AB 1858

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the State Housing Law, establishes statewide construction and occupancy standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law requires, for those purposes, that any building, including any dwelling unit, be deemed to be a substandard building when a health officer determines that any one of specified listed conditions exists to the extent that it endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or its occupants. This bill would instead specify that a building be deemed a substandard building when a health officer determines that any of those listed conditions exist to the extent that it endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the occupants of the building, nearby residents, or the public. The bill would clarify that the term "substandard building" for purposes of the State Housing Law means a residential building or any other building that is deemed to be substandard pursuant to the provisions described above, and would clarify that standard applies regardless of the zoning designation or approved use of the building. The bill would make conforming changes to this effect. By imposing new inspection requirements on local entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The State Housing Law provides for relocation assistance to a tenant displaced from a residential rental unit as a result of an order to vacate by a local enforcement agency under specified conditions. This bill would define the term "residential rental unit" for those purposes to mean any unit rented for human habitation that is located in a building that is deemed or found to be a substandard building. (3) The State Housing Law requires the housing or building department or, if there is no building department, the health department, of every city or county or a specified environmental agency to enforce within its jurisdiction all of the State Housing Law, the building standards published in the California Building Standards Code, and other specified rules and regulations. If there is a violation of these provisions or any order or notice that gives a reasonable time to correct that violation, or if a nuisance exists, an enforcement agency is required, after 30 days' notice to abate the nuisance, to institute appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate the violation or nuisance. This bill would state that violations of municipal codes are included within these provisions. The bill would define the term "petition" for those purposes to include a complaint. (4) The State Housing Law authorizes the enforcement agency, a tenant, or tenant association or organization to seek, and the court to order, the appointment of a receiver for the substandard building if the owner of a property with substandard conditions fails to comply within a reasonable time period with the terms of a specified order or notice to repair or abate a violation that results in a substantial endangerment of the health and safety of residents or the public. Existing law authorizes the court to retain jurisdiction for up to 18 months after discharging the receiver. This bill would specify that the appointment of a receiver for the substandard building pursuant to another provision of law does not prevent an enforcement agency from seeking, or the court from appointing or replacing, a receiver pursuant to these provisions. The bill would authorize the court to extend the 18-month time period for retaining jurisdiction to ensure continuing compliance. The State Housing Law requires a court that finds that a building is in a condition which substantially endangers the health and safety of residents to, upon the entry of any order or judgment, require the owner to provide or pay relocation benefits to each lawful tenant if the tenant cannot safely reside in the premises while the owner undertakes repairs or rehabilitation, as specified. Existing law requires this relocation compensation to be an amount equal to the difference between the contract rent and the fair market rental value for a unit of comparable size within the area for the period that the unit is being repaired, not to exceed 120 days. This bill would authorize a court to order a different amount of relocation compensation based on equity if the amount calculated above would not adequately compensate a tenant for relocation costs and temporary living expenses during the pendency of the repairs or rehabilitation. (5) Under the State Housing Law, a person who obtains an ownership interest in property after the recording of a notice of pendency of an action or proceeding brought pursuant to the State Housing Law with respect to the property or a notice of a violation of that law, and if there is no withdrawal or expungement of the notice, is subject to the order to correct a violation and any other recorded notice of a violation of the State Housing Law. This bill would specify that a person described above is subject to any costs and fees of any receiver appointed or enforcement agency, as applicable. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.