The bill introduces the following changes to landlord-tenant law:
Late Fees and Tenant Rights:
Landlord Actions Based on Late Fees:
Current Law: A landlord cannot take action against a tenant solely for non-payment of late fees. This means a landlord cannot:
Remove or exclude the tenant from the dwelling,
Terminate a tenancy or other estate at will,
Terminate a lease in a mobile home park.
Bill: It clarifies that a landlord can take these actions if there is another legal reason (such as non-payment of rent or violation of lease terms), but cannot act solely because of unpaid late fees.
Demand Letters:
Current Law: A landlord can issue a written demand notice (demand letter) to ask the tenant to give up possession of the premises, but cannot issue it based only on the tenant's failure to pay late fees.
Bill: It reinforces that a demand letter must be issued for another legal reason and not solely for unpaid late fees.
Language Requirements for Notices:
Demand Letter Language:
Current Law: The demand letter must be written in English, Spanish, or any other language that the landlord knows or has reason to know is the tenant's primary language.
Bill: The demand letter must be written in English or, if requested by the tenant at the time of entering into the lease, in the tenant’s primary language.
Notice to Vacate:
Posting Notice to Vacate:
Current Law: A landlord can post a notice to vacate on the premises after making two unsuccessful attempts at service on separate days.
Bill: It allows the landlord to post the notice after one unsuccessful attempt to serve the tenant, which is a change from the previous two-attempt rule.
Summary:
Landlords are restricted from taking action solely due to unpaid late fees but may take action for other legal reasons.
Demand letters must be issued for reasons other than late fees and written in a language the tenant understands, with the option for tenants to request a specific language at the lease signing.
Notices to vacate can be posted after just one unsuccessful service attempt instead of two.
These changes aim to provide more protections for tenants while allowing landlords to take action for legitimate reasons, ensuring that the process is clear and accessible in terms of communication.
Summary
Under current law, based on a tenant's failure to pay one or more
late fees, a landlord cannot:
•
Remove or exclude a tenant from a dwelling;
•
Terminate a tenancy or other estate at will; or
•
Terminate a lease in a mobile home park.
The bill clarifies that a landlord can take such actions if there is another legal reason and the landlord is not taking the action solely because the landlord is owed one or more late fees.
Additionally, a landlord cannot issue a written demand notice for
a tenant to give up possession of the premises (demand letter) based solely on the tenant's failure to pay one or more late fees, but must have another legal reason to issue the demand letter.
Under current law, the demand letter must be written in English,
Spanish, or any other language that the landlord knows, or has reason to know, is the primary language of the tenant. The bill instead requires that the demand letter must be written in English or, if requested by the tenant at the time the tenant enters into the lease, in another language that is the tenant's primary language.
Under current law, a landlord is permitted to post a notice to
vacate in a conspicuous place on the premises after at least one unsuccessful attempt at service on 2 separate days. The bill allows the landlord to post the notice in a conspicuous place on the premises after only one unsuccessful attempt to serve the tenant with the notice.
