SECTIONS 1940-1954.1

1940.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), this chapter shallapply to all persons who hire dwelling units located within thisstate including tenants, lessees, boarders, lodgers, and others,however denominated. (b) The term "persons who hire" shall not include a person whomaintains either of the following: (1) Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, residence club, orother facility when the transient occupancy is or would be subject totax under Section 7280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The term"persons who hire" shall not include a person to whom this paragraphpertains if the person has not made valid payment for all room andother related charges owing as of the last day on which his or heroccupancy is or would be subject to tax under Section 7280 of theRevenue and Taxation Code. (2) Occupancy at a hotel or motel where the innkeeper retains aright of access to and control of the dwelling unit and the hotel ormotel provides or offers all of the following services to all of theresidents: (A) Facilities for the safeguarding of personal property pursuantto Section 1860. (B) Central telephone service subject to tariffs covering the samefiled with the California Public Utilities Commission. (C) Maid, mail, and room services. (D) Occupancy for periods of less than seven days. (E) Food service provided by a food establishment, as defined inSection 113780 of the Health and Safety Code, located on or adjacentto the premises of the hotel or motel and owned or operated by theinnkeeper or owned or operated by a person or entity pursuant to alease or similar relationship with the innkeeper or person or entityaffiliated with the innkeeper. (c) "Dwelling unit" means a structure or the part of a structurethat is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one personwho maintains a household or by two or more persons who maintain acommon household. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit theapplication of any provision of this chapter to tenancy in a dwellingunit unless the provision is so limited by its specific terms.1940.1.  (a) No person may require an occupant of a residentialhotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code, tomove, or to check out and reregister, before the expiration of 30days occupancy if a purpose is to have that occupant maintaintransient occupancy status pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision(b) of Section 1940. Evidence that an occupant was required to checkout and reregister shall create a rebuttable presumption, which shallaffect solely the burden of producing evidence, of the purposereferred to in this subdivision. (b) In addition to any remedies provided by local ordinance, anyviolation of subdivision (a) is punishable by a civil penalty of fivehundred dollars ($500). In any action brought pursuant to thissection, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonableattorney's fees. (c) Nothing in this section shall prevent a local governing bodyfrom establishing inspection authority or reporting or recordkeepingrequirements to ensure compliance with this section.1940.2.  (a) It is unlawful for a landlord to do any of thefollowing for the purpose of influencing a tenant to vacate adwelling: (1) Engage in conduct that violates subdivision (a) of Section 484of the Penal Code. (2) Engage in conduct that violates Section 518 of the Penal Code. (3) Use, or threaten to use, force, willful threats, or menacingconduct constituting a course of conduct that interferes with thetenant's quiet enjoyment of the premises in violation of Section 1927that would create an apprehension of harm in a reasonable person.Nothing in this paragraph requires a tenant to be actually orconstructively evicted in order to obtain relief. (4) Commit a significant and intentional violation of Section1954. (b) A tenant who prevails in a civil action, including an actionin small claims court, to enforce his or her rights under thissection is entitled to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed twothousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation. (c) An oral or written warning notice, given in good faith,regarding conduct by a tenant, occupant, or guest that violates, mayviolate, or violated the applicable rental agreement, rules,regulations, lease, or laws, is not a violation of this section. Anoral or written explanation of the rental agreement, rules,regulations, lease, or laws given in the normal course of business isnot a violation of this section. (d) Nothing in this section shall enlarge or diminish a landlord'sright to terminate a tenancy pursuant to existing state or locallaw; nor shall this section enlarge or diminish any ability of localgovernment to regulate or enforce a prohibition against a landlord'sharassment of a tenant.1940.3.  (a) No city, county, or city and county shall, by statute,ordinance, or regulation, or by administrative action implementingany statute, ordinance, or regulation, compel a landlord or any agentof the landlord to make any inquiry, compile, disclose, report, orprovide any information, prohibit offering or continuing to offer,accommodations in the property for rent or lease, or otherwise takeany action regarding or based on the immigration or citizenshipstatus of a tenant, prospective tenant, occupant, or prospectiveoccupant of residential rental property. (b) No landlord or any agent of the landlord shall do any of thefollowing: (1) Make any inquiry regarding or based on the immigration orcitizenship status of a tenant, prospective tenant, occupant, orprospective occupant of residential rental property. (2) Require that any tenant, prospective tenant, occupant, orprospective occupant of the rental property make any statement,representation, or certification concerning his or her immigration orcitizenship status. (c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a landlord from either: (1) Complying with any legal obligation under federal law. (2) Requesting information or documentation necessary to determineor verify the financial qualifications of a prospective tenant, orto determine or verify the identity of a prospective tenant orprospective occupant.1940.5.  An owner or an owner's agent shall not refuse to rent adwelling unit in a structure which received its valid certificate ofoccupancy after January 1, 1973, to an otherwise qualifiedprospective tenant or refuse to continue to rent to an existingtenant solely on the basis of that tenant's possession of a waterbedor other bedding with liquid filling material where all of thefollowing requirements and conditions are met: (a) A tenant or prospective tenant furnishes to the owner, priorto installation, a valid waterbed insurance policy or certificate ofinsurance for property damage. The policy shall be issued by acompany licensed to do business in California and possessing a Best'sInsurance Report rating of "B" or higher. The insurance policy shallbe maintained in full force and effect until the bedding ispermanently removed from the rental premises. The policy shall bewritten for no less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) ofcoverage. The policy shall cover, up to the limits of the policy,replacement value of all property damage, including loss of use,incurred by the rental property owner or other caused by or arisingout of the ownership, maintenance, use, or removal of the waterbed onthe rental premises only, except for any damage caused intentionallyor at the direction of the insured, or for any damage caused by orresulting from fire. The owner may require the tenant to produceevidence of insurance at any time. The carrier shall give the ownernotice of cancellation or nonrenewal 10 days prior to this action.Every application for a policy shall contain the information asprovided in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 1962 andSection 1962.5. (b) The bedding shall conform to the pounds-per-square foot weightlimitation and placement as dictated by the floor load capacity ofthe residential structure. The weight shall be distributed on apedestal or frame which is substantially the dimensions of themattress itself. (c) The tenant or prospective tenant shall install, maintain andremove the bedding, including, but not limited to, the mattress andframe, according to standard methods of installation, maintenance,and removal as prescribed by the manufacturer, retailer, or statelaw, whichever provides the higher degree of safety. The tenant shallnotify the owner or owner's agent in writing of the intent toinstall, remove, or move the waterbed. The notice shall be delivered24 hours prior to the installation, removal, or movement. The owneror the owner's agent may be present at the time of installation,removal, or movement at the owner's or the owner's agent's option. Ifthe bedding is installed or moved by any person other than thetenant or prospective tenant, the tenant or prospective tenant shalldeliver to the owner or to the owner's agent a written installationreceipt stating the installer's name, address, and businessaffiliation where appropriate. (d) Any new bedding installation shall conform to the owner's orthe owner's agent's reasonable structural specifications forplacement within the rental property and shall be consistent withfloor capacity of the rental dwelling unit. (e) The tenant or prospective tenant shall comply with the minimumcomponent specification list prescribed by the manufacturer,retailer, or state law, whichever provides the higher degree ofsafety. (f) Subject to the notice requirements of Section 1954, the owner,or the owner's agent, shall have the right to inspect the beddinginstallation upon completion, and periodically thereafter, to insureits conformity with this section. If installation or maintenance isnot in conformity with this section, the owner may serve the tenantwith a written notice of breach of the rental agreement. The ownermay give the tenant three days either to bring the installation intoconformity with those standards or to remove the bedding, unlessthere is an immediate danger to the structure, in which case thereshall be immediate corrective action. If the bedding is installed byany person other than the tenant or prospective tenant, the tenant orprospective tenant shall deliver to the owner or to the owner'sagent a written installation receipt stating the installer's name andbusiness affiliation where appropriate. (g) Notwithstanding Section 1950.5, an owner or owner's agent isentitled to increase the security deposit on the dwelling unit in anamount equal to one-half of one months' rent. The owner or owner'sagent may charge a tenant, lessee, or sublessee a reasonable fee tocover administration costs. In no event does this section authorizethe payment of a rebate of premium in violation of Article 5(commencing with Section 750) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 1 ofthe Insurance Code. (h) Failure of the owner, or owner's agent, to exercise any of hisor her rights pursuant to this section does not constitute groundsfor denial of an insurance claim. (i) As used in this section, "tenant" includes any lessee, and"rental" means any rental or lease.1940.6.  (a) The owner of a residential dwelling unit or the owner'sagent who applies to any public agency for a permit to demolish thatresidential dwelling unit shall give written notice of that fact to: (1) A prospective tenant prior to the occurrence of any of thefollowing actions by the owner or the owner's agent: (A) Entering into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant. (B) Requiring or accepting payment from the prospective tenant foran application screening fee, as provided in Section 1950.6. (C) Requiring or accepting any other fees from a prospectivetenant. (D) Requiring or accepting any writings that would initiate atenancy. (2) A current tenant, including a tenant who has entered into arental agreement but has not yet taken possession of the dwellingunit, prior to applying to the public agency for the permit todemolish that residential dwelling unit. (b) The notice shall include the earliest possible approximatedate on which the owner expects the demolition to occur and theapproximate date on which the owner will terminate the tenancy.However, in no case may the demolition for which the owner or theowner's agent has applied occur prior to the earliest possibleapproximate date noticed. (c) If a landlord fails to comply with subdivision (a) or (b), atenant may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction. Theremedies the court may order shall include, but are not limited to,the following: (1) In the case of a prospective tenant who moved into aresidential dwelling unit and was not informed as required bysubdivision (a) or (b), the actual damages suffered, moving expenses,and a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars($2,500) to be paid by the landlord to the tenant. (2) In the case of a current tenant who was not informed asrequired by subdivision (a) or (b), the actual damages suffered, anda civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars($2,500) to be paid by the landlord to the tenant. (3) In any action brought pursuant to this section, the prevailingparty shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees. (d) The remedies available under this section are cumulative toother remedies available under law. (e) This section shall not be construed to preempt other lawsregarding landlord obligations or disclosures, including, but notlimited to, those arising pursuant to Chapter 12.75 (commencing withSection 7060) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. (f) For purposes of this section: (1) "Residential dwelling unit" has the same meaning as thatcontained in Section 1940. (2) "Public agency" has the same meaning as that contained inSection 21063 of the Public Resources Code.1940.7.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the December10, 1983, tragedy in Tierra Santa, in which lives were lost as aresult of a live munition exploding in a residential area that wasformerly a military ordnance location, has demonstrated (1) theunique and heretofore unknown risk that there are other livemunitions in former ordnance locations in California, (2) that theseformer ordnance locations need to be identified by the federal,state, or local authorities, and (3) that the people living in theneighborhood of these former ordnance locations should be notified oftheir existence. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature thatthe disclosure required by this section is solely warranted andlimited by (1) the fact that these former ordnance locations cannotbe readily observed or discovered by landlords and tenants, and (2)the ability of a landlord who has actual knowledge of a formerordnance location within the neighborhood of his or her rentalproperty to disclose this information for the safety of the tenant. (b) The landlord of a residential dwelling unit who has actualknowledge of any former federal or state ordnance locations in theneighborhood area shall give written notice to a prospective tenantof that knowledcge prior to the execution of a rental agreement. Incases of tenancies in existence on January 1, 1990, this writtennotice shall be given to tenants as soon as practicable thereafter. (c) For purposes of this section: (1) "Former federal or state ordnance location" means an areaidentified by an agency or instrumentality of the federal or stategovernment as an area once used for military training purposes andwhich may contain potentially explosive munitions. (2) "Neighborhood area" means within one mile of the residentialdwelling.1940.8.  A landlord of a residential dwelling unit shall provideeach new tenant that occupies the unit with a copy of the noticeprovided by a registered structural pest control company pursuant toSection 8538 of the Business and Professions Code, if a contract forperiodic pest control service has been executed.1940.9.  (a) If the landlord does not provide separate gas andelectric meters for each tenant's dwelling unit so that each tenant'smeter measures only the electric or gas service to that tenant'sdwelling unit and the landlord or his or her agent has knowledge thatgas or electric service provided through a tenant's meter serves anarea outside the tenant's dwelling unit, the landlord, prior to theinception of the tenancy or upon discovery, shall explicitly disclosethat condition to the tenant and shall do either of the following: (1)  Execute a mutual written agreement with the tenant forpayment by the tenant of the cost of the gas or electric serviceprovided through the tenant's meter to serve areas outside the tenant's dwelling unit. (2) Make other arrangements, as are mutually agreed in writing,for payment for the gas or electric service provided through thetenant's meter to serve areas outside the tenant's dwelling unit.These arrangements may include, but are not limited to, the landlordbecoming the customer of record for the tenant's meter, or thelandlord separately metering and becoming the customer of record forthe area outside the tenant's dwelling unit. (b) If a landlord fails to comply with subdivision (a), theaggrieved tenant may bring an action in a court of competentjurisdiction. The remedies the court may order shall include, but arenot limited to, the following: (1) Requiring the landlord to be made the customer of record withthe utility for the tenant's meter. (2) Ordering the landlord to reimburse the tenant for paymentsmade by the tenant to the utility for service to areas outside of thetenant's dwelling unit. Payments to be reimbursed pursuant to thisparagraph shall commence from the date the obligation to disclosearose under subdivision (a). (c) Nothing in this section limits any remedies available to alandlord or tenant under other provisions of this chapter, the rentalagreement, or applicable statutory or common law.