RED ALERT

As a Result of COVID-19, AB 1436 (Chiu) Is Introduced.
Tenants May Be Authorized To Indefinitely Stop Paying Rent
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Please call our Senators (listed below) and urge them to VOTE NO !
 
This bill may be voted in the Senate Judiciary Committee within the next few weeks and if Assembly member Chiu and his co-authors are successful, it will be immediately sent to the Senate floor for a vote.
 
ABOUT THE BILL
Any default in the payment of rent that occurs by any tenant during the current State of Emergency due to COVID-19, initially put in place by the Governor on March 4, 2020, cannot be the basis for an action of unlawful detainer. This prevents evictions for non-payment of rent or a lawsuit for collection of unpaid rent for an indefinite, unspecified period. The bill declares that:
 
  • It shall be unlawful to terminate all tenancies based on a failure to pay rent.
  • No court will award possession and no tenant will have violated the unlawful detainer law for failure to pay rent within ninety (90) days from the end of State of Emergency’s (the end is unknown and cannot be determined at this time).
  • There shall be a blanket exemption for all tenants regardless of their employment status or financial ability to pay rent.
  • Tenants who receive guaranteed government payment or rent subsidies can also stop paying rent.

AMONG THE REASONS TO OPPOSE:
 
  • AB 1436 suspends unlawful detainer actions indefinitely for payment defaults occurring on or after March 4, 2020, while simultaneously delaying the right to file an action to recover the default amount, also for an undefined and indefinite period.
 
  • This bill encourages tenants to stop paying rent during the current State of Emergency by not only foreclosing the right to evict for unpaid rent, but also by prohibiting the reporting of any rent defaults that accrue during the State of Emergency or ninety (90) days thereafter, as a negative factor for evaluation of creditworthiness.
 
  • AB 1436 redefines the function of the security deposit by providing that a security deposit amount cannot be applied to any rent defaults. This effectively makes the security applicable to only property damage.
 
  • AB 1436 is inequitable because while it restricts a landlord from pursuing an action for rent owed or from filing an eviction for rent that accrued during the ongoing and indefinite State of Emergency, while a landlord shall continue to maintain and provide full amenities.
 
  • Almost all rent is used to pay repairmen, mortgages, and taxes. Very little is left to pay staff.
 
  • The day the State of Emergency lifts (currently unknown) tenants would start paying back due rent no sooner than 18 months from now.
 
  • Tenants should not be authorized to immediately stop paying rent with little or no consequence.
 
HERE ARE YOUR STEPS TO TAKE NOW
 
Step 1: Pick Up the phone.
 
Step 2: Call our Senators listed below and urge them to VOTE NO on AB 1436 . When the Senator’s staff answers the phone state:
 
a.    Your name and where you live, work or own property; and
b.    You are a member of the Apartment Association, California Southern Cities.
 
Step 3: Urge the Senators below to VOTE NO on AB 1436 (Chiu) .
 
Senator Steven Bradford:         (916) 651-4035
(Carson, Compton, Gardena, Harbor City, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lennox, San Pedro, Torrance, Watts, Willowbrook, and Wilmington)
 
Senator Bob Archuleta:            (916) 651-4032
(Downey, Norwalk, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Commerce, La Mirada, Hacienda Heights, Hawaiian Gardens, La Habra Heights, Lakewood, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier-Los Nietos and Buena Park)
 
Senator Lena Gonzalez:            (916) 651-4033
(Long Beach, Signal Hill, Paramount, Lynwood, Bell Garden, and Huntington Park)
 
Senator Tom Umberg:               (916) 651-4034
(Southern Long Beach)
 
Thank you for your continued support in making these calls.
Apartment Association, California Southern Cities