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By Debra Carlton, Senior Vice President Legislative Affairs 1846 - California comes under direct American control
1848 – Discovery of Gold in California
1849 – California Constitution ratified
1850 – California formally gains statehood
1872 – The foundation for California landlord-tenant law comes with the enactment of the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Penal Code, and the Political Code (now the Government Code)
Rental property owners given the explicit right to terminate a tenant upon 30 days’ written notice. (Civil Code Section 789)
Rental property evictions are granted a summary status in the courts in order to allow owners the ability to regain possession of the unit expediently. (CCP Section 1170.5)
Renting of property is defined as temporary possession and use of property, and the tenant must return the property at a future time. (Civil Code 1925)
The tenant is required to use ordinary care to protect the property and keep it in good repair. (Civil Code Section 1928)
Law defines leases as month-to-month after the tenant continues to pay rent and stays in possession of a rental unit after the expiration of a term lease (Civil Code Section 1945)
Subletting by a tenant is prohibited unless it is done with the consent of the owner. (Civil Code Section 1948)
Double letting is prohibited. Tenants are entitled to an entire room and are relieved of any obligation to pay rent if any part of the room is let to another person or family. (Civil Code Section 1950)
Right to a jury trial in eviction cases is established. (CCP Section 1171)
Tenants given the right to make repairs and deduct the cost from rent. (Civil Code Section 1942)
1873 - Law allows tenants to stay in possession of rental property if, during the eviction process, the tenant petitions the court and demonstrates a hardship; rent must be paid in full. (CCP Section 1179)
1873 – Landlord required to keep the rental property in good repair. (Civil Code Section 1941)
1879 – California Constitution significantly modified.
1905 – Tenants are responsible for deterioration of the property when it results from their lack of ordinary care. Tenant cannot utilize the property for any other purpose than its intended purpose. (Civil Code Section 1929)
1930 – California becomes the nation’s number one agricultural state
1958 – Pat Brown (D) elected Governor; 1959 to 1966
1957 – Hugh M Burns (D) President pro Tempore of the Senate; 1957 to 1969
1959 – Individuals who wish to purchase and operate rental property are protected against discrimination by banks and brokers because of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, or disability. Tenants also protected against discrimination by rental property owners. (Civil Code Section 51)
1961 – Jesse M. Unruh (D) Assembly Speaker; 1961 to 1968
1966 – Ronald Reagan (R) elected Governor; 1967 to 1974
1967 – Full-time California Legislature goes into session
1967 – Residential rental property managers are exempted from the real estate broker requirements. (Business and Professions Code Section 10131.01)
1968 – Individuals with disabilities explicitly entitled to full and equal access to accommodations. (Civil Code Section 54.1)
1970 – California becomes the most populous state
Demographics = 78 percent non-Hispanic White
12 percent Latino
7 percent African-American
3 percent Asian
1970 – An untenantable unit is defined. Resident is obligated to keep the unit clean and sanitary and to dispose of garbage. Tenants cannot waive their right to a safe and tenantable unit. (Civil Code Section 1941.1 and 1941.2 and 1942.1)
1971 – Property owners prohibited from interfering with a tenants enjoyment of the property. Owners cannot interrupt utility service, prevent the resident from accessing the unit, remove outside doors or windows, or utilize any other constructive eviction remedies. (Civil Code Section 789.3)
1974 – California Appellate Court rules that there is implied in every residential lease a warranty of habitability and that the resident’s duty to pay rent is dependent on the owner’s duty to repair and maintain the premises. The resident’s duty to pay rent can be held in abeyance until the repairs are made or until court order. Green vs. Superior Court 10 C.3d 616, 111 C.R. 704, 517 P.2d 1168
1974 – Jerry Brown (D) elected Governor; 1975 to 1982
1975 – Law gives owner the ability to enter the dwelling unit in specified cases on a 24 hour notice to the tenant. (Civil Code Section 1954)
1977 – Security deposit law is instituted. (Civil Code Section 1950.5)
1978 – Property Tax Revolt; Proposition 13 passes
1978 – Berkeley Rent Control Law passed by voters
Los Angeles City Rent Control Ordinance passed
1979 – San Francisco Rent Control Ordinance passed
Santa Monica Rent Control Ordinance passed by voters
San Jose Rent Control Ordinance passed
Beverly Hills Rent Control Ordinance passed
1979 – Owners cannot retaliate against tenants because tenants exercise their rights under the law. (Civil Code Section 1942.5)
1979 – Conditions that constitute substandard buildings spelled out in the Health and Safety Code. (Health and Safety Code Section 17920.3)
1990 – Cotati Rent Control Ordinance passed by voters
1980 California Supreme Court outlaws local ordinances that define a family as “an individual or two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit or group of not to exceed five persons, excluding servants.” City of Santa Barbara vs. Adamson 164 C.R. 539, 27 C.3d 123
1980 – Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) Speaker of the Assembly; 1980 to 1995
David Roberti (D-Los Angeles) President pro Tempore of the Senate; 1980 through 1994
1980 – Oakland Rent Control Ordinance passed
Hayward Rent Control Ordinance passed
Los Gatos Rent Control Ordinance passed
Palm Springs Rent Control passed by voters
Thousand Oaks Rent Control Ordinance passed
1981 – Family day care homes granted the ability to operate in rental housing without property owner’s consent. (Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40)
1982 – George Deukmejian (R) elected Governor; 1983 to 1990
1982 – California Appeallate Court makes three significant rulings:
Rental property owners cannot discriminate against an individual because of their sexual preference. Hubert vs. Williams C.A.3d Supp.1, 184 C.R. 161
Rental property owners cannot discriminate against anyone on the basis of marital status. Hess vs. Fair Employment and Housing Commission 138 C.A.3d 232, 187 C.R. 712
Rental property owners cannot arbitrarily discriminate against families with children. Marina Point, Ltd. vs. Wolfson 30 C.3d 721, 180 C.R. 496
1983 – Owners allowed to collect a penalty when a tenant writes a check on insufficient funds. (Civil Code Section 1983)
1983 – East Palo Alto Rent Control Ordinance passed
1984 – Smoke detectors required in all dwelling units intended for human habitation. (Health and Safety Code Section 13113.7)
1984 – Senior housing is explicitly excluded from the anti-discrimination laws. Property owners with housing that meets specified criteria are allowed to offer housing exclusively to seniors. (Civil Code Section 51.2, 51.3, 51.4)
1985 – West Hollywood Rent Control Ordinance passed
1985 – Ellis Act signed by Governor, allowing rental property owners to leave the rental housing business without interference from local governments (Government Code Section 7060)
1986 – Owners are not liable for failure to disclose the occurrence of an occupant’s death upon the property where the death occurs more than three years prior to the sale or lease, or that an occupant of the property was afflicted with, or dies of HIV or AIDS. (Civil Code Section 1710.2)
1986 – Proposition 65 passed by the electorate; prohibits anyone from knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first giving clear and reasonable warning to the individual. (Health and Safety Code Section 25249.6)
1986 – California Appellate Court rules that a rental property owner’s occupancy standard that is imposed to prevent overcrowding is legal so long as it is based on objective criteria, such as square footage, facilities, or open space. Park Redlands vs. Simon 266 C.R.199, 181 C.A.3d 87
1986 – California Legislature passes, and Governor signs, first Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, directing the Department of Health Services to study the extent of childhood lead poisoning in California.
1988 – Any owner who negotiates with a tenant in Spanish must include a rental contract in Spanish. (Civil Code Section 1632)
1989 – Water heaters must be braced, anchored, or strapped. (Health and Safety Code Section 19211)
1989 – California Legislature directs the State Department of Health Services to test children for blood lead levels. Department directed to adopt regulations governing he abatement of lead paint and standards for enforcement, testing, and abatement.
1990 – Pete Wilson (R) elected Governor; 1991 to 1998
1990 – Special procedure and form (prejudgment claim of right to possession) established for owners to serve an eviction notice on all tenants – known and unknown – who may reside in the unit. (CCP Section 1174.25 and 1174.3)
1990 – Los Angeles replaces New York as the nation’s busiest port
1990 – Proposition 140 passes: Term Limits for State Legislators
1991 – Unlawful detainer court records sealed from public few in order to stop “eviction delay mills” from obtaining names of tenants. (CCP Section 1161.2)
1991 – Owners required to install and maintain one usable telephone jack in each rental unit. (Civil Code Section 1941.4)
1991 – California Supreme Court upholds rental property owner’s ability to use income standards. Harris vs. Capital Growth Investors 52 C.3d 1142, 278 C.R. 614
1992 – California Appellate Court outlaws local community occupancy ordinances that are more stringent than California’s Uniform Housing Code unless the city or county can justify the local ordinance with topographical, geological, or climatic factors. Briseno vs. City of Santa Ana 8 C.R.2d 486, 6 C.A.4th 1378
1992 – Congress passes the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act. Owners with buildings construction before 1978 mandated to provide prospective tenants with information about lead poisoning.
1993 – “Unlawful detainer assistants” defined and they are required to register with local authorities and must be bonded. The largest and most evasive eviction delay mills go out of business as a result of this law. (Business and Professions Code Section 6400, et.seq.)
1994 – Bill Lockyer (D-Alameda) President pro Tempore of the Senate; 1994 - 1997
1995 – The Costa-Hawkins Rent Control Act is chaptered. Strict rent control ordinances outlawed in local communities. (Civil Code Section 1954.50 et. seq.)
1995 – Water districts prohibited from collecting from a property owner the water charges or penalties owed by a tenant. (Public Utilities Code Section 12822.6)
1995 – Republicans control the Assembly and claim the Assembly Speakership for one year
1995 – Surge in citizenship and voter registration among Hispanics, opting for affiliation with Democratic Party
1995 – California Supreme Court rules that its previous ruling in Becker v. IRM Corp (1985) incorrectly imposed liability for injuries caused by defects that the landlord had not created, that would not have been disclosed by a reasonable inspection, and of which the landlord had no knowledge. Peterson vs. Superior Court of Riverside County 10 C.4th 1185, 43 C.R.2d 836
1996 – Owners explicitly granted the right to collect a screening fee from each prospective tenant. (Civil Code Section 1950.6)
1996 – California Appellate Court rules that rental property owners cannot refuse to rent to an unmarried couple based upon the owner’s religious beliefs. Smith vs. Fair Employment and Housing Commission 51 C.R.2d 700, 12 C.4th 1143, 913 P.2d.
1996 – Cruz Bustamante (D-Fresno) Assembly Speaker; December 1996 to 1997
1997 – Owners required to install deadbolts on rental property doors and windows. (Civil Code Section 1941.3)
1997 - Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) Speaker California Assembly 1997
1998 – John Burton (D-San Francisco) President pro Tempore of the Senate 1998
1998 – Law requires rental property owners to provide tenants with information about California’s sex offender database. (Civil Code Section 2079.10a)
1998 – California Open Primary Elections
1998 – Gray Davis (D) elected Governor; Inaugurated 1999
1999 – Law prohibits rental property owners from discriminating against prospective tenants and existing tenants because of the their source of income. In addition, owners cannot use an income standard that fails to account for the aggregate income of persons residing together or proposing to reside together. (Government Code Section 12955
2000 – Rob Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles) Speaker of the California Assembly
Law provides that tenants receiving a rent increase of 10% or more be provided with a 60-day notice of rent increase. (Civil Code Section 827)
2001 – Herb Wesson (D-Los Angeles) elected as Speaker of the California Assembly.
2001 – State law provides that when a property owner gives a tenant a rent increase of 10% or more, the owner must provide the tenant with a 60-day notice of that rent increase (Civil Code Section 827).
2002 – Gray Davis (D) elected to second term as Governor.
2002 – Pilot project requiring sixty-day notice of termination of tenancy in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood (Civil Code Section 1946.1).
2002 – Law requires the disclosure by an owner to a tenant of the telephone number, name, and address of the person or entity to whom rent payments shall be made, and the form or forms in which rent payments are to be made (Civil Code Section 1962).
2003 – Law provides for a new mandatory walk-through process. This walk-through is intended to provide residents a chance to remedy possible deficiencies in the rental unit so they can avoid deductions from the security deposit (Civil Code 1950.5).
2003 – State law requires rental property owners to give tenants who have lived in their unit for one year or more a 60-day notice in order to terminate the tenancy when no specific reason is listed by the owner (Civil Code 1946.1).
2003 – State law requires rental property owners to give tenants a written 24-hour notification prior to entry into dwelling unit. Also requires a 6-day notification for entry into the dwelling unit if the notification is mailed (Civil Code Section 1954).
2004 – Governor Davis (D) recalled by California voters. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) elected Governor.
2004 – Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) elected Speaker of the Assembly.
2004 – State law clarifies that a rental property owner need not provide tenants a walk-through of the rental unit at the termination of the tenancy when the owner evicts the tenant with a 3-day notice for failure to pay rent or for violating any other lease term (Civil Code Section 1950.5).
2004 – State law requires property owners to provide tenants with receipts, invoices, or a vendor price list for any labor or materials that the owner purchases and deducts from the tenant’s security deposit (Civil Code Section 1950.5).
2004 – State law clarifies that discrimination in housing and employment based upon an individual’s gender identity is prohibited. It allows employers to require employees to comply with reasonable workplace appearance, grooming, and dress standards, provided that employees are allowed to appear or dress consistently with their gender identity (Government Code Sections 12926 and 12949).
2004 – State law seals court records when a tenant prevails in an eviction case (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161.2).
2004 – State law gives owners the right to enter an occupied unit to make repairs or other agreed to services without a 24-hour written notice when the tenant makes the request for repairs or service (Civil Code Section 1954).
2004 – State law requires a business or trade person who negotiates a contract in Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean to provide a copy of any contract in that language. This law is added to existing requirements that mandate a contract in Spanish when business personnel negotiate in that language (Civil Code Section 1632).
2004 – State law allows civil penalties of $2,000 to be imposed against landlords who, among other things, defraud a tenant of any real or personal property or who use force, threats, or menacing conduct that interferes with a tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the premises (Civil Code Sections 1940.2 and 1942.5).
2004 – State law increases damages that may be awarded by a court judge to a tenant from a maximum of $1,000 to a maximum of $5,000 against slumlords who increase or demand rent from tenants when the property is declared substandard by an enforcement agency (Civil Code Section 1942.4; Code of Civil Procedure Section 1174.21).
2004 – State law allows local government officials to impose a penalty on rental property owners who have not strapped their hot water heaters in compliance with a 1996 state law. The new law gives a cited rental property owner 30 days to correct the violation without a penalty (Health and Safety Code Sections 19210, 19211, 19212, 19213, 19215, 19216).
2004 – State law gives local agencies and the courts help in eliminating narcotics and prostitution from private property. The law specifically provides that the filing of an appeal by a defendant (the property owner) will not stop the enforcement of a judgment against him/her unless a trial judge agrees otherwise (Code of Civil Procedure Section 917.8).
2004 – State law gives cities and counties more tools to force property owners to correct dangerous conditions at their property. They can force property owners to make repairs to their property within 30 days, and they can require an owner who has dangerous conditions at his/her property to submit personal information to the enforcement agency - information such as a social security number or business identification number that would allow officials to expediently file collection actions or withhold tax credits from owners (Government Code Section 54988; Health and Safety Code Sections 17958.8, 17960.10, 17980, 17980.1, 17980.10, 17980.11, 17991, 17992).
2020 – Projected Population = 43,851,741
Demographics
33.6 percent non-Hispanic White
43.1 percent Latinos
12.7 percent Asian
6.7 percent African-American
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