Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 724

Introduced by Assembly Member Wicks
(Coauthor: Senator Skinner)

February 19, 2019

An act relating to a rental data registry. to add Section 50468 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to residential tenancies.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 724, as amended, Wicks. Rental property data registry.
Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies. Existing law creates various programs for the creation of housing. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop specifications for the structure, functions, and organization of a housing and community development information system for this state, as specified.
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to create a rental registry online portal, which would be designed to receive specified information from landlords regarding their residential tenancies and to disseminate this information to the general public. The bill would require the department to complete the rental registry online portal, the form necessary to support it, by January 1, 2021, and would require landlords to register within 90 days and annually thereafter. The bill would require landlords to provide a variety of information regarding the location of rental property, its ownership, and its occupancy, among other things. The bill would require a landlord who completes a rental registry form to receive an Annual Statement of Registration certificate within a reasonable time after completing registration and would impose a civil penalty of $50 per rental unit on a landlord that fails to register, as provided.

Existing law creates various programs for the creation of housing. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Conservation to establish the Housing for a Healthy California Program, which, among other things, provides grants and operating assistance to counties to create supportive housing opportunities, as specified. As one condition of receiving a grant, a county must agree to collect and report data to the department.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would create a rental registry that would serve as a repository for data collected by cities and counties about their stock of housing and other data on evictions, displacements, and other tenancy information.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 50468 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

50468.
 (a) For the purposes of this section, “landlord” means a person or entity that hires dwelling units subject to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1940) of Title 5 or Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code.
(b) (1) The department shall create a rental registry online portal pursuant to the requirements of this section. The rental registry online portal shall be designed to receive information from landlords, as described in subdivision (c), and then disseminate the information to the public. The department shall create a rental registry form, to be available at the rental registry online portal, which each landlord shall complete and submit.
(2) (A) The rental registry online portal, and all forms necessary for its effective and efficient use shall be complete and operational by January 1, 2021.
(B) A landlord shall complete and submit the rental registry form on or before 90 days after January 1, 2021. Every landlord shall complete the rental registry form annually on or before March 31 of each year.
(c) The rental registry form shall be drafted to collect all of the following information from a landlord:
(1) The legal address of each property, and all associated rental unit numbers.
(2) The legal name of the owner or ownership entity for each property, including, but not limited to, limited partners, general partners, LLC members, and shareholders.
(3) The number and size of each rental unit, including the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and approximate square footage of the unit.
(4) The month and year that the most recent occupancy began.
(5) The total number of days that the rental unit was rented during the most recent 12 months.
(6) The amount of payments collected for rent and utilities during the most recent 30-day period for each rental unit and the number of days the unit was vacant during this period.
(7) The month and year of the effective date of the last rent increase for each rental unit and the amount of the increase.
(8) The number of tenants that have been evicted from the landlord’s rental units in the last 12 months.
(9) The number of unoccupied rental units during the previous year and the number of days in the year each unit was unoccupied.
(10) The number of tenants that have been displaced due to building renovation.
(11) Whether or not a property is subject to a rent stabilization ordinance.
(d) (1) A landlord who completes a rental registry form as required by this section shall receive an Annual Statement of Registration certificate within a reasonable time after completing registration. A landlord shall not receive a certificate without substantial compliance with this section.
(2) A landlord that fails to register shall be subject to a civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50) per rental unit. These penalties shall be deposited into the Rental Registry Fund, which is hereby created, and these penalties shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature.

SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would create a rental registry that would serve as a repository for data collected by cities and counties about their stock of housing and other data on evictions, displacements, and other tenancy information.