New Laws for 2008:

No Discrimination by Landlords Based on Immigration or Citizenship:
Under this new law, residential landlords cannot use immigration or citizenship status as criteria for prospective tenants or prospective occupants. Specifically, landlords and agents of landlords may not make any inquiry into immigration or citizenship status.

Notice to Tenants when there is a Planned Conversion to Condominiums:
Monetary penalties will be imposed on property developers if notices are not given to tenants when converting properties into common interest developments/condos. If the developer fails to provide notice to a prospective tenant (after the approval of the final map), the developer must pay money damages to each prospective tenant who actually becomes a tenant of a subsequently subdivided property.

Loan Regulation/Mortgage Loan Brokerage Issues:
This new law increases regulations regarding subprime and other non-traditional mortgages. Various agencies governing residential loans will have new authority to adopt stricter guidelines. Also, principals who make eight or more loans of their own money within a calendar year without using a real estate broker must become licensed with the Department of Real Estate.

Property Tax Reassessment Exemption Applied Retroactively for Domestic Partners:
This new law retroactively applies the exemption from reassessment for transfers of real property between registered domestic partners back through January 1, 2001. However, no property tax refunds will be provided for such reassessment reversals.

Regulation of Real Estate Appraisers:
Under this new law, the compensation of an appraiser cannot be based on the valuation of a property for the following types of transactions: Sales; Purchases; Transfers; Financing; or Development. The new law also prohibits parties with an interest in the real estate transaction from improperly influencing a real estate appraiser.

Common Interest Development Managers:
Current law requires common interest development (CID) managers to meet certain requirements in order to be a “certified CID manager” and to provide certain information annually to the board of directors of the CID. This new law extends these provisions through January 1, 2012, and requires that qualifications as a “certified CID manager” include new education elements for management skills.

Agenda for Home Owner Association (HOA) Meetings:
Under this new law, HOA meeting notices must include an agenda for the meeting. Generally, the HOA can only discuss items on the agenda at its meetings, unless the meeting is an emergency meeting.

Automatic Homestead Law:
Under this new law, the “residential exemption” (also known as the “automatic homestead”) applies even though the homeowner does not live in the property if either a separated spouse or a former spouse resides in the property or exercises control over possession of the property.

Regulations Regarding Notary Publics:
This new law affects notary publics. The identity of the person making the acknowledgment, or taking an oath or affirmation, must be based on “satisfactory evidence” and no longer on “personal knowledge.” The certificate of acknowledgment must be executed under penalty of perjury. A “Power of Attorney” document now requires a thumbprint.

Restrictions on Cellular Telephone Usage in Motor Vehicles:
Effective July 1, 2008, use of a cellular phone when driving a motor vehicle is prohibited unless the phone is designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that matter. This law will be in California Vehicle Code §§12810.3 and 23123.

New Laws for 2007:

New laws which have been enacted that concern real property include:

60-Day Notice to Terminate Lease (Assembly Bill 1169) - Landlord/Tenant:
The 60-day notice is back! This law reestablishes the requirement that landlords give 60 days notice to evict residential tenants on periodic leases, so long as the tenants have been living in the property for at least one year.

the dwelling is a separately alienable unit (e.g., condo, single family residence, townhouse; but not a duplex, triplex or other multi-unit property);
the unit is being sold to a bonafide purchaser for value;
escrow has been established with a licensed escrow agent or a licensed real estate broker;
the buyer is a natural person (or persons);
notice is given within 120 days after escrow is opened;
notice was not previously given to the tenant; and
the buyer intends to live in the property for at least one full year.

This law adds California Civil Code §1946.1, which is effective January 1, 2007, and will expire on January 1, 2010, unless extended by the California Legislature.

Lead-Based Paint Violations (Assembly Bill 2861) - Environmental Hazards/Issues:
LANDLORDS BEWARE: This new law increases the penalty for repeat violations of lead-based paint hazard laws. Specifically, any violation after the first would become a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $5,000 and/or six months imprisonment. This law, which amends California Health and Safety Code §105256, is effective January 1, 2007.

Anti-Discrimination Provisions in Statutes Changed to Conform to California Fair Employment and Housing Act (AB 2800) - Fair Housing:
This law modifies various California statutes relating to non-discrimination in housing to conform with the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Specifically, provisions of existing law (including California Business & Professions Code §10177), which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or the marital status of a person, are expanded to include national origin, ancestry, familial status, disability, or sexual orientation.
This law is effective on January 1, 2007.

Property Tax Reassessment Exemptions (Senate Bill 1607) - Tax Issues:
This law clarifies certain exemptions from property tax reassessments. Most importantly, it clarifies that the exemption for transfers between grandparents and their grandchildren will be liberally construed. This law also clarifies the “welfare exemption” and the “veterans’ organization exemption” and makes a minor change for applications for the exemption for property owned by local governments. This law, which amends California Revenue and Taxation Code §§214, 214.8, 254.4, 254.6, and 1840, is effective January 1, 2007.

Small Claims Court (Assembly Bill 2618) - Miscellaneous:
This new law increases the jurisdictional limit in smalls claims court to $7,500 on certain issues which were left unchanged when general limits increased from $5,000 to $7,000 last year.

specified acts of discrimination, including boycotting, blacklisting, violence, and threats of violence;
specified enforcement actions relating to common interest development for declaratory, injunctive, or writ relief in conjunction with monetary damages;
specified actions in landlord-tenant law;
a claim or counterclaim in a class action lawsuit;
complaints to the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) through its website;
complaints to the PUC against electrical, gas, water, heat, or telephone company; and
specified juvenile law claims against a minor, or minor’s parents.

This law is effective January 1, 2007.

HOA Disclosures (Assembly Bill 2100) - Common Interest Developments and Homeowner’s Associations:
This new law amends the Davis-Stirling Act to require additional reporting on reserves for common interest development and extends disclosures for self-dealing by homeowner associations (HOAs). This law also slightly revises the disclosure form regarding assessments and reserve funding. This bill also requires that certain disclosures and voting rules be followed when an HOA is dealing with contracts between the HOA and a board member (or an entity controlled by a board member or an entity in which a board member has a material financial interest), regardless of whether the HOA is a corporation. (Formerly, these rules for disclosures and voting applied only to HOAs which were corporations.)

The provisions of this law are effective January 1, 2007, except for the distribution of the reserve funding plan, which becomes effective on January 1, 2009.

Falsely Claiming to be a REALTOR® (AB 790) - Licensing:
This law strengthens prohibitions against real estate agents from falsely claiming membership in trade organization or falsely claiming to have special designations or certifications. Generally, this law prohibits knowingly authorizing, directing, conniving at, or aiding in the publication, advertisement, or distribution of any material false statement or representation concerning a designation or a certification, including trade organization membership. The Real Estate Commissioner is authorized to suspend or revoke a real estate license for this violation.

This law, which amends California Business & Professions Code §10177, is effective January 1, 2007.

Reverse Mortgages (Senate Bill 1609) - Loan Issues:

This law provides protection to consumers who obtain reverse mortgages. This law prohibits certain self-dealing activities by companies providing reverse mortgages, requires certain additional disclosures for reverse mortgages, and also requires a translation of the contract for a reverse mortgage to the language in which the reverse mortgage is primarily negotiated. The provisions of this law are effective on January 1, 2007.

Trust Fund Interest on Loans (Assembly Bill 2602) - Loan Issues:

This law determines who is entitled to the benefits when a real estate broker collects trust fund money related to a loan and puts that money into a bank or similar financial institution. This law, which amends California Financial Code §854.1 and adds California Financial Code §854.2, is effective on January 1, 2007.

Subdivision Appeal Process (Senate Bill 1052) - Subdivisions/Developments/Housing:

Currently, the Subdivision Map Act authorizes either the developer or any tenant in the property to appeal decisions or actions by an advisory agency relating to a tentative map on subdivisions that are conversions. Such appeals must be filed within ten days of any decision, and are then heard by either the appeals board or the legislative body (if there is no appeals board) within thirty (30) days. Under the new law, if the legislative body does not have a regularly scheduled meeting within thirty (30) days, then the appeal can be heard at the next regular meeting after the notice of the appeal, so long as the period does not exceed sixty (60) days. Furthermore, the new law restates that each decision made by the legislative body under this section of the law must be supported by consistent findings of fact. This law, which amends California Government Code §66452.5, is effective January 1, 2007.

Lot Line Adjustment - Notice to Tenants for Condo Conversion (Senate Bill 983) - Subdivisions/Developments/Housing:

This law makes two modifications to the Subdivision Map Act. Under the first, an additional condition (conformity to any specific land use plan) is required when certain lot line adjustments for four or fewer adjoining parcels are exempt from the Subdivision Map Act. The second change increases the amount that a developer is responsible to tenants when a sixty-day notice is not provided for a subdivision (usually a condo conversion). Under pre-2007 law, a subdivider must provide at least sixty days notice on a specified form to any current tenant or any new prospective tenant prior to filing a tentative subdivision map for the property. A tenant not purchasing in the subdivision is entitled to damages for moving expenses not to exceed $500 and for the first month’s rent not to exceed $500 for any failure to provide such a notice. Under the 2007 law, the amount of damages for each expense is increased to $1,100. This law, which amends California Government Code §§66412, 66452.8, and 66452.9, is effective January 1, 2007.

Time Shares (Assembly Bill 3020) - Time Shares:

This law increases the disclosures required on the sale or lease of time-share interests and provides other safeguards in the sale or lease of these interests. Specifically, the new provisions require more stringent certifications on proposed time-share budgets including the right of the Real Estate Commission to review such budgets, specify certain reserve requirements related to unsold inventory by the developer, and allow an association greater powers to collect delinquent assessments in a time-share facility. This law amends California Business & Professions Code §§11211.5, 11226, 11238, 11240, 11241, 11242, 11267, and 11275, and adds California Business & Professions Code §§11216.1, 11242.1, and 11265.1. Most of the provisions of this new law are effective January 1, 2007, but the provisions relating to delinquent regular and special assessments of a time share became effective September 22, 2006.