NEW LAWS FOR 2002:
New
Laws for 2002:
Laws for 2002: Real Notice
Effective January 2002, the
California Legislature enacted a new law to protect Tenants from unscrupulous
landlord who would make it impossible for Tenants to comply with a 3 day notice
to pay rent or quit. The scam works like this, the tenant is served with a 3 day
notice to pay rent or quit. The notice would not give the tenant the name and
address of the landlord or his agent. When the 3 day period expired, the
landlord would file an unlawful detainer and evict the tenant for non-payment of
rent.
Civil Code Section §1962 outlaw
this practice. Landlords are now required to give tenants a copy of the signed
rental agreement within 15 days of you and the landlord signing the agreement.
It also provides that once a year you may make a request of the landlord for a
copy within 15 days of your request.
Laws for 2002: New Owners
If the building is sold, the new owners must give you
a new copy within 15 days of becoming the new owner and landlord. In addition
the rental agreement must now contain the following information, unless it is
already posted in a conspicuous place in the common area of the building:
The notice must also provide
information as to:
(1) If the agent to whom you
must pay the rent is an actual person, then they must provide that person's
name, address, telephone number and a list of the days and hours they are
available to receive the rent;
(2) If the agent to whom you
must pay the rent is a bank, then the bank must be within 5 miles of your unit.
In addition the notice must provide the name and address of the bank and the
account number to which the deposit is to be made;
(3) If the agent to whom you must
pay the rent requires an electronic deposit, then they must provide the routing
numbers and any other information that the entity will need to process the
transaction.
Laws for 2002:
Notice Under Rent Control
As of 2002, if you live in a rent controlled unit in
the City if Los Angeles, Santa Monica or West Hollywood and you are evicted from
a house or condominium so that the buyer may occupy the unit, they must now give
you 60 days notice instead of the 30 day notice previously required. Civil Code
Section §1946.1
Laws for 2002: Real Notice Blacklisting
Many tenants are
not aware that there is a registry called a UD Registry which is suppose to list
tenants who have been had Unlawful Detainers filed against them or have been
actually evicted. Tenant groups refer to this as a blacklisting service because
the information that they have collected isn't always been completely accurate.
Under new Civil Code Section § 1785 through §1786, if the UD Registry doesn't
accurately report the information, they can be slapped with
"Mandatory" Penalties of between $10,000.00 and $25,000.00, plus fees
and costs. This service is similar to credit reporting services, which means
that errors can creep into the system. Your best defense, is to periodically
check the service for accuracy of information about yourself.
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