Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles - NO VOTE on AB 2819

[Francis A.]

I received an interesting email from the AAGLA. Here's the gist of it.

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TAKE ACTION NOW!

AAGLA Needs Your Help in Defeating

AB 2819,

a Bill that Hides a Tenant's Bad Behavior

from Property Owners

AB 2819 Bars Access of Owners to Critical Information

About Past Residencies, Failure to Pay Rent.

Tell your legislator to VOTE NO on

AB 2819.

AB 2819 (Chiu) is another measure that ties the hands of rental property owners when a resident doesn't pay his or her rent.

Indeed, AB 2819 intends to do one thing:

hide non-payment of rent from the next property owner.

Other than to promote more bad behavior

there's no reason for this bill.

Call your legislator and ask for a NO VOTE on AB 2819.

(Below is a list of phone numbers for

Members of the Assembly representing the Southland)

http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

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Why we are OPPOSED to AB 2819 and request a NO VOTE:

Under California's unlawful detainer (UD) "masking" law," UD court filings are hidden from public view for 60 days following the initial court filing, and then are unmasked. If during this period the tenant prevails, the filing is permanently masked.

AB 2819 will permanently mask all UD actions, unless the rental property owner obtains a judgment in court within 60-days. The bill unfairly places on property owners ALL costs, burdens, and responsibilities for ensuring public notice of tenant defaults.

Among the reasons to oppose:

AB 2819 will unfairly keep a majority of all UD actions hidden from public view. Most property owners who get possession of their properties before a UD proceeding concludes do not go back to court for a judgment. There is no incentive to do so. They've already lost months of rent, and they've paid court and attorney fees to file the UD action. The last thing they should be required to do is pay more court and attorney fees to get a judgment. Because judgments will not be sought, thousands upon thousands of rent default records will remain hidden from public view.

Property owners are already burdened by the fact that they have not received rent, they will likely never receive any rent, and they have to pay for substantial attorney and court costs to bring an eviction action. Once they finally get possession, they have no incentive to pay their attorney to go back to court to get a judgment. And they shouldn't be required to do so. Legislation should instead focus on making it easier for tenants to correct their records if any mistakes occur.

Like mortgage defaults, and other debt obligations, non-payment of rent is a civil matter of public record and concern. Whether it's a mortgage, credit or loan, default histories are paramount. Non-payment defaults, including non-judicial foreclosure actions, are always made public without the need for a legal judgment. Non-payment of rent should be treated no differently. Property owners to be fully apprised of a prospective tenants fiscal responsibility use a tenants credit history.

AB 2819 is contrary to California's open records and public access policies. When California's masking law first went into effect in 1991, this legislature stated, "[i] it is the policy of the State of California to promote open access to public records. It is in the interest of the public to assure, to the greatest extent possible, that there is open public access to court records, including civil case files. (See SB 892, statutes of 1991, Legislative Counsel Digest.)

Requiring property owners to obtain a judgment in order to unmask a UD proceeding only serves to promote more delays and frivolous claims. UDs are supposed to be expeditious proceedings, and one of the few policies that encourage resolution is the masking law. Because proceedings become unmasked at the 60-day mark, parties are encouraged to settle or complete trial within that period. This bill removes the incentive to settle quickly, while encouraging the practice of lodging baseless and meritless claims to further delay proceedings.

Property owners have the right to know whether a prospective tenant is a serial rent defaulter or vexatious litigant. AB 2819 unfairly keeps rental property owners in the dark and from knowing the truth about prospective tenants.