Public Law
Public Law Journal: Summer/Fall 2019, Vol. 42, Nos. 3 & 4
Content
- 2019-2020 Executive Committee of the Public Law Section
- 2019-2020 Public Law Journal Editorial Board
- Housing Law Update: Summary of California's New Housing Laws
- John E. Brown Honored as 2019 Public Lawyer of the Year
- Judges of Color: Examining the Impact of Judicial Diversity on the Equal Protection Jurisprudence of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Litigation & Case Law Update
- Message from the Chair
- Public Lawyer Spotlight: Rob Fabela, Anaheim City Attorney
- Social Media and Government: What Are the New Rules of Engagement?
- Three New Members and Liaison Appointed to the Public Law Section Executive Committee
- Legislature Encourages Californians to Assist in Providing Housing as Temporary Relief for Persons at Risk of Homelessness
Legislature Encourages Californians to Assist in Providing Housing as Temporary Relief for Persons at Risk of Homelessness
By Bonnie C. Maly
Bonnie C. Maly is CEB’s liaison to the Public Law Section’s Executive Committee. Before working for CEB, she was a litigator on real property and business disputes in Contra Costa County for more than 15 years.
To assist persons who are "at risk of homelessness"1 and to "encourage landlords and tenants to permit those persons to temporarily reside on their property," the California legislature enacted Civil Code § 1942.82, effective only for 4 years, from January 1, 2020, until December 31, 2023. Despite any other law or the terms of the lease or rental agreement, a tenant may, with written approval from the landlord or owner, temporarily permit the additional occupancy of the tenant’s dwelling unit by an at-risk person.3 But the occupancy by the at-risk person is not permissible if the addition of another person in the dwelling unit would violate the building’s occupancy limits or other applicable building standards.4
- NOTE: Nothing in Section 1942.8 should be construed to compel the landlord or owner to agree to the occupancy of the person at risk in the tenant’s unit.5 This provision prevents a factual argument that the landlord is required to reasonably withhold consent, as is required when the lease allows a tenant to sublease the unit with the consent of the landlord.