RED ALERT: Assembly Bill 854 May Force YOU to Stay In Rental Business…Even if YOU Are Losing Money!

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

DON’T LET YOUR PROPERTY RIGHTS BE RESTRICTED EVEN FURTHER!

CALL TO ACTION: Please Help Us!  Contact the Members of the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee Immediately, Today!  Tell the Committee Members to vote NO on Assembly Bill 854.  We, as Landlords, have had enough already this year!  This bill has already been passed by the State’s Committee on Housing & Community Development…STOP IT from going any further.

Assembly Bill 854, proposed by Democratic, Northern California Assembly Member, Alex Lee, seeks to strip rental property owners of their rights to leave the rental housing business, even when YOU may be losing money!  Assembly Bill 854 is another re-treaded attack on California’s Ellis Act, and if passed and eventually signed by the Governor, it could become State Law compelling YOU to continue offering housing for rent or lease.

Assembly Bill 854 would prohibit filing a notice of an intent to withdraw a rental property that is under rent control, from recovering possession of rental units, or from even threatening to do so, unless all the owners have owed the property for at least 5 continuous years or have withdrawn another rental property from the rental market or recovered possession of rental units with the intention of withdrawing such units within the past ten (10) years.  This proposed bill would also require rental property owners to notify the local jurisdiction of an intention to withdraw the property from rent or lease and to identify each person or entity having an ownership interest in the property, which information would be made publicly available.  Penalties are actual damages, special damages of not less than $2,000 in addition to attorneys’ fees.

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! TAKE OUR SURVEY!

About the Ellis Act.  The Ellis Act is a 1985 California state law that allows landlords to evict residential tenants to “go out of the rental business” despite any desires by local governments to compel them to continue providing rental housing.  The Ellis Act was  passed in response to the California Supreme Court’s decision in Nash vs. City of Santa Monica that held that municipalities could not prevent landlords from evicting their tenants to “go out of business” in order to withdraw their property from the rental market.  Only in California do we need a law to allow us to go out business in a money-losing business enterprise!

PLEASE!  Contact the members of the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee today and let them know that YOU oppose Assembly Bill 854 and that they should VOTE NO on Assembly Bill 854 when it comes before the Committee on January 20, 2022.  We, as rental housing providers, have endured enough these past two years already between eviction moratoriums, rent freezes, uncollected rent, lost jobs, a global pandemic and much, much more!  DON’T LET THE LEGISLATURE STEAL OUR RIGHT TO EXIT A MONEY LOSING BUSINESS WHEN WE HAVE NO OTHER ALTERNATIVES!

The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on Assembly Bill 854 on THURSDAY January 20, 2022, at approximately 10:00 A.M.  PLEASE contact the members of the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee now.  Tell the members of the Committee to VOTE NO ON ASSEMBLY BILL 854.

The Assembly’s Appropriations Committee phone number is (916) 319-2081.  IF YOU KNOW CHRIS HOLDEN WHO IS THE COMMITTEE’S CHAIRPERSON OR IF YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT IN HIS (DISTRICT: PASSADENA, SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, SAN DIMAS AND RANCHO CUCAMONGA), PLEASE REACH OUT TO HIM AND VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION.

The members of the Committee are as follows: (RIGHT CLICK ON HYPERLINKS BELOW, AND SELECT “OPEN LINK” TO BE REDIRECTED):

Appropriations Committee MembersDistrictOffice & Contact Information
Chris R. Holden (Chair)Dem – 41Contact Assembly Member Chris R. Holden Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5650 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0041; (916) 319-2041
Frank Bigelow (Vice Chair)Rep – 05Contact Assembly Member Frank Bigelow Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 4640 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0005; (916) 319-2005
Isaac G. BryanDem – 54Contact Assembly Member Isaac G. Bryan Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5630 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0054; (916) 319-2054
Lisa CalderonDem – 57Contact Assembly Member Lisa Calderon Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 4120 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0057; (916) 319-2057
Wendy CarrilloDem – 51Contact Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5730 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0051; (916) 319-2051
Megan DahleRep – 01Contact Assembly Member Megan Dahle Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5710 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0001; (916) 319-2001
Laurie DaviesRep – 73Contact Assembly Member Laurie Davies Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 4720 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0073; (916) 319-2073
Vince FongRep – 34Contact Assembly Member Vince Fong Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 4630 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0034; (916) 319-2034
Jesse GabrielDem – 45Contact Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5220 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0045; (916) 319-2045
Eduardo GarciaDem – 56Contact Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 8120 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0056; (916) 319-2056
Marc LevineDem – 10Contact Assembly Member Marc Levine Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5240 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0010; (916) 319-2010
Bill QuirkDem – 20Contact Assembly Member Bill Quirk Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5120 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0020; (916) 319-2020
Robert RivasDem – 30Contact Assembly Member Robert Rivas Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 5110 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0030; (916) 319-2030
Akilah Weber, M.D.Dem – 79Contact Assembly Member Akilah Weber, M.D. Capitol Office, 1021 O Street, Suite 4130 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0079; (916) 319-2079