Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1482 into law on October 8.
Quick Summary of the law:
Rent Cap
Rent increases are capped at 5 percent plus inflation, or up to a hard cap of 10 percent, whichever is lower.
All rent increases since March 15, 2019 will count toward the rent cap, and if above the permissible rent cap, will have to be rolled back effective January 1, 2020.
Just Cause
Landlords may only evict for “just cause.” There is a list of 15 reasons.
The just cause reasons are divided into two categories:
“At fault” termination of tenancy is generally based upon a tenant’s breach of the lease, among other reasons, and does not require the payment of relocation assistance.
“At fault” reasons include non-payment of rent, nuisance, criminal activity, refusal to allow entry, and breach of a material term of the lease.
“No fault” termination of tenancy is allowed when the tenant has not breached the lease and will require the landlord to pay one month’s rent in relocation assistance.
“No fault” reasons include owner occupancy, withdrawal from the rental market, substantial remodeling and compliance with government order to vacate the property,
Just cause eviction only applies to tenants who have been continuously and lawfully occupying the property for 12 months.
Exemptions
Exempts single family properties and condos if:
- Notice of the exemption is provided to the tenants and;
- The owner is not a REIT, a corporation, or an LLC where an owner is a corporation
Other exemptions include:
- Housing that has been issued a certificate of occupancy within previous last 15 years
- Owner occupied duplexes
- Owner occupied single-family properties renting no more than two bedrooms including Accessory Dwelling Units (“ADU”s). (This exemption applies only to just cause but not the rent cap).
“Just cause” provisions improved: Under AB 1482, owners would still be able to evict tenants for:
Nonpayment of rent
A breach of the material term of the lease
Nuisance, waste, unlawful, or criminal activity
Refusal to sign a written extension or renewal of the lease
Assigning or subletting
Refusal to allow the owner to enter the unit
The owner moving themselves or family into a unit
To substantially renovate
To go out of business altogether.
The just-cause provisions will kick in after 12 months of the tenancy, however, if the renter takes a roommate within the first 24 months, the clock will reset. Just cause then will not apply until all renters in the unit have been in place for a full year or at least one tenant has continually occupied the unit for 24 months or more. The just-cause provisions would apply to all housing covered by AB 1482.