New Law: Credit History of Persons Receiving Government Rent Subsidies
SB 267 - SB 267 amends Govt. Code Section 12955 subdivision (o) which is one of the listed unlawful practices in rental housing. It identifies as specifically applying to instances in which there is a government rent subsidy. Thus, commencing January 1, 2024, applicants for residency receiving a Section 8 or other government rent subsidy will require the park to comply with the new procedural provisions for evaluating a rental application other than the traditional use of a credit agency’s credit report on the applicant. As amended, if an applicant for residency after being offered the option of providing lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of the applicant’s reasonable ability to pay the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant, including, but not limited to, government benefit payments, pay records, and bank statements, elects to provide lawful, verifiable alternative evidence of the applicants’ ability to pay, the park must do both of the following:
1. “Provide the applicant reasonable time to respond with that reasonable alternative evidence, and
2. Reasonably consider that alternative evidence in lieu of the person’s credit history in determining whether to offer the rental accommodation to the applicant.”
The provision that does not limit the ability of the Park to request information or documentation to verify employment, to request landlord references, or to verify the identity of a person remains unchanged.
It is apparent that this amendment provides new fertile ground concerning residency application disputes when an applicant chooses to provide alternative “lawful verifiable evidence” of the ability to pay rent. Verification of paycheck stubs or other pay records, bank statements or other evidence offered can be difficult and time-consuming to track down. This is likely to increase administrative time and costs for processing applications and resolving disputes.
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