Bill Text: CA SB1410 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1410 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: COVID-19 emergency: tenancies.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-08-20 - August 20 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1410 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB1410-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate April 30, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1410

Introduced by Senator Lena Gonzalez
(Principal coauthor: Senator Caballero)
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Petrie-Norris)

February 21, 2020

An act to add ~~Section 65585.4 to the Government Code, relating to planning and land use.~~ Chapter 11.8 (commencing with Section 50810) to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1410, as amended, Lena Gonzalez. ~~Housing: local development decisions: appeals.~~ Rental assistance: COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Existing law governs the hiring of residential dwelling units and requires a landlord to provide specified notice to tenants prior to an increase in rent. Existing law, until January 1, 2030, prohibits an owner of residential real property from, over the course of any 12-month period, increasing the gross rental rate for a dwelling unit more than 5% plus the change in the cost of living, as defined, or 10%, whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for the immediately preceding 12 months, subject to specified conditions.
This bill would establish the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, to be administered by the Director of Housing and Community Development. The bill would deem a household eligible for rental assistance payments under the program if the household demonstrates an inability to pay all or any part of the household’s rent due between April 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020, due to COVID-19 or a response to COVID-19, as specified, and the owner of the dwelling unit consents to participate in the program. The bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop a process to confirm whether a household demonstrates an inability to pay rent and develop a process to obtain the owner’s consent to participate in the program. The bill would require each payment to an owner under the program to equal at least 80% of the amount of rent owed by the household to the owner. The bill would prohibit the rental assistance provided by the program from covering more than 7 months of a household’s missed or insufficient rent payments.
This bill would prohibit an owner who participates in the program from increasing the gross rental rate for the dwelling unit between the date the owner consents to participate in the program and December 31, 2020, and would prohibit an owner from charging or attempting to collect a late fee for any rent payment due between April 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020. The bill would require an owner who participates in the program to accept a payment provided under the program as full payment of the missed or insufficient rent payments, as specified.
This bill would create the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Fund in the State Treasury, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, make the moneys in the fund available to the department for purposes of the program. The bill would provide that the program be implemented only to the extent that funding is made available through the Budget Act. The bill would specify that it is the intent of the legislature to prioritize the use of available federal funds before using General Fund moneys for the program.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires a city or county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. Existing law prescribes requirements for the housing element, including adequate sites for various types of housing based on the existing and projected need of all economic segments of the community. Existing law requires a city or county to consider guidelines adopted by the Department of Housing and Community Development in preparing its housing element and prescribes a process for submitting the element for review by the department. Existing law authorizes the department to take certain actions if it determines that the housing element does not comply with prescribed requirements.
This bill would establish a Housing Accountability Committee within the Housing and Community Development Department, would prescribe its membership. The bill would set forth the committee’s powers and duties, including the review of appeals regarding multifamily housing projects that cities and counties have denied or subjected to unreasonable conditions that make the project financially infeasible.
This bill would require that the committee be supported by the department and hear appeals at least quarterly or more often as the committee deems necessary. The bill would prescribe the qualifications of proposed housing developments that would be eligible for appeals and time lines within which applicants, the committee, and local agencies would be required to act.
This bill would require the committee to vacate a local decision if it finds that the decision of the local agency was not reasonable or consistent with meeting local housing needs, and would require the committee to direct the local agency to issue any necessary approval or permit for the development, as specified.
This bill would require a local agency to carry out a committee order within 30 days of entry, and if the local agency fails to do so, the bill would authorize an applicant to enforce the committee orders in court and would entitle the applicant to attorney’s fees and costs, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to charge applicants a fee for an appeal, as specified, and if the committee orders approval of the proposed development or modifies or removes any conditions or requirements imposed upon the applicant, the bill would require a city or county to reimburse the applicant for the fee. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
~~The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.~~
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.~~

Vote: ~~MAJORITY~~2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: ~~YES~~NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has upended the lives of all Californians.
(b) The Employment Development Department is processing an unprecedented demand for unemployment benefits. The department saw nearly 187,000 claims during the third week of March, which is more than three times the number from the week before and five times the number in the same week last year, according to the United States Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance data.
(c) The United States Congress has enacted several relief packages to address the economic fallout of the pandemic, but most Californians who rent their homes still need help.
(d) Many renters who miss rent payments because of this pandemic will experiences challenges in paying back the missed rent, which may worsen their long-term financial stability. Those missing rent payments will also negatively impact rental property owners, leading to an adverse domino effect on their larger communities.
(e) The New York Legislature is currently considering a measure (New York State Senate Bill S8140A) that would issue rent vouchers to qualifying households for a limited period of time.
(f) In the United States Congress, the Emergency Rental Assistance Act of 2020 (House Resolution 6314 (2020)) would increase short-term rental assistance for most Americans by expanding the Emergency Solutions Grant Program.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature to create a temporary rental assistance program that provides rental payments directly to rental housing providers to cover at least 80 percent of unpaid rent of tenants who could not pay rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEC. 2.

Chapter 11.8 (commencing with Section 50810) is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

CHAPTER 11.8. COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program
50810.
(a) There is hereby established the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which shall be administered by the director in accordance with this chapter.
(b) The director may, as deemed necessary, direct an existing office or program within the department to implement this chapter and may contract with one or more private entities in order to accelerate the implementation of this chapter.
50811.
For purposes of this chapter:
(a) “Department” mean the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(b) “Director” means the Director of Housing and Community Development.
(c) “Dwelling unit” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 1940 of the Civil Code. “Dwelling unit” does not include transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, residence club, or other facility as described in subdivision (b) of Section 1940 of the Civil Code.
(d) “Household” means the individual or individuals occupying a dwelling unit rented by the owner.
(e) “Owner” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 1954.51 of the Civil Code.
(f) “Program” means the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program created by this chapter.
50812.
A household shall be eligible for rental assistance under the program if both of the following criteria are satisfied:
(a) The household demonstrates, in a manner deemed acceptable by the director, an inability to pay rent due to COVID-19 or a state, local, or federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For purposes of this subdivision, “inability to pay rent” shall include the inability to pay all or any part of the household’s rent due between April 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020.
(b) (1) The owner of the dwelling unit rented by the household agrees to participate in the program under Section 50813.
(2) Nothing in this chapter or any other provision of law shall be construed to require an owner to participate in the program.
50813.
(a) The department shall develop and the program shall include a process to confirm whether a household demonstrates inability to pay rent under subdivision (a) of Section 50812.
(b) The department shall develop a process to obtain the owner’s consent to participate in the program after the department confirms a household’s inability to pay rent.
(c) An owner who consents to participate in the program shall be subject to all of the following:
(1) The owner shall not increase the gross rental rate for the dwelling unit of the household between the date the owner consents to participate in the program and December 31, 2020.
(2) The owner shall not charge or attempt to collect a late fee for any rent payment due between April 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020.
(3) The owner shall accept the payment provided pursuant to Section 50814, or existing funds from a city, county, or city and county, as full payment of the missed or insufficient rent payments for which the program provides assistance. This subdivision shall not be construed as a change to the gross rental rate under Section 1947.12 of the Civil Code or a reduction of rent under any local ordinance.
50814.
(a) Each payment to an owner under the program shall equal at least 80 percent of the amount of rent owed by the household to the owner.
(b) The rental assistance provided by the program shall cover no more than seven months of a household’s missed or insufficient rent payments.
(c) Rental assistance payments provided under this section shall not be considered a source of income under Section 12927 of the Government Code or under any local ordinance, nor shall it be considered a government rent subsidy under subdivision (o) of Section 12955 of the Government Code.
50815.
(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Fund. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, all moneys in the fund shall be distributed to the department to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Any repayments, interest, or new appropriations shall be deposited in the fund, notwithstanding Section 16305.7 of the Government Code. Money in the fund shall not be subject to transfer to any other fund pursuant to any provision of Part 2 (commencing with Section 16300) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code, except to the Surplus Money Investment Fund.
(b) The program shall be implemented to the extent funding is made available through the Budget Act. It is the intent of the Legislature to prioritize the use of available federal funds before using General Fund moneys.

SEC. 3.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide immediate rental assistance to California tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.