Policy Update: New Rental Housing Laws for 2024

 Below is a summary of some of higher priority laws impacting the rental housing space that will be taking effect in 2024.

• SB 267 (Eggman) - Credit of Persons Receiving Government Subsidies - (Effective 1/1/24) Would prohibit the use of a person’s credit history as part of the application process for a rental housing accommodation without offering the applicant the option of providing alternative evidence of financial responsibility and ability to pay in instances in which there is a government rent subsidy and would require that the housing provider consider that alternative evidence in lieu of the person’s credit history.

• AB 548 (Boerner) - State Housing Law: Inspection - (Effective 1/1/24) Requires local enforcement agencies to develop policies and procedures for inspecting multiple units in a building if an inspector or code enforcement officer has determined that a unit in that building is substandard or is in violation of state habitability standards.
• AB 1317 (Carillo) - Unbundled Parking - (Effective 1/1/24) Would require the owner of residential real property that provides parking with a residential unit to unbundle parking from the price of rent (“unbundled parking” selling or leasing parking spaces separate from the lease of the residential use). We obtained an amendment exempting 15-units or less from the bill.
• AB 1332 (Carillo) - ADU Pre Approved Plans - (Effective 1/1/24) Requires local governments to create a program for the pre-approval of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). CalRHA supported AB 1332, as ADU streamlining is a priority of the association.
• AB 1418 (McKinnor) - Tenancy: Local Regulations: Criminal Convictions - (Effective 1/1/24) Limits the ability of local governments to adopt local ordinances, rules, policies, programs, or regulations to penalize a tenant's contact with law enforcement, or require landlords to adopt policies or procedures that do so.
• AB 1607 (Carillo) - LA County Affordable Solutions Act - (Effective 1/1/24) Allows the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) to transfer a portion of revenue raised by a tax measure to the County of Los Angeles for programs that provide support and services to prevent and combat homelessness.
• AB 1620 (Zbur) - Permanent Disabilities: Comparable Units - (Effective 1/1/24) Allows a jurisdiction with rent control to require an owner of a rent-controlled unit to allow a tenant with a permanent physical disability to relocate to an available comparable or smaller unit located on an accessible floor of the property and retain their same rental rate. We negotiated amendments on this bill to remove opposition.
• AB 1679 (Santiago) - Transaction and Use Taxes: County of LA - (Effective 1/1/24) Authorizes Los Angeles County (LA County) to impose a transaction and use tax (TUT) that exceeds the 2% statutory limitation.
• SB 712 (Portantino) - Micro Mobility Devices - (Effective 1/1/24) Prohibits a landlord from prohibiting a tenant from owning personal micro mobility devices, as defined, or from storing and recharging up to one personal micro mobility device in their dwelling unit for each person occupying the unit.
• SB 567 (Durazo) - Just Cause - (Effective 4/1/24) Makes revisions to the no-fault just cause eviction provisions of the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (TPA) and provides additional enforcement mechanisms for violations of restrictions on residential rent increases and no-fault just cause evictions.
• AB 12 (Haney) - Security Deposits - (Effective 7/1/24) Prohibits a landlord from receiving a security deposit for a rental agreement in an amount in excess of one month’s rent, regardless of whether the residential property is unfurnished or furnished. We did achieve a carve out for owners of up to 2 properties/4 units.