AB 832

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law prohibits a landlord from interrupting or terminating utility service furnished to a tenant with the intent to terminate the occupancy of the tenant and imposes specified penalties on a landlord who violates that prohibition. Existing law, until July 1, 2021, imposes additional damages in an amount of at least $1,000, but not more than $2,500, on a landlord that violates that prohibition if the tenant has provided a declaration of COVID-19 financial distress, as specified. This bill would extend the imposition of those additional damages until October 1, 2021. (2) Existing law regulates the activities of a person or entity that has bought charged-off consumer debt, as defined, for collection purposes and the circumstances pursuant to which the person may bring suit. Existing law, until July 1, 2021, prohibits a person from selling or assigning unpaid COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, for the time period between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Existing law also prohibits a person from selling or assigning unpaid COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, for that same time period of any person who would have qualified for rental assistance funding, provided pursuant to specified federal law, if the person's household income is at or below 80% of the area median income for the 2020 calendar year. This bill would extend the time period to which both prohibitions against selling or assigning unpaid COVID-19 rental debt apply to September 30, 2021, and would repeal only the general prohibition on October 1, 2021. The bill would extend the calculation of the median income to the 2021 calendar year. (3) Existing law, until July 1, 2021, prohibits a landlord from bringing an action for unlawful detainer based on a cause of action other than nonpayment of COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, for the purpose of retaliating against the lessee because the lessee has COVID-19 rental debt. This bill would extend this provision until October 1, 2021. (4) Existing law, the COVID-19 Small Landlord and Homeowner Relief Act of 2020, among other things, requires that a mortgage servicer, as defined, that denies a forbearance request during the effective time period provide specified written notice to the borrower, as defined, that sets forth the specific reason or reasons that forbearance was not provided if certain conditions are met. The act defines the "effective time period" to mean the period between the operational date of the act and September 1, 2021. This bill would extend the "effective time period" until December 1, 2021. (5) Existing law, until July 1, 2025, provides that a small claims court has jurisdiction in any action for recovery of COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, regardless of the amount demanded. Existing law prohibits the commencement of an action to recover COVID-19 rental debt brought under these provisions before August 1, 2021. This bill would extend these provisions until October 1, 2025. The bill would also extend the above-described prohibition on commencing an action in small claims court to recover COVID-19 rental debt until November 1, 2021. (6) Existing law, until July 1, 2027, requires a plaintiff, in an action seeking recovery of COVID-19 rental debt, to attach to the complaint documentation showing that the plaintiff has made a good faith effort to investigate whether governmental rental assistance is available to the tenant, seek governmental rental assistance for the tenant, or cooperate with the tenant's efforts to obtain rental assistance from any governmental entity or other third party, as specified. Existing law, until July 1, 2027, also authorizes the court to reduce the damages awarded for any amount of COVID-19 rental debt sought if the court determines that the landlord refused to obtain state rental assistance, as described below, if the tenant met the eligibility requirements and funding was available. Existing law creates an exception to that authorization within any jurisdiction that received a direct allocation of assistance from the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and did not accept a block grant pursuant to the rental assistance program described below, as specified. Existing law requires, subject to a certain exception, an action subject to that provision that was pending as of January 29, 2021, to be stayed until July 1, 2021. This bill would repeal the exception to the damage reduction authorization described above, would instead require those actions to be stayed until November 1, 2021, and would extend these provisions until October 1, 2027. Existing law, until July 1, 2025, prohibits a court from awarding attorney's fees that exceed specified amounts, which vary based on whether the matter is contested or uncontested, in any action to recover COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, brought as a limited or unlimited civil case under ordinary circumstances, determined as provided. This bill would extend those provisions until October 1, 2025. (7) Existing law, in certain actions involving the possession of real property, including unlawful detainer actions, authorizes the clerk to allow access to limited civil case records only to certain persons. Existing law authorizes the clerk to allow access to these records to any person by order of the court, if judgment is entered for the plaintiff after trial more than 60 days after filing the complaint or 60 days after the complaint has been filed, if the plaintiff prevails in the action within 60 days of filing the complaint. Until July 1, 2021, these provisions allowing access to court records to any person do not apply if the plaintiff filed the action between March 4, 2020, and June 30, 2021, and the action is based on the alleged default in the payment of rent. Subject to those provisions, until July 1, 2021, existing law authorizes the clerk to allow access to civil case records for actions seeking recovery of COVID-19 rental debt, as defined, only to certain persons. This bill would, among other things, extend the exception described above indefinitely and would apply it to actions filed between March 4, 2020, and September 30, 2021, and would extend indefinitely the limitation on access to civil case records for actions seeking recovery of COVID-19 rental debt. The bill would require the Judicial Council to develop forms for parties to utilize in actions brought for recovery of COVID-19 rental debt. (8) Existing law, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, until July 1, 2025, establishes procedural requirements and limitations on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 rental debt, as defined. The act, among other things, prohibits a tenant that delivers a declaration, under penalty of perjury, of COVID-19-related financial distress from being deemed in default with regard to the COVID-19 rental debt, as specified. The act requires that a notice that demands payment of COVID-19 rental debt served pursuant to specified law be modified, as provided. The act requires that notices provided between September 1, 2020, and June 3, 2021, comply with certain requirements, including that the notice include certain text. The act requires the Department of Real Estate to make available an official translation of that text into certain languages by no later than February 15, 2021. This bill would extend the operation of the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act to October 1, 2025, and would also extend operation of those requirements until September 30, 2021. The bill would also make conforming changes and would require notices described above that are served on or after July 1, 2021, to include certain text. The bill would instead require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to make available, on or before July 15, 2021, the official translation described above. (9) Existing law establishes a program for providing rental assistance, using funding made available pursuant to the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Appropriations Act) , administered by HCD. Existing law, among other things, provides for the allocation of block grant funds to localities, as defined, that meet certain population requirements. Existing law requires an eligible grantee under these provisions to request an allocation from HCD by February 12, 2021, and requires HCD to complete the initial allocation of these funds no later than February 19, 2021. Existing law authorizes eligible uses of funds allocated to grantees under these provisions, consistent with the requirements of the Appropriations Act. Existing law provides that a grantee may provide assistance for rental arrears as a payment directly to a landlord on behalf of an eligible household by entering into an agreement with the landlord, subject to specified conditions, including that compensation be set at 80% of an eligible household's unpaid rental debt accumulated from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021. Existing law limits funds used to provide assistance for prospective rent payments for an eligible household to 25% of the eligible household's monthly rent. This bill would revise and recast those provisions, including revisions to the state allocation of funds. The bill would specify requirements for Round 1 and Round 2 funds, as defined. This bill would, among other things, set the compensation for an eligible household's unpaid rental debt accumulated on or after April 1, 2020 at 100%. This bill would require funds used to provide assistance for prospective rent payments for an eligible household to be set at 100% of the eligible household's monthly rent. The bill would specify requirements for grantees and eligibility for rental assistance. This bill would enact the COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act, which would, until September 30, 2024, among other things, place certain restrictions on an unlawful detainer action pertaining to residential real property that is based, in whole or in part, on nonpayment of rental debt that accumulated due to COVID-19 hardship, including by prohibiting a court from issuing a summons on a complaint for unlawful detainer that seeks possession of residential real property based on nonpayment of rental debt that accumulated due to COVID-19 hardship unless the plaintiff also files a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the plaintiff attempted to obtain rental assistance pursuant to a program described above and was denied and a copy of a final decision, as defined, from the pertinent government rental assistance program denying a rental assistance application for the property at issue in the case. Existing law, in a legal action to recover rent or other financial obligations under a lease that accrued between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, requires, before entry of judgment in the plaintiff's favor, the plaintiff to verify certain information, under penalty of perjury, relating to state rental assistance. This bill would apply those provisions to rent or other financial obligations under a lease that accrued between April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (10) 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. (11) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (12) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.