The Sacramento Bee: major rent cap reduction removed from bill
California tenants will likely not get a hoped-for reduction to the state’s rent cap after lawmakers removed a major provision from an eviction protection bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday indicated support for legislation from Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, that would bolster a 2019 measure, Assembly Bill 1482, establishing a 10% statewide rent cap and preventing landlords from evicting tenants without a just cause. But their approval was contingent on removing a portion of the measure, Senate Bill 567, that would have capped rent increases at the Consumer Price Index inflation rate and lowered the maximum threshold to 5%. Existing law caps rent hikes at 5% plus the inflation rate, with a maximum of 10%. The rent cap does not apply to single family and mobile homes. Durazo told the committee she was willing to amend the bill, shifting its focus to closing eviction protection loopholes. She wants to tighten existing rules that allow evictions when landlords want to move in or rent to family members, substantially renovate a unit or remove a rental from the market.
Committee Chair Thomas Umberg, D-Santa Ana, told Durazo the committee’s approval would hinge on continued negotiations over exactly how to strengthen and enforce those rules. Members voted 9-2 to move the bill out of committee. BOLSTERING RENTER PROTECTIONS The state’s current protections consider renovations, landlord move-in and market removal legal “no-fault evictions,” meaning the tenants did not violate the terms of their lease but still must leave their rentals. “It’s used as a loophole to kick out the family that’s currently there and use that as an excuse to raise the rent,” Durazo said. “The current law just does not have the teeth that it takes. And the promise of what were supposed to be protections for those (tenants) is not being achieved.” Durazo’s bill would require landlords to let tenants return to their units after substantial renovations are complete, and to disclose the repairs being made. The landlords could not force the tenants to move unless the repairs would take at least 60 days and are needed for health and safety reasons. Landlords moving into their unit or renting to family must make sure the rental is occupied at least three months after the tenants are evicted. They also must live in the unit for at least three years. The bill would prohibit units landlords remove from the market from being rented for at least 10 years.
LANDLORDS VS. TENANTS
Durazo and advocates say the burden of enforcing the current laws currently fall on tenants, most of whom do not have the time and resources needed to fight evictions.
Shanti Singh of Tenants Together said SB 567 is necessary because advocates saw an “escalation” of landlords breaking AB 1482 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Singh said it’s legislators’ job to enforce the law they approved four years ago. “Without enforcement,” she said, “the law’s only as good as the paper it’s printed on.” . But Debra Carlton of the California Apartment Association strongly opposed the bill, saying lawmakers want to change the rules after her organization negotiated “in good faith” on AB 1482 and COVID eviction protections. “To come here now and claim 1482 needs amendments, more extreme eviction protections, is not backed by data,” Carlton said. “It breaches the legislative agreement that we reached in good faith on a historic law.” After the hearing, Durazo said she would have preferred to see her original bill move forward with the lowered rent cap intact, but she’s still willing push for the amended version.
“When we fix these loopholes,” she said, “it’s going to mean a lot to people to be able to stay in their homes.” The bill will advance to the Senate Appropriations Committee, with a future hearing date to be determined.
