their interest in purchasing specified types of real property located within an area impacted by the Eaton or Palisades Fires. In this regard, the bill would require the cities that have jurisdiction in the area and the County of Los Angeles to develop a process for those organizations to notify the city or county of their interest in purchasing real property subject to the bills provisions and within the jurisdiction of that city or county. The bill would refer to an organization that has provided that notice as a qualified entity, and would require each city and the county to maintain on its internet website a list of those qualified entities on their internet websites. the organizations that have provided the county with that notification. By imposing new duties on those cities and the County of Los Angeles, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require allow the owner of property subject to the bills provisions, before taking certain actions to sell the property, provisions to notify each qualified entity the County of Los Angeles or an organization on the countys list of the owners intent to sell the property. The bill would provide each qualified entity with 10 days to notify the property owner of their interest in purchasing the property and further provide a qualified entity with either 60 days or 40 days, depending on the number of units of the property, to submit an offer to purchase the property. This bill would allow a property owner to sell the property to any party if the property owner does not receive any interest to purchase the property from a qualified entity or receive an offer from a qualified entity within these timeframes. The bill would allow a property owner to reject any offer received from a qualified entity and sell to a party that is not a qualified entity, but would provide a qualified entity that submits a rejected offer with 10 days to invoke a right of first refusal to match a subsequent offer accepted by the property owner.

This property, as specified. The bill would make the provisions described above effective for repeal its provisions 6 years following the expiration of a the last declared disaster or state of emergency resulting from the Eaton or Palisades Fires. The bill would exempt certain transfers of a residential real property from its provisions, including, among others, a transfer between spouses, domestic partners, or specified family members, a transfer pursuant to a court order, and a transfer by eminent domain. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the above-described cities and the County of Los Angeles.