(1)Existing law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse and that the tenant intends to terminate the tenancy. If the tenant attaches to the notice a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, a report by a peace officer, as specified, or documentation from a qualified 3rd party, as specified, and satisfies other requirements, the tenant is released from paying rent and other obligations under the lease, subject to certain limitations.

This bill would declare void, as contrary to public policy, a provision in a rental or lease agreement that limits or prohibits, or threatens to limit or prohibit, a tenants, residents, or other persons right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency if the tenant, resident, or other person believes that the law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. The bill would also prohibit a landlord from imposing, or threatening to impose, penalties in this context as well. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would provide that a waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would prescribe evidentiary presumptions in this connection to be applicable to unlawful detainer actions. The bill would authorize a tenant, resident, or other aggrieved person to seek an injunction for a violation of these provisions.

(2)Existing law, in connection with actions for unlawful detainer, prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, if certain standards are met. In this regard, the acts must be documented by a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, or a report by a peace officer, as specified, and the person against whom the protection order has been issued, or who was named in the police report, is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant or household member.

This bill, for the purposes relating to unlawful detainer, described above, would authorize a tenant to document an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, by attaching a statement from a qualified 3rd party, as defined. The bill would require that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement that the bill would prescribe for this purpose. The bill would prohibit the landlord from disclosing information that a tenant has submitted in this context, except as specified. The bill would prescribe definitions for these purposes. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or revise an existing form for use by a party to assert an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action, as specified.

(3)Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitutes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse, if specified requirements relating to unlawful detainer actions are satisfied. Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenants household being a victim of these acts.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would prohibit a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition or threatened imposition of, a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. The bill would prescribe definitions in this regard. The bill would preempt inconsistent local rules and regulations in this regard. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions. The bill would declare that the need to protect parties to whom these provisions of the bill apply is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, and that charter cities and counties would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

(1)Existing law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse and that the tenant intends to terminate the tenancy. If the tenant attaches to the notice a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, a report by a peace officer, as specified, or documentation from a qualified 3rd party, as specified, and satisfies other requirements, the tenant is released from paying rent and other obligations under the lease, subject to certain limitations.

This bill would declare void, as contrary to public policy, a provision in a rental or lease agreement that limits or prohibits, or threatens to limit or prohibit, a tenants, residents, or other persons right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency if the tenant, resident, or other person believes that the law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. The bill would also prohibit a landlord from imposing, or threatening to impose, penalties in this context as well. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would provide that a waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would prescribe evidentiary presumptions in this connection to be applicable to unlawful detainer actions. The bill would authorize a tenant, resident, or other aggrieved person to seek an injunction for a violation of these provisions.

(2)Existing law, in connection with actions for unlawful detainer, prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, if certain standards are met. In this regard, the acts must be documented by a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, or a report by a peace officer, as specified, and the person against whom the protection order has been issued, or who was named in the police report, is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant or household member.

This bill, for the purposes relating to unlawful detainer, described above, would authorize a tenant to document an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, by attaching a statement from a qualified 3rd party, as defined. The bill would require that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement that the bill would prescribe for this purpose. The bill would prohibit the landlord from disclosing information that a tenant has submitted in this context, except as specified. The bill would prescribe definitions for these purposes. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or revise an existing form for use by a party to assert an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action, as specified.

(3)Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitutes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse, if specified requirements relating to unlawful detainer actions are satisfied. Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenants household being a victim of these acts.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would prohibit a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition or threatened imposition of, a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. The bill would prescribe definitions in this regard. The bill would preempt inconsistent local rules and regulations in this regard. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions. The bill would declare that the need to protect parties to whom these provisions of the bill apply is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, and that charter cities and counties would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

(1)Existing law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependant dependent adult abuse and that the tenant intends to terminate the tenancy. If the tenant attaches to the notice a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, a report by a peace officer, as specified, or documentation from a qualified 3rd party, as specified, and satisfies other requirements, the tenant is released from paying rent and other obligations under the lease, subject to certain limitations.

This bill would declare void, as contrary to public policy, a provision in a rental or lease agreement that limits or prohibits, or threatens to limit or prohibit, a tenants, residents, or other persons right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency if the tenant, resident, or other person believes that the law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. The bill would also prohibit a landlord from imposing, or threatening to impose, penalties in this context as well. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would provide that a waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would prescribe evidentiary presumptions in this connection to be applicable to unlawful detainer actions. The bill would authorize a tenant, resident, or other aggrieved person to seek an injunction for a violation of these provisions.

(2)Existing law, in connection with actions for unlawful detainer, prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, if certain standards are met. In this regard, the acts must be documented by a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, or a report by a peace officer, as specified, and the person against whom the protection order has been issued, or who was named in the police report, is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant or household member.

This bill, for the purposes relating to unlawful detainer, described above, would authorize a tenant to document an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, by attaching a statement from a qualified 3rd party, as defined. The bill would require that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement that the bill would prescribe for this purpose. The bill would prohibit the landlord from disclosing information that a tenant has submitted in this context, except as specified. The bill would prescribe definitions for these purposes. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or revise an existing form for use by a party to assert an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action, as specified.

(3)Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitutes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse, if specified requirements relating to unlawful detainer actions are satisfied. Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or failure failing to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenants household being a victim of these acts.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would prohibit a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition or threatened imposition of, a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. The bill would prescribe definitions in this regard. The bill would preempt inconsistent local rules and regulations in this regard. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions. The bill would declare that the need to protect parties to whom these provisions of the bill apply is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, and that charter cities and counties would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

(1)Existing law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependant adult abuse and that the tenant intends to terminate the tenancy. If the tenant attaches to the notice a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, a report by a peace officer, as specified, or documentation from a qualified 3rd party, as specified, and satisfies other requirements, the tenant is released from paying rent and other obligations under the lease, subject to certain limitations.

This bill would prohibit a landlord from limiting or prohibiting, or threatening declare void, as contrary to public policy, a provision in a rental or lease agreement that limits or prohibits, or threatens to limit or prohibit, a tenants, residents, or other persons right to summon law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency if the tenant or resident tenant, resident, or other person believes that the law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. The bill would also prohibit a landlord from imposing, or threatening to impose, monetary or other penalties in this context as well. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would provide that a waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would prescribe evidentiary presumptions in this connection to be applicable to unlawful detainer actions. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions. authorize a tenant, resident, or other aggrieved person to seek an injunction for a violation of these provisions.

(2)Existing law, in connection with actions for unlawful detainer, prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, if certain standards are met. In this regard, the acts must be documented by a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, or a report by a peace officer, as specified, and the person against whom the protection order has been issued, or who was named in the police report, is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant or household member. Existing law immunizes landlords from liability to any other tenants for actions from the landlords compliance with these provisions.

This bill, for the purposes relating to unlawful detainer, described above, would authorize a tenant to document an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, by attaching a statement from a qualified 3rd party, as defined. The bill would require that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement that the bill would prescribe for this purpose. The bill would eliminate the landlords protection from liability to other tenants, as described above. The bill would prohibit the landlord from disclosing information that a tenant has submitted in this context, except as specified. The bill would prescribe definitions for these purposes. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by July September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or revise an existing form for use by a party to assert an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action, as specified.

(3)Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitutes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse, if specified requirements relating to unlawful detainer actions are satisfied. Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or failure to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenants household being a victim of these acts.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would prohibit a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition or threatened imposition of, a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person if the party sought or received as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance as, by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency and the party believed that the assistance was necessary emergency. The bill would prescribe definitions in this regard. The bill would preempt inconsistent local rules and regulations in this regard. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions. The bill would declare that the need to protect parties to whom these provisions of the bill apply is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, and that charter cities and counties would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

(1)Existing law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependant adult abuse and that the tenant intends to terminate the tenancy. If the tenant attaches to the notice a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, a report by a peace officer, as specified, or documentation from a qualified 3rd party, as specified, and satisfies other requirements, the tenant is released from paying rent and other obligations under the lease, subject to certain limitations.

This bill would prohibit a landlord from limiting or prohibiting, or threatening to limit or prohibit, a tenants, residents, or other persons right to summon law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency if the tenant or resident believes that the law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance is necessary to prevent the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. The bill would also prohibit a landlord from imposing, or threatening to impose, monetary or other penalties in this context as well. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would provide that a waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable. The bill would prescribe evidentiary presumptions in this connection to be applicable to unlawful detainer actions. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions.

(2)Existing law, in connection with actions for unlawful detainer, prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, if certain standards are met. In this regard, the acts must be documented by a copy of a temporary restraining order or protective order, as specified, or a report by a peace officer, as specified, and the person against whom the protection order has been issued, or who was named in the police report, is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the tenant or household member. Existing law immunizes landlords from liability to any other tenants for actions from the landlords compliance with these provisions.

This bill, for the purposes relating to unlawful detainer, described above, would authorize a tenant to document an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or a dependent adult abuse, by attaching a statement from a qualified 3rd party, as defined. The bill would require that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement that the bill would prescribe for this purpose. The bill would eliminate the landlords protection from liability to other tenants, as described above. The bill would prohibit the landlord from disclosing information that a tenant has submitted in this context, except as specified. The bill would prescribe definitions for these purposes. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2019, to develop a new form or revise an existing form for use by a party to assert an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action, as specified.

(3)Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act against a tenant or a tenants household member that constitutes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse, if specified requirements relating to unlawful detainer actions are satisfied. Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or failure to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenants household being a victim of these acts.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would prohibit a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition or threatened imposition of, a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person if the party sought or received law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency and the party believed that the assistance was necessary. The bill would prescribe definitions in this regard. The bill would preempt inconsistent local rules and regulations in this regard. The bill would prescribe remedies for a violation of these provisions. The bill would declare that the need to protect parties to whom these provisions of the bill apply is a matter of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, and that charter cities and counties would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2413

Author:(Chiu, et al.)

As Amended Ver:June 4, 2018

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: JUD.

SUMMARY: Expands protections for survivors of domestic violence and other types of abuse to not face eviction or other penalties on the basis of having summoned law enforcement or 9-1-1 emergency assistance on their own behalf, or on behalf of another, to respond to incidents of violence or abuse, as provided. Specifically, this bill:

1. Declares void as contrary to public policy any provision in a residential rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits, or threatens to prohibit or limit, a tenant, resident, or other person's right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency, if he or she believes that the assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.
2. Prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy, failing to renew a tenancy, or imposing other penalties upon a tenant or resident who exercises his or her right to summon law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance under the same circumstances as described in 1), above. Further prohibits the landlord from taking such actions as a consequence of a person who is not a resident or tenant summoning law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance, as specified.
3. Provides that documentation is not required to establish belief for purposes of 1) and 2), above, but that belief may be established by documents such as the following:
   1. A temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order issued in the last 180 days, as specified.
   2. A copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse.
   3. Documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse.
4. Establishes that documentation from a qualified third party, as specified in 3c) may be used by a tenant to document acts of violence or abuse against the tenant for the purpose of establishing existing tenant protections that prohibit the landlord from terminating tenancy or failing to renew tenancy based upon acts of violence or abuse against the tenant. Further requires that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement prescribed by this bill.
5. Allows a tenant to raise as an affirmative defense to eviction that the landlord has not complied with 1) and 2), above, or other provisions of this bill. Creates a rebuttable presumption that the tenant has established the affirmative defense under specified circumstances, and specifies how the landlord can rebut the presumption.
6. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or amend an existing form that may be used by parties to assert the grounds set forth in the eviction provisions of this bill as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer.
7. Authorizes tenants, residents, or other aggrieved persons to seek injunctive and equitable relief for violations of these provisions.
8. Prohibits a landlord from disclosing any information provided by a tenant to a third party under this act, unless the tenant gives written consent or the disclosure is required by law or court order.
9. Prohibits a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition, or threatened imposition, of a penalty against a tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance being summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse or crime, or an individual in an emergency. Provides that this preempts any local ordinance or rule that is inconsistent with this prohibition.
10. Authorizes a landlord, tenant, or other person to obtain injunctive or equitable relief to enjoin violations of 9), above.

The Senate amendments make non-substantive, technical changes.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

COMMENTS: Existing law prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against the tenant or the tenant's household member. The purpose of this law is straightforward; it protects victims of such violence and abuse from being re-victimized – by potentially losing their housing – in cases where the landlord may consider the domestic violence situation a "nuisance" on the premises that might allow for a nuisance eviction to be filed. In recent years, the Legislature has reinforced the impact of this law by expanding its protective reach to victims and survivors of different types of violence and abuse than originally included, and allowing the abuse or violence to be established by use of specified documentation, including qualified third-party documentation, generally from a professional.

This bill, co-sponsored by the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and the Women's Policy Institute, Women's Foundation of California (WFC) would expand on this existing legal framework by creating new protections for tenants and household members so that they cannot be evicted or otherwise penalized for the act of calling law enforcement assistance or 9-1-1 emergency assistance in cases where the landlord may consider such calling as constituting a nuisance which warrants action against the tenant.

Protections from eviction and other penalties for calling emergency assistance. The strong public policy objective of this bill is to encourage all persons to call law enforcement or emergency assistance when needed to respond to a crime or emergency, without any fear that doing so might jeopardize their housing or lead their landlord to take action against them for causing a perceived nuisance. First, this bill protects the right of a tenant or resident to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance as a victim of abuse, victim of crime, or individual in an emergency, as defined, or on behalf of another person who falls into one of those categories. The protection is not unlimited, but applies when the caller believes that emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, exacerbation, or escalation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. According to the author, this could include calls made, for example, to stop a crime or assault in progress, to report a crime upon discovery of its commission, or to summon first responders for a medical emergency. This bill defines the term "individual in an emergency" to mean a person who believes that immediate action is required to prevent or mitigate the loss of impairment of life, health or property. The protections would presumably not apply to situations to calls or a pattern of 9-1-1 calls that were frivolous in nature or not necessary to prevent or address a crime, emergency, or incident of abuse.

In addition to protecting tenants from the actual or threatened termination of tenancy, or failure to renew a tenancy, this bill also protects tenants from the actual or threatened assessment of fines and penalties by the landlord, and from disparate treatment or rights as compared to other tenants who have not summoned emergency assistance. Finally, this bill also extends these protections to tenants and residents when the emergency calls were made by someone who is not a tenant or resident of the landlord – for example, when a visitor or resident of a neighboring building is the one who summoned emergency assistance. In addition to directly prohibiting the landlord from initiating an eviction or taking actions against tenants under these circumstances, this bill also makes void, as contrary to public policy, any provision of a rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits a tenant's right to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance.

Rebuttable presumption in unlawful detainer cases. If an eviction has been filed against a tenant or occupant, under certain circumstances, this bill would allow the tenant or occupant to raise the affirmative defense that the landlord is in violation of this bill's provisions. This bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that the tenant has established an affirmative defense if the landlord or owner files a complaint for unlawful detainer within 30 days of a resident, tenant, or other person summoning law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance and the complaint is based upon a notice that alleges that the act of summoning law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency constitutes a rental agreement violation, lease violation, or a nuisance. Under this bill, the landlord would be able to rebut the presumption by showing some other reason was a substantial motivating factor for filing the complaint. Therefore, the mere reference to summoning law enforcement, as cited in the complaint, is not necessarily enough to establish the rebuttable presumption in cases where, for example, law enforcement had to be summoned to respond to other conduct that is alleged to constitute a nuisance or lease violation (e.g., illegal activity like drug dealing).

Qualified third-party documentation may be used to establish protection from eviction. This bill seeks to expand the permissible types of documentation that survivors of domestic violence and other abuse may use to establish that they are entitled to protection from eviction. Under this bill, survivors would be able to use "qualified third-party documentation" as evidence of abuse, in addition to existing documentation options. This bill adopts a prescribed statement for qualified third-party documentation that has previously been enacted by the Legislature, and that survivors of violence and abuse currently use in establishing the right to end their lease early to avoid remaining in a dangerous or abusive housing situation. NHLP explains: "Qualified third-party documentation" allows a tenant to provide documentation signed by parties such as a doctor, a psychologist, or a domestic violence caseworker to demonstrate abuse. This documentation serves as an alternative to using a restraining order or police report, such that survivors who do not wish to involve the police or the courts are not forced to do so."

As a result, this bill harmonizes the early lease termination law (Civil Code Section 1946.7) with the eviction protection law (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161.3) so that the complete set of eligible forms of documentation, including qualified third-party documentation, is available to survivors of violence and abuse in both types of situations. This bill allows the Judicial Council until September, 1, 2019 to revise the necessary court forms. In addition, this bill incorporates confidentiality protections from the early lease termination law that prohibit the landlord from disclosing any information about the abuse unless required by law or court order, or the tenant has consented in writing to its disclosure.

Preemption of local ordinances. Finally, this bill prohibits local governmental agencies from implementing any local ordinance or policy that would impose penalties against any person (including both landlords and tenants) because police or emergency assistance is summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. This bill also explicitly preempts any local ordinance, rule, policy or regulation to that effect, and allows any person to seek a court order to enjoin such a practice or declare any such ordinance or rule null and void.

Analysis Prepared by: Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0003718

 CONSENT  

Bill No: AB 2413

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/12/18

AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Monning, Stern, Wieckowski

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 5/14/18 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: National Housing Law Project

Women’s Policy Institute, Women’s Foundation of California

DIGEST:

This bill enacts a set of provisions primarily designed to: (1) make it easier for tenants to obtain the documentation necessary to secure limited protection against eviction when they, or members of their household, have been victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent abuse; and (2) ensure that landlords do not evict or otherwise penalize tenants solely because law enforcement or other emergency services have been summoned to the property to come to the aid of those tenants as victims of domestic violence, abuse, crime, or other emergencies.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Authorizes a tenant to break a lease agreement and be discharged from all but 14 days of further rent payments when the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household has been the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The tenant must provide the landlord with a written notice to terminate the tenancy and one of the following forms of documentation, which must have been created within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse; or (c) documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse. (Civ. Code Sec. 1946.7.)
2. Permits a landlord to file an unlawful detainer action against a tenant in order to evict the tenant when, among other things, the tenant has: (a) committed waste upon the premises contrary to the conditions of the lease; or (b) committed, maintained, or allowed others to commit or maintain a nuisance upon the premises. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161(4).)
3. Prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against a tenant or a member of the tenant’s household, with specified exceptions, provided the tenant has one of the following forms of documentation issued within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; or (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3.)
4. Prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenant’s household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult, provided the tenant has one of the following forms of documentation issued within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; or (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Gov. Code Sec. 53165(a).)
5. Prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made by any person to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household being a victim of an act or acts that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult, provided the tenant has one of the following forms of documentation issued within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; or (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Gov. Code Sec. 53165(b).)

This bill:

1. Establishes that documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse, may be used by a tenant to document acts of violence or abuse against the tenant for the purpose of invoking tenant protections that prohibit the landlord from terminating tenancy or failing to renew tenancy based upon acts of violence or abuse against the tenant.
2. Declares void as contrary to public policy any provision in a residential rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits, or threatens to prohibit or limit, a tenant, resident, or other person’s right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency, if he or she believes that the assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.
3. Prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy, failing to renew a tenancy, or imposing other penalties on the basis that law enforcement or other emergency assistance has been summoned to the property on the belief that it is needed to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.
4. Provides that documentation is not required to establish belief that law enforcement or other emergency assistance was needed, but that belief may be established by documents such as the following: (1) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; (2) a copy of a police report; or (3) documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse.
5. Allows a tenant to raise, as an affirmative defense to eviction, that the landlord’s reason for seeking the eviction is that law enforcement or other emergency assistance was summoned to assist the tenant with an emergency, including domestic violence and other crimes.
6. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or amend an existing form that may be used by parties to assert the grounds set forth in the eviction provisions of this bill as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer.
7. Authorizes tenants, residents, or other aggrieved persons to seek injunctive and equitable relief for violations of these provisions.
8. Prohibits a landlord from disclosing any information provided by a tenant to a third party under this act, unless the tenant gives written consent or the disclosure is required by law or court order.
9. Prohibits a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition, or threatened imposition, of a penalty against a tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance being summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse or crime, or an individual in an emergency.
10. Provides that this preempts any local ordinance or rule that is inconsistent with this prohibition.

Background

This bill, referred to as the “Safe at Home Act” by its author and sponsors, addresses two circumstances in which bad things happen to otherwise good tenants.

The first involves situations in which a tenant, or a member of the tenant’s household, becomes a victim of certain crimes. Existing California law prohibits landlords from evicting tenants solely because the tenant, or a member of the tenant’s household, has recently been the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent abuse by someone who is not part of the household. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3.) In order to benefit from those protections, however, the tenant must have one of two types of documentation of the crime: (1) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protection order lawfully issued within the last 180 days; or (2) a copy of a peace officer’s official report, written within the last 180 days, stating that the tenant or household member has filed a report regarding the crime. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3(a)(1).)

In some instances, however, victims of these crimes will neither seek judicial protective orders nor report the crime to the authorities. In other instances, they may simply not have done so yet. Either way, without the required documentation, these crime victims are at risk of losing their housing.

This bill allows crime victims to utilize a third form of documentation – a joint statement signed by the tenant and a qualified third party service provider, such as a physician, psychologist, or domestic violence case worker – as the basis upon which to invoke the legal protection against eviction.

The second situation that the bill addresses involves times when tenants experience an emergency and someone calls 9-1-1. Law enforcement and emergency personnel respond to the scene, with lights, sirens, uniformed personnel, and equipment. Such a response may be critical to the health and safety of the tenant, of course. Nonetheless, landlords and other tenants sometimes perceive the resulting situation as a nuisance, especially if it happens repeatedly. Causing a nuisance can form the basis for an eviction action. (Code Civ. Proc. 1161(4).) This dynamic puts victims of domestic violence, victims of crime, and people in fragile health in a terrible dilemma: summoning the emergency services they desperately need can put their home at risk.

This bill attempts to ensure that tenants cannot be evicted or otherwise penalized solely because law enforcement or emergency services have been summoned to the premises to assist the tenant with an emergency or because they have been the victim of crime, including domestic violence. It would do so through three related components, as detailed in the Comments, below. In summary, those components would: (1) void any lease provision that attempts to limit the right of the tenant to summon law enforcement or other emergency services; (2) create an affirmative defense, in an action for eviction, when the nuisance alleged was solely the result of the fact that law enforcement or other emergency personnel was summoned to assist the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household; and (3) preempt local jurisdictions from authorizing or requiring a landlord to evict or otherwise penalize a tenant on the ground that law enforcement or other emergency services have been summoned to the property to assist the tenant.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

SUPPORT: (Verified 7/2/18)

National Housing Law Project (co-source)

Women’s Policy Institute, Women’s Foundation of California (co-source)

American Civil Liberties Union of California

California Apartment Association

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation

Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto

Consumer Attorneys of California

Contra Costa Senior Legal Services

Downtown Women’s Center

Fools Mission

Greenlining Institute

Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles

Justice & Diversity Center

LA Center for Law and Justice

Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officer Association

National Council of Jewish Women, California

Public Health Justice Collective

Western Center on Law and Poverty

YWCA Silicon Valley

OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/2/18)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

Nuisance ordinances –also called disorderly house ordinances or crime free ordinances – label a tenant as a nuisance when their rental is the site of a certain number of calls for police or alleged nuisance conduct. If someone is labeled a nuisance, this person can be evicted from their home. For victims of crime or individuals in an emergency, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. These nuisance ordinances place a victim in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home or call for help and risk becoming homeless.

For example, a 43-year-old Marine Corps Veteran living with PTSD in the City of Hawthorne was evicted when the Hawthorne Police Department forced the veteran’s landlord to evict him due to excessive 911 calls that they categorized as “non-emergency.” According to the police, the tenant had called 9 times in 10 months, and the police considered him a nuisance. Upon meeting with the tenant, his attorneys learned that each of his 911 calls were legitimate emergencies — he had called when he experienced frightening flashbacks, when he suffered from medication side effects, and when he had severe PTSD episodes.

AB 2413, the Right to A Safe Home Act, revisits how the law protects victims of violence in their own homes. This is a common-sense opportunity to protect survivors of crime and trauma and help impact California’s current homelessness crisis by keeping tenants in their homes.

In support of the bill, the California Apartment Association writes:

Tenants should never live in fear in their own home, and rental property owners should never be hampered from relying on local emergency services to keep their employees and tenants safe at the property. We appreciate that AB 2413 will prohibit a local agency from enforcing or implementing any ordinance, rule, or regulation that authorizes or imposes a penalty against a property owner or resident or other person if any of these parties seek or receive law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance for, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of a crime, or an individual in an emergency.

At the same time, we thank you for working with us to clarify the language in the bill to make clear that a tenant, resident, or occupant can establish an affirmative defense under this proposed law if the landlord specifically bases an unlawful detainer complaint on the fact that a tenant sought law enforcement assistance.

In further support of the bill, the ACLU writes:

For survivors, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. Current nuisance ordinances often place a survivor in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home, or call for help and risk becoming homeless. Compounding this issue is the fact that nuisance evictions disproportionately impact women and low-income communities of color. Research conducted on Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s ordinance concluded that domestic violence calls were the third most common reason for a nuisance citation. In 83% of cases where landlords were cited, they evicted or threatened to evict victims if they called police again. A study of two upstate New York ordinances similarly concluded that domestic violence made up the largest category of incidents resulting in nuisance enforcement, frequently leading to eviction. For all of these reasons, the ACLU of California supports AB 2413.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 75-0, 5/14/18

AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chávez, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gloria, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Patterson

Prepared by:

7/3/18 16:08:04

**** END ****

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair

2017-2018 Regular Session

Bill No: AB 2413 (Author:Chiu)

Version: June 4, 2018

Hearing Date: June 12, 2018

Fiscal: Yes

Urgency: No

Consultant: TSG

SUBJECT

Tenancy: law enforcement and emergency assistance

DESCRIPTION

This bill would enact a set of provisions primarily designed to: (1) make it easier for tenants to obtain the documentation necessary to secure limited protection against eviction when they, or members of their household, have been victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent abuse; and (2) ensure that landlords do not evict or otherwise penalize tenants solely because law enforcement or other emergency services have been summoned to the property to come to the aid of those tenants as victims of domestic violence, abuse, crime, or other emergencies.

BACKGROUND

This bill, referred to as the “Safe at Home Act” by its author and sponsors, addresses two circumstances in which bad things happen to otherwise good tenants.

The first involves situations in which a tenant, or a member of the tenant’s household, becomes a victim of certain crimes. Existing California law prohibits landlords from evicting tenants solely because the tenant, or a member of the tenant’s household, has recently been the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent abuse by someone who is not part of the household. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3.) In order to benefit from those protections, however, the tenant must have one of two types of documentation of the crime: (1) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protection order lawfully issued within the last 180 days; or (2) a copy of a peace officer’s official report, written within the last 180 days, stating that the tenant or household member has filed a report regarding the crime. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3(a)(1).)

In some instances, however, victims of these crimes will neither seek judicial protective orders nor report the crime to the authorities. In other instances, they may simply not have done so yet. Either way, without the required documentation, these crime victims are at risk of losing their housing.

This bill would allow crime victims to utilize a third form of documentation – a joint statement signed by the tenant and a qualified third party service provider, such as a physician, psychologist, or domestic violence case worker – as the basis upon which to invoke the legal protection against eviction.

The second situation that the bill addresses involves times when tenants experience an emergency and someone calls 9-1-1. Law enforcement and emergency personnel respond to the scene, with lights, sirens, uniformed personnel, and equipment. Such a response may be critical to the health and safety of the tenant, of course. Nonetheless, landlords and other tenants sometimes perceive the resulting situation as a nuisance, especially if it happens repeatedly. Causing a nuisance can form the basis for an eviction action. (Code Civ. Proc. 1161(4).) This dynamic puts victims of domestic violence, victims of crime, and people in fragile health in a terrible dilemma: summoning the emergency services they desperately need can put their home at risk.

This bill would attempt to ensure that tenants cannot be evicted or otherwise penalized solely because law enforcement or emergency services have been summoned to the premises to assist the tenant with an emergency or because they have been the victim of crime, including domestic violence. It would do so through three related components, as detailed in the Comments, below. In summary, those components would: (1) void any lease provision that attempts to limit the right of the tenant to summon law enforcement or other emergency services; (2) create an affirmative defense, in an action for eviction, when the nuisance alleged was solely the result of the fact that law enforcement or other emergency personnel was summoned to assist the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household; and (3) preempt local jurisdictions from authorizing or requiring a landlord to evict or otherwise penalize a tenant on the ground that law enforcement or other emergency services have been summoned to the property to assist the tenant.

CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW

Existing law authorizes a tenant to break a lease agreement and be discharged from all but 14 days of further rent payments when the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household has been the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The tenant must provide the landlord with a written notice to terminate the tenancy and one of the following forms of documentation, which must have been created within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse; or (c) documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse. (Civ. Code Sec. 1946.7.)

Existing law permits a landlord to file an unlawful detainer action against a tenant in order to evict the tenant when, among other things, the tenant has: (a) committed waste upon the premises contrary to the conditions of the lease; or (b) committed, maintained, or allowed others to commit or maintain a nuisance upon the premises. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161(4).)

Existing law prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against a tenant or a member of the tenant’s household, with specified exceptions, provided the tenant has one of the following forms of documentation issued within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; or (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3.)

Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenant’s household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult, provided the tenant has one of the following forms of documentation issued within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; or (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Gov. Code Sec. 53165(a).)

Existing law prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made by any person to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household being a victim of an act or acts that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult, provided the tenant has one of the following forms of documentation issued within the preceding 180 days: (a) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; or (b) a copy of a written report by a peace officer, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Gov. Code Sec. 53165(b).)

This bill would establish that documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse, may be used by a tenant to document acts of violence or abuse against the tenant for the purpose of invoking tenant protections that prohibit the landlord from terminating tenancy or failing to renew tenancy based upon acts of violence or abuse against the tenant.

This bill would declare void as contrary to public policy any provision in a residential rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits, or threatens to prohibit or limit, a tenant, resident, or other person’s right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency, if he or she believes that the assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.

This bill would prohibit a landlord from terminating a tenancy, failing to renew a tenancy, or imposing other penalties on the basis that law enforcement or other emergency assistance has been summoned to the property on the belief that it is needed to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.

This bill would provide that documentation is not required to establish belief that law enforcement or other emergency assistance was needed, but that belief may be established by documents such as the following: (1) a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order; (2) a copy of a police report; or (3) documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse.

This bill would allow a tenant to raise, as an affirmative defense to eviction, that the landlord’s reason for seeking the eviction is that law enforcement or other emergency assistance was summoned to assist the tenant with an emergency, including domestic violence and other crimes.

This bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or amend an existing form that may be used by parties to assert the grounds set forth in the eviction provisions of this bill as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer.

This bill would authorize tenants, residents, or other aggrieved persons to seek injunctive and equitable relief for violations of these provisions.

This bill would prohibit a landlord from disclosing any information provided by a tenant to a third party under this act, unless the tenant gives written consent or the disclosure is required by law or court order.

This bill would prohibit a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition, or threatened imposition, of a penalty against a tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance being summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse or crime, or an individual in an emergency.

This bill would provide that this preempts any local ordinance or rule that is inconsistent with this prohibition.

COMMENT

1. Stated need for the bill

According to the author:

Nuisance ordinances –also called disorderly house ordinances or crime free ordinances – label a tenant as a nuisance when their rental is the site of a certain number of calls for police or alleged nuisance conduct. If someone is labeled a nuisance, this person can be evicted from their home. For victims of crime or individuals in an emergency, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. These nuisance ordinances place a victim in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home or call for help and risk becoming homeless.

For example, a 43-year-old Marine Corps Veteran living with PTSD in the City of Hawthorne was evicted when the Hawthorne Police Department forced the veteran’s landlord to evict him due to excessive 911 calls that they categorized as “non-emergency.” According to the police, the tenant had called 9 times in 10 months, and the police considered him a nuisance. Upon meeting with the tenant, his attorneys learned that each of his 911 calls were legitimate emergencies — he had called when he experienced frightening flashbacks, when he suffered from medication side effects, and when he had severe PTSD episodes.

AB 2413, the Right to A Safe Home Act, revisits how the law protects victims of violence in their own homes. This is a common-sense opportunity to protect survivors of crime and trauma and help impact California’s current homelessness crisis by keeping tenants in their homes.

In support of the bill, the California Apartment Association writes:

Tenants should never live in fear in their own home, and rental property owners should never be hampered from relying on local emergency services to keep their employees and tenants safe at the property. We appreciate that AB 2413 will prohibit a local agency from enforcing or implementing any ordinance, rule, or regulation that authorizes or imposes a penalty against a property owner or resident or other person if any of these parties seek or receive law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance for, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of a crime, or an individual in an emergency.

At the same time, we thank you for working with us to clarify the language in the bill to make clear that a tenant, resident, or occupant can establish an affirmative defense under this proposed law if the landlord specifically bases an unlawful detainer complaint on the fact that a tenant sought law enforcement assistance.

In further support of the bill, the ACLU writes:

For survivors, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. Current nuisance ordinances often place a survivor in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home, or call for help and risk becoming homeless. Compounding this issue is the fact that nuisance evictions disproportionately impact women and low-income communities of color. Research conducted on Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s ordinance concluded that domestic violence calls were the third most common reason for a nuisance citation. In 83% of cases where landlords were cited, they evicted or threatened to evict victims if they called police again. A study of two upstate New York ordinances similarly concluded that domestic violence made up the largest category of incidents resulting in nuisance enforcement, frequently leading to eviction. For all of these reasons, the ACLU of California supports AB 2413.

2. Expanding documentation options for showing status as victim of crime

Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and dependent adult abuse, and stalking face numerous challenges when seeking to regain control of their lives. When those victims are tenants, additional problems may arise. In some instances, the victims need to break a lease in order to leave a dangerous location. In other cases, the victim may very much need and want to stay in their home, but the landlord may be spooked by impression that there is some sort of trouble going on at the property, prompting the landlord to try to evict the victim.

Existing California law provides some protections for victims in both situations. When a tenant or another member of the household has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and dependent adult abuse, or stalking, the tenant may break a long-term lease on short notice. (Civ. Code Sec. 1946.7.) Victims of those same crimes are also protected against being evicted solely on the basis that those crimes happened to them. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3.)

To prevent unscrupulous tenants from merely pretending to be crime victims, however, these laws require the tenant to have documentation of what took place. Specifically, tenants must have a recent temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or written report by a peace officer to qualify for the legal protections.

In certain circumstances, however, tenants who are indeed victims of the relevant crimes do not possess these documents. Some victims so fear the perpetrator’s reaction that they are afraid to approach law enforcement about the situation. Other victims have good reason to be distrustful of contact with law enforcement. Undocumented victims of crime, for example, may be understandably concerned that seeking law enforcement protection will, in fact, result in their detention, deportation, and separation from their children, especially in the present enforcement climate. While SB 54 (De León, Ch. 495, Stats. 2017) greatly reduces this problem by mandating a clear separation between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement, common immigration enforcement practices, such as wearing uniforms emblazoned with the word “POLICE” in large letters, still undermine that distinction and engender community fear of getting involved with law enforcement of any kind.

To address this problem in the context of breaking a lease, the Legislature passed SB 612 (Leno, Ch. 130, Stats. 2013). Specifically, under SB 612, in addition to restraining orders, protective orders, and police reports, tenants could use an official statement from a qualified third party – people like doctors and domestic violence case workers – as evidence that they had been victimized and therefore had a legitimate and urgent need to break the lease.

No similar update was made to the eviction protection provisions for victims of crime, however. As a result, victims of crime that do not feel comfortable reporting the situation to law enforcement remain at risk of eviction by a landlord who is upset by the “trouble” that the victim of crime has “brought” to the property.

This bill would address that issue by allowing tenants to access existing eviction protections by using qualified third party statements to document what happened to them or to one of their household members.

3. Limiting the harmful effects of local “nuisance ordinances”

California law allows landlords to evict tenants from their property when the tenant is causing a nuisance there. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.4.) Some California jurisdictions have adopted local ordinances, sometimes known as “Crime Free Housing” or “Disorderly House” ordinances which enable local agencies to compel landlords to evict tenants who engage in certain nuisance activities, including placing repeated calls for help to emergency services. Such ordinances force victims to choose between calling the police in an emergency or face eviction. According to the New York Times:

Over the last 25 years, in a trend still growing, hundreds of cities and towns across the country have adopted nuisance property or “crime-free housing” ordinances. Putting responsibility on landlords to weed out drug dealers and disruptive tenants, the laws aim to save neighborhoods from blight as well as ease burdens on the police.

But the laws are sometimes forcing victims, especially women facing domestic violence, to choose between calling the police and holding on to their homes, according to legal aid groups and experts on housing and the poor.^[1]

In response to this problem, AB 319 (Campos, Ch. 138, Stats. 2014) prohibited local agencies from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or refuse to renew a lease when the decision to do so is based upon either: (1) acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent abuse committed against the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household; or (2) emergency phone calls relating to those same circumstances.

While the provisions enacted by AB 319 provide important protections for tenants in jurisdictions with nuisance ordinances, the author and sponsor point out two shortcomings in that protection.

First, for tenants who are victims of crime, AB 319 benefits are currently tied to the documentation requirements of Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161.3: the tenant must have a temporary restraining order, protective order, or police report. In other words, the tenant must interact with law enforcement. For the reasons previously addressed in Comment 2, tenants may have legitimate reasons for avoiding contact with law enforcement. This bill would work around that problem by allowing tenants to document what happened to them or to their household members through a qualified third party statement.

Second, AB 319’s protections for tenants who summon emergency services is limited to tenants who are victims of specified crimes only. Tenants who may need to summon emergency services for medical reasons receive no protections. Nor are tenants protected if they summon law enforcement for crimes other than domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and dependent adult abuse, or stalking. This bill operates to expand tenant protections against the effects of nuisance ordinances, so that tenants may summon law enforcement or emergency assistance in aid of themselves or others, without the fear that this alone may trigger eviction.

4. Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of neighbors

In general, landlords owe a duty to their tenants and members of the public to protect them from reasonably foreseeable risks on their properties. This includes the risk of harm caused by the criminal conduct of third parties. Where a landlord should have anticipated a third party’s criminal acts and taken measures to protect a tenant, the landlord may be civilly liable. (O’Hara v. Western Seven Trees Corp. (1977) 75 Cal.App.3d 798.) However, where the risk of third party harm is not reasonably foreseeable, then there is no duty and no liability. (See, e.g., Castaneda v. Olsher (2007) 41 Cal.4th 1205; Ann M. v. Pac. Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666.)

This bill would not interfere with a landlord’s ability to evict a tenant that creates a danger to other residents under other provisions of law. Under existing law, a landlord may terminate or decline to renew a tenancy upon three days’ notice if: (1) a tenant allows a person against whom a protection order has been issued or who was named in a police report of an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult to visit the property; and (2) the landlord reasonably believes that the presence of that person poses a physical threat to other tenants, guests, invitees, or licensees, or to a tenant’s right to quiet possession of the property. (Code Civ. Proc. Sec. 1161.3(b).) Prohibiting a landlord from evicting tenants solely based upon specified acts against the tenant or tenant’s household member, or based upon the number of calls made by any person to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household, does not interfere with a landlord’s authority to evict tenants whose acts pose a foreseeable risk to others. Consequently, this bill would not create a situation in which a landlord is forced to retain tenants whose actions may place others in harm’s way.

5. Existence of no cause eviction laws enables easy evasion for some tenancies

The general rule in California is that a landlord may terminate a periodic tenancy (by far the most common example is a month-to-month lease) or refuse to renew a fixed-term lease for any lawful reason or for no reason at all. By extension, the landlord has no duty to give the tenant a reason for the decision. In terminating a month-to-month lease, for example, the landlord only has to notify the tenant when the tenant must be out. (Civ. Code Sec. 1946.) The notice does not have to say why.^[2]

There are legal limitations on what motivates a landlord to kick out a tenant. Landlords cannot terminate a tenancy for a discriminatory reason, for example, or in order to retaliate against tenants for exercising their rights. (Gov. Code Sec. 12955; Civ. Code Sec. 1942.5.) This bill would add another limitation to that list.

As a practical matter, however, since state law does not presently require landlords to say why they are terminating the tenancy or refusing to renew a lease, landlords can accomplish through silence what the law would not permit if it were stated. In the context of this bill, for example, a landlord determined to evict a month-to-month tenant for calling law enforcement to the premises could simply terminate the tenancy without stating the reason. Even if the tenant correctly suspected the landlord’s true motivation, it would be very difficult for the tenant to prove it.

As a result, the protections proposed by this bill would have their greatest practical effect on situations in which the tenant has a fixed term lease In such a situation, a landlord cannot evict the tenant without providing a justification.

Support: ACLU of California; California Apartment Association; California Partnership to End Domestic Violence; California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation; Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto; Consumer Attorneys of California; Contra Costa Senior Legal Services; Downtown Women’s Center; Fools Mission; Greenlining Institute; Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles; Justice & Diversity Center; LA Center for Law and Justice; Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officer Association; National Council of Jewish Women, California; Public Health Justice Collective; Western Center on Law and Poverty; YWCA Silicon Valley

Opposition: None known

HISTORY

Source: National Housing Law Project; Women’s Policy Institute, Women’s Foundation of California

Related Pending Legislation: AB 2925 (Bonta, 2017) would have required a landlord to state the reason for terminating a tenancy, with particularity, and would prohibit termination of tenancies based on foreclosure, change or anticipated change in ownership, or expiration of a fixed term lease. AB 2925 failed passage on the Assembly Floor.

AB 2930 (Santiago, 2017) would extend the sunset provisions on pilot programs in the Cities of Long Beach, Oakland, and Sacramento that permit a city prosecutor or city attorney to file an eviction action to abate a nuisance having to do with unlawful weapons, ammunition, or controlled substances. AB 2930 is currently at pending referral in the Senate Rules Committee.

Prior Legislation:

AB 319 (Campos, Ch. 138, Stats. 2014) prohibited local agencies from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or refuse to renew a lease based upon: (1) acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent abuse committed against the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household; or (2) emergency phone calls relating to those same circumstances.

SB 612 (Leno, Ch. 130, Stats. 2013) prohibited landlords from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon documented acts against a tenant or a tenant’s household member constituting human trafficking and included statements by qualified third parties among the appropriate supporting documentation allowed when victims of specified crimes seek to terminate leases prematurely.

SB 1403 (Yee, Ch. 516, Stats. 2012) prohibited landlords from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon documented acts against a tenant or a tenant’s household member constituting elder or dependent abuse and included protective orders among the appropriate supporting documentation allowed when victims of specified crimes seek to terminate leases prematurely.

AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez, Ch. 76, Stats. 2011) extended the time, from 60 to 180 days, that a tenant has to terminate the lease after issuance of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or written report by a peace officer alleging that the tenant, or a household member, is a victim of domestic violence or stalking.

SB 782 (Yee, Ch. 626, Stats. 2010) prohibited landlords from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon a documented act or acts against a tenant or a tenant’s household member constituting domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

AB 2052 (Lieu, Ch. 440, Stats. 2008) authorized a tenant to terminate a lease within 60 days of the issuance of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or written report by a peace officer alleging that the tenant, or household member, is a victim of domestic violence or stalking.

Prior Vote:

Assembly Floor (Ayes 75, Noes 0)

Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 16, Noes 0)

Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 9, Noes 0)

**************

1. Eckholm, Victims’ Dilemma: 911 Calls Can Bring Eviction (Aug. 16, 2013) New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/us/victims-dilemma-911-calls-can-bring-eviction.html> (as of May 30, 2018). ↑

2. There are, by contrast, a number of local jurisdictions in California (among them San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco) that require landlords to have and to state one of a series of enumerated “just causes” in order to remove a tenant. ↑

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 2413

Author:(Chiu, et al.)

As Amended Ver:April 18, 2018

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Expands protections for survivors of domestic violence and other types of abuse to not face eviction or other penalties on the basis of having summoned law enforcement or 9-1-1 emergency assistance on their own behalf, or on behalf of another, to respond to incidents of violence or abuse, as provided. Specifically, this bill:

1. Declares void as contrary to public policy any provision in a residential rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits, or threatens to prohibit or limit, a tenant, resident, or other person's right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency, if he or she believes that the assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.
2. Prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy, failing to renew a tenancy, or imposing other penalties upon a tenant or resident who exercises his or her right to summon law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance under the same circumstances as described in 1), above. Further prohibits the landlord from taking such actions as a consequence of a person who is not a resident or tenant summoning law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance, as specified.
3. Provides that documentation is not required to establish belief for purposes of 1) and 2), above, but that belief may be established by documents such as the following:
   1. A temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order issued in the last 180 days, as specified.
   2. A copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse.
   3. Documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse.
4. Establishes that documentation from a qualified third party, as specified in 3c) may be used by a tenant to document acts of violence or abuse against the tenant for the purpose of establishing existing tenant protections that prohibit the landlord from terminating tenancy or failing to renew tenancy based upon acts of violence or abuse against the tenant. Further requires that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement prescribed by this bill.
5. Allows a tenant to raise as an affirmative defense to eviction that the landlord has not complied with 1) and 2), above, or other provisions of this bill. Creates a rebuttable presumption that the tenant has established the affirmative defense under specified circumstances, and specifies how the landlord can rebut the presumption.
6. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or amend an existing form that may be used by parties to assert the grounds set forth in the eviction provisions of this bill as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer.
7. Authorizes tenants, residents, or other aggrieved persons to seek injunctive and equitable relief for violations of these provisions.
8. Prohibits a landlord from disclosing any information provided by a tenant to a third party under this act, unless the tenant gives written consent or the disclosure is required by law or court order.
9. Prohibits a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition, or threatened imposition, of a penalty against a tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance being summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse or crime, or an individual in an emergency. Provides that this preempts any local ordinance or rule that is inconsistent with this prohibition.
10. Authorizes a landlord, tenant, or other person to obtain injunctive or equitable relief to enjoin violations of 9), above.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible state costs, if any.

COMMENTS: Existing law prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against the tenant or the tenant's household member. The purpose of this law is straightforward; it protects victims of such violence and abuse from being re-victimized – by potentially losing their housing – in cases where the landlord may consider the domestic violence situation a "nuisance" on the premises that might allow for a nuisance eviction to be filed. In recent years, the Legislature has reinforced the impact of this law by expanding its protective reach to victims and survivors of different types of violence and abuse than originally included, and allowing the abuse or violence to be established by use of specified documentation, including qualified third-party documentation, generally from a professional.

This bill, co-sponsored by the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and the Women's Policy Institute, Women's Foundation of California (WFC) would expand on this existing legal framework by creating new protections for tenants and household members so that they cannot be evicted or otherwise penalized for the act of calling law enforcement assistance or 9-1-1 emergency assistance in cases where the landlord may consider such calling as constituting a nuisance which warrants action against the tenant.

Protections from eviction and other penalties for calling emergency assistance. The strong public policy objective of this bill is to encourage all persons to call law enforcement or emergency assistance when needed to respond to a crime or emergency, without any fear that doing so might jeopardize their housing or lead their landlord to take action against them for causing a perceived nuisance. First, this bill protects the right of a tenant or resident to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance as a victim of abuse, victim of crime, or individual in an emergency, as defined, or on behalf of another person who falls into one of those categories. The protection is not unlimited, but applies when the caller believes that emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, exacerbation, or escalation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. According to the author, this could include calls made, for example, to stop a crime or assault in progress, to report a crime upon discovery of its commission, or to summon first responders for a medical emergency. This bill defines the term "individual in an emergency" to mean a person who believes that immediate action is required to prevent or mitigate the loss of impairment of life, health or property. The protections would presumably not apply to situations to calls or a pattern of 9-1-1 calls that were frivolous in nature or not necessary to prevent or address a crime, emergency, or incident of abuse.

In addition to protecting tenants from the actual or threatened termination of tenancy, or failure to renew a tenancy, this bill also protects tenants from the actual or threatened assessment of fines and penalties by the landlord, and from disparate treatment or rights as compared to other tenants who have not summoned emergency assistance. Finally, this bill also extends these protections to tenants and residents when the emergency calls were made by someone who is not a tenant or resident of the landlord – for example, when a visitor or resident of a neighboring building is the one who summoned emergency assistance. In addition to directly prohibiting the landlord from initiating an eviction or taking actions against tenants under these circumstances, this bill also makes void, as contrary to public policy, any provision of a rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits a tenant's right to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance.

Rebuttable presumption in unlawful detainer cases. If an eviction has been filed against a tenant or occupant, under certain circumstances, this bill would allow the tenant or occupant to raise the affirmative defense that the landlord is in violation of this bill's provisions. This bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that the tenant has established an affirmative defense if the complaint is based on a notice alleging that the act of summoning emergency assistance constituted either a violation of the lease or rental agreement, or a nuisance in itself, and the complaint was filed within 30 days of the tenant summoned the assistance. Under this bill, the landlord would be able to rebut the presumption by showing some other reason was a substantial motivating factor for filing the complaint. Therefore, the mere reference to summoning law enforcement, as cited in the complaint, is not necessarily enough to establish the rebuttable presumption in cases where, for example, law enforcement had to be summoned to respond to other conduct that is alleged to constitute a nuisance or lease violation (e.g., illegal activity like drug dealing).

Qualified third-party documentation may be used to establish protection from eviction. This bill seeks to expand the permissible types of documentation that survivors of domestic violence and other abuse may use to establish that they are entitled to protection from eviction. Under this bill, survivors would be able to use "qualified third-party documentation" as evidence of abuse, in addition to existing documentation options. This bill adopts a prescribed statement for qualified third-party documentation that has previously been enacted by the Legislature, and that survivors of violence and abuse currently use in establishing the right to end their lease early to avoid remaining in a dangerous or abusive housing situation. NHLP explains: ""Qualified third-party documentation" allows a tenant to provide documentation signed by parties such as a doctor, a psychologist, or a domestic violence caseworker to demonstrate abuse. This documentation serves as an alternative to using a restraining order or police report, such that survivors who do not wish to involve the police or the courts are not forced to do so."

As a result, this bill harmonizes the early lease termination law (Civil Code Section 1946.7) with the eviction protection law (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161.3) so that the complete set of eligible forms of documentation, including qualified third-party documentation, is available to survivors of violence and abuse in both types of situations. Recent amendments to this bill give the Judicial Council until September, 1, 2019 to revise the necessary court forms. In addition, this bill incorporates confidentiality protections from the early lease termination law that prohibit the landlord from disclosing any information about the abuse unless required by law or court order, or the tenant has consented in writing to its disclosure.

Preemption of local ordinances. Finally, this bill prohibits local governmental agencies from implementing any local ordinance or policy that would impose penalties against any person (including both landlords and tenants) because police or emergency assistance is summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. This bill also explicitly preempts any local ordinance, rule, policy or regulation to that effect, and allows any person to seek a court order to enjoin such a practice or declare any such ordinance or rule null and void.

Analysis Prepared by: Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0002871

Date of Hearing: May 9, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2413

Author:(Chiu) – As Amended Ver:April 18, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill protects from eviction or other penalty a tenant who calls law enforcement or emergency services, or who has those services called on their behalf, in an emergency or as a victim of a crime or abuse, including domestic violence, elder or dependent abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, and stalking .

FISCAL EFFECT:

Negligible state costs, if any.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

Nuisance ordinances – also called disorderly house ordinances or crime free ordinances – label a tenant as a nuisance when his or her rental is the site of a certain number of calls for police or alleged nuisance conduct. If someone is labeled a nuisance, this person can be evicted from his or her home. For victims of crime or individuals in an emergency, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. These nuisance ordinances place a victim in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home, or call for help and risk becoming homeless…AB 2413, the Right to A Safe Home Act, revisits how the law protects victims of violence in their own homes. This is a common sense opportunity to protect survivors of crime and trauma and help impact California’s current homelessness crisis by keeping tenants in their homes.

1. Not to be too picky, but…The author may wish to correct what seems to be a grammatical error in the bill, changing the word “summoning” for “summoned,” as shown here:

Civil Code Section 1946.8(f)(4) The fact that the notice upon which the unlawful detainer complaint is based references that a person summoning summoned law enforcement is insufficient by itself to meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) when that reference is necessary to describe other conduct that is alleged to constitute a rental agreement violation or lease violation.

Analysis Prepared by: Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 24, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Mark Stone, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2413

Author:(Chiu) – As Amended Ver:April 18, 2018

SUBJECT: TENANCY: LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

KEY ISSUE: IN ORDER TO FURTHER PROTECT SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN THEIR HOMES, Should A landlord be RESTRICted from evicting or otherwise penalizing a tenant for exercising the tenant’s right to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a person in an emergENcy or a victim of crime or abuse, as specified?

SYNOPSIS

Existing law prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against the tenant or the tenant's household member. According to the author, advocates report many cases in which victims of domestic violence and other types of abuse are nonetheless being evicted or penalized by their landlords as a result of 9-1-1 calls being placed for emergency assistance in situations of domestic violence or other abuse, apparently based on the premise that visits by law enforcement or emergency responders are creating a "nuisance" on the property that justifies action against the "problem" tenant. If true, proponents contend, this demonstrates that the current law is not working as intended to protect survivors in their homes.

This bill, co-sponsored by the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and the Women's Policy Institute, Women's Foundation of California (WFC) would expand on this existing legal framework by creating new protections for tenants and household members so that they cannot be evicted or otherwise penalized for the act of calling law enforcement assistance or 9-1-1 emergency assistance under a nuisance theory. In addition to directly prohibiting the landlord from initiating an eviction or taking actions against tenants under these circumstances, the bill also makes any provision of a rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits a tenant's right to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance void, as contrary to public policy. Among other things, this bill: (1) enables a tenant to raise noncompliance with these provisions as an affirmative defense to unlawful detainer; (2) allows documentation from a qualified third-party to be used to help establish tenant protections under this bill, as well as under the existing early lease termination law that benefits tenants who are survivors; and (3) seeks to preempt current or future local ordinances that may conflict with these provisions. The bill is supported by advocates for victims and survivors of domestic violence, as well as senior organizations, legal aid organizations, and the ACLU. Recent amendments address previous concerns raised by various stakeholders, and the bill is now supported by the California Apartment Association, the largest group representing landlords in the state, and has no known opposition.

SUMMARY: Expands protections for survivors of domestic violence and other types of abuse to not face eviction or other penalties on the basis of having summoned law enforcement or 9-1-1 emergency assistance on their own behalf, or on behalf of another, to respond to incidents of violence or abuse, as provided. Specifically, this bill:

1. Declares void as contrary to public policy any provision in a residential rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits, or threatens to prohibit or limit, a tenant, resident, or other person’s right to summon law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance as, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency, if he or she believes that the assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, escalation, or exacerbation of the abuse, crime, or emergency.
2. Prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy, failing to renew a tenancy, or imposing other penalties upon a tenant or resident who exercises his or her right to summon law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance under the same circumstances as described in 1), above. Further prohibits the landlord from taking such actions as a consequence of a person who is not a resident or tenant summoning law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance, as specified.
3. Provides that documentation is not required to establish belief for purposes of 1) and 2), above, but that belief may be established by documents such as the following:
   1. A temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order issued in the last 180 days, as specified.
   2. A copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse.
   3. Documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse.
4. Establishes that documentation from a qualified third party, as specified in 3c) may be used by a tenant to document acts of violence or abuse against the tenant for the purpose of establishing existing tenant protections that prohibit the landlord from terminating tenancy or failing to renew tenancy based upon acts of violence or abuse against the tenant. Further requires that this documentation be in substantially the same form as a statement prescribed by this bill.
5. Allows a tenant to raise as an affirmative defense to eviction that the landlord has not complied with 1) and 2), above, or other provisions of this bill. Creates a rebuttable presumption that the tenant has established the affirmative defense under specified circumstances, and specifies how the landlord can rebut the presumption.
6. Requires the Judicial Council, on or before September 1, 2019, to develop a new form or amend an existing form that may be used by parties to assert the grounds set forth in the eviction provisions of this bill as an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer.
7. Authorizes tenants, residents, or other aggrieved persons to seek injunctive and equitable relief for violations of these provisions.
8. Prohibits a landlord from disclosing any information provided by a tenant to a third party under this act, unless the tenant gives written consent or the disclosure is required by law or court order.
9. Prohibits a local agency from promulgating, enforcing, or implementing any ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that authorizes, or requires the imposition, or threatened imposition, of a penalty against a tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement assistance or emergency assistance being summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse or crime, or an individual in an emergency. Provides that this preempts any local ordinance or rule that is inconsistent with this prohibition.
10. Authorizes a landlord, tenant, or other person to obtain injunctive or equitable relief to enjoin violations of 9), above.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Authorizes a tenant or a household member who was a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to terminate a rental agreement and be discharged from rental payments due. The tenant must provide the landlord with a written notice to terminate the tenancy, plus one of the following forms of documentation:
   1. A temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order issued in the last 180 days, as specified.
   2. A copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse.
   3. Documentation from a qualified third party, based on information received by that third party while acting in his or her professional capacity, to indicate that the tenant is seeking assistance for physical or mental injuries or abuse resulting from an act of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse. (Civil Code Section 1946.7.)
2. Permits a landlord to file an unlawful detainer action against a tenant in order to evict him or her when, among other things, the tenant has: (1) committed waste upon the premises contrary to the conditions of the lease; or (2) committed or maintained a nuisance upon the premises or permitted the nuisance to be committed or maintained. (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161 (4).)
3. Prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against a tenant or a tenant's household member, except as provided. Requires the acts of abuse or violence to be documented by one of the following:
   1. A temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or protective order issued in the last 180 days, as specified.
   2. A copy of a written report by a peace officer, as specified, stating the tenant has filed a report alleging he or she is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other abuse. (Code of Civil Procedure 1161.3.)
4. Prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or a tenant’s household member that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult, provided that the documentation requirements of 3), above, are met. (Government Code Section 53165 (a).)
5. Prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the number of calls made by any person to the emergency telephone system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenant’s household being a victim of an act or acts that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult, provided that the documentation requirements of 3), above, are met. (Government Code Section 53165 (b).)

FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS: Existing law prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or elder or dependent adult abuse against the tenant or the tenant's household member. The purpose of this law is straightforward; it protects victims of such violence and abuse from being re-victimized—by potentially losing their housing—in cases where the landlord may consider the domestic violence situation a "nuisance" on the premises that might allow for a nuisance eviction to be filed. In recent years, the Legislature has reinforced the impact of this law by expanding its protective reach to victims and survivors of different types of violence and abuse than originally included, and allowing the abuse or violence to be established by use of specified documentation, including qualified third-party documentation, generally from a professional.

This bill, co-sponsored by the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and the Women's Policy Institute, Women's Foundation of California (WFC) would expand on this existing legal framework by creating new protections for tenants and household members so that they cannot be evicted or otherwise penalized for the act of calling law enforcement assistance or 9-1-1 emergency assistance in cases where the landlord may consider such calling as constituting a nuisance which warrants action against the tenant. According to the author:

Nuisance ordinances – also called disorderly house ordinances or crime free ordinances – label a tenant as a nuisance when his or her rental is the site of a certain number of calls for police or alleged nuisance conduct.  If someone is labeled a nuisance, this person can be evicted from his or her home. For victims of crime or individuals in an emergency, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. These nuisance ordinances place a victim in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home, or call for help and risk becoming homeless.

For example, a 43-year-old Marine Corps Veteran living with PTSD in the City of Hawthorne was evicted when the Hawthorne Police Department forced the veteran’s landlord to evict him due to excessive 911 calls that they categorized “non-emergency.”  According to the police, the tenant had called 9 times in 10 months, and the police considered him a nuisance.  Upon meeting with the tenant, his attorneys learned that each of his 911 calls were legitimate emergencies—he had called when he experienced frightening flashbacks, when he suffered from medication side effects, and when he had severe PTSD episodes. 

AB 2413, the Right to A Safe Home Act, revisits how the law protects victims of violence in their own homes. This is a common sense opportunity to protect survivors of crime and trauma and help impact California’s current homelessness crisis by keeping tenants in their homes.

Protections from eviction and other penalties for calling emergency assistance. The strong public policy objective of this bill is to encourage all persons to call law enforcement or emergency assistance when needed to respond to a crime or emergency, without any fear that doing so might jeopardize their housing or lead their landlord to take action against them for causing a perceived nuisance. First, the bill protects the right of a tenant or resident to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance as a victim of abuse, victim of crime, or individual in an emergency, as defined, or on behalf of another person who falls into one of those categories. The protection is not unlimited, but applies when the caller believes that emergency assistance is necessary to prevent or address the perpetration, exacerbation, or escalation of the abuse, crime, or emergency. According to the author, this could include calls made, for example, to stop a crime or assault in progress, to report a crime upon discovery of its commission, or to summon first responders for a medical emergency. The bill defines the term "individual in an emergency" to mean a person who believes that immediate action is required to prevent or mitigate the loss of impairment of life, health or property. The protections would presumably not apply to situations to calls or a pattern of 9-1-1 calls that were frivolous in nature or not necessary to prevent or address a crime, emergency, or incident of abuse.

In addition to protecting tenants from the actual or threatened termination of tenancy, or failure to renew a tenancy, the bill also protects tenants from the actual or threatened assessment of fines and penalties by the landlord, and from disparate treatment or rights as compared to other tenants who have not summoned emergency assistance. Finally, the bill also extends these protections to tenants and residents when the emergency calls were made by someone who is not a tenant or resident of the landlord—for example, when a visitor or resident of a neighboring building is the one who summoned emergency assistance. In addition to directly prohibiting the landlord from initiating an eviction or taking actions against tenants under these circumstances, the bill also makes void, as contrary to public policy, any provision of a rental or lease agreement that prohibits or limits a tenant's right to summon law enforcement or emergency assistance.

Rebuttable presumption in unlawful detainer cases. If an eviction has been filed against a tenant or occupant, under certain circumstances, the bill would allow the tenant or occupant to raise the affirmative defense that the landlord is in violation of the bill’s provisions. The bill provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that the tenant has established an affirmative defense if the complaint is based on a notice alleging that the act of summoning emergency assistance constituted either a violation of the lease or rental agreement, or a nuisance in itself, and the complaint was filed within 30 days of the tenant summoned the assistance. Under the bill, the landlord would be able to rebut the presumption by showing some other reason was a substantial motivating factor for filing the complaint. Therefore, the mere reference to summoning law enforcement, as cited in the complaint, is not necessarily enough to establish the rebuttable presumption in cases where, for example, law enforcement had to be summoned to respond to other conduct that is alleged to constitute a nuisance or lease violation (e.g., illegal activity like drug dealing).

Qualified third-party documentation may be used to establish protection from eviction. This bill seeks to expand the permissible types of documentation that survivors of domestic violence and other abuse may use to establish that they are entitled to protection from eviction. Under this bill, survivors would be able to use “qualified third-party documentation” as evidence of abuse, in addition to existing documentation options. The bill adopts a prescribed statement for qualified third-party documentation that has previously been enacted by the Legislature, and that survivors of violence and abuse currently use in establishing the right to end their lease early to avoid remaining in a dangerous or abusive housing situation. NHLP explains:

“Qualified third-party documentation” allows a tenant to provide documentation signed by parties such as a doctor, a psychologist, or a domestic violence caseworker to demonstrate abuse. This documentation serves as an alternative to using a restraining order or police report, such that survivors who do not wish to involve the police or the courts are not forced to do so. Survivors who seek protective orders or contact the police face a real and imminent risk of escalating violence by their perpetrators, or encounter barriers such as lack of meaningful language access to the courts. Given these obstacles, survivors must be able to verify abuse by using documentation from professionals with whom the survivors are working, including medical professionals and domestic violence or sexual assault counselors. Survivors in California are using qualified third-party documentation to end their leases early; in fact, NHLP has received inquiries from both advocates and survivors on how to use this documentation option. We therefore support adding the option of using qualified third-party documentation to California’s survivor eviction protection law as well.

As a result, the bill harmonizes the early lease termination law (Civil Code Section 1946.7) with the eviction protection law (CCP Section 1161.3) so that the complete set of eligible forms of documentation, including qualified third-party documentation, is available to survivors of violence and abuse in both types of situations. Recent amendments to the bill give the Judicial Council until September, 1, 2019 to revise the necessary court forms. In addition, the bill incorporates confidentiality protections from the early lease termination law that prohibit the landlord from disclosing any information about the abuse unless required by law or court order, or the tenant has consented in writing to its disclosure.

Preemption of local ordinances. Finally, this bill prohibits local governmental agencies from implementing any local ordinance or policy that would impose penalties against any person (including both landlords and tenants) because police or emergency assistance is summoned by, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of crime, or an individual in an emergency. The bill also explicitly preempts any local ordinance, rule, policy or regulation to that effect, and allows any person to seek a court order to enjoin such a practice or declare any such ordinance or rule null and void.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: In support of the bill, the ACLU states:

For survivors, housing security and access to police assistance can be essential to living free from harm. Current nuisance ordinances often place a survivor in an impossible dilemma: endure potentially life-threatening attacks and keep one’s home, or call for help and risk becoming homeless. Compounding this issue is the fact that nuisance evictions disproportionately impact women and low-income communities of color. Research conducted on Milwaukee, Wisconsin's ordinance concluded that domestic violence calls were the third most common reason for a nuisance citation. In 83% of cases where landlords were cited, they evicted or threatened to evict victims of they called police again. A study of two upstate New York ordinances similarly concluded that domestic violence made up the largest category of incidents resulting in nuisance enforcement, frequently leading to eviction. For all of these reasons, the ACLU of California supports AB 2413.

The California Apartment Association also supports the bill, writing:

Tenants should never live in fear in their own home, and rental property owners should never be hampered from relying on local emergency services to keep their employees and tenants safe at the property. We appreciate that AB 2413 will prohibit a local agency from enforcing or implementing any ordinance, rule, or regulation that authorizes or imposes a penalty against a property owner or resident or other person if any of these parties seek or receive law enforcement assistance or other emergency assistance for, or on behalf of, a victim of abuse, a victim of a crime, or an individual in an emergency.

At the same time, we thank you for working with us to clarify the language in the bill to make clear that a tenant, resident, or occupant can establish an affirmative defense under this proposed law if the landlord specifically bases an unlawful detainer complaint on the fact that a tenant sought law enforcement assistance.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

National Housing Law Project (sponsor)

Women’s Policy Institute, Women’s Foundation of California (sponsor)

ACLU of California

California Apartment Association

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation

Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto

Consumer Attorneys of California

Contra Costa Senior Legal Services

Downtown Women’s Center

Fools Mission

Greenlining Institute

Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles

Justice & Diversity Center

LA Center for Law and Justice

Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officer Association

National Council of Jewish Women, California

Public Health Justice Collective

Western Center on Law and Poverty

YWCA Silicon Valley

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334