Official Summary Text
AB 878, as amended, Kalra.
Victims of abuse or violence: reasonable accommodations.
Existing law governs the hiring of real property based on the terms of the agreement or on the behavior of the parties. Existing law requires a landlord to change the locks of a tenant’s dwelling if that tenant is a victim of abuse or violence or has an immediate family member or household member who is a victim of abuse or violence, including alleged abuse or violence, as long as the tenant is not alleged to have committed the abuse or violence. Existing law requires a tenant requesting a lock change to provide the landlord with specified documentation.
This bill would require a landlord or a landlord’s agent, upon request, to
make best efforts to
provide reasonable accommodations, as defined, to a tenant who is a victim, or whose family or
household member is a victim, of specified acts, including domestic violence or sexual assault. The bill would require the landlord or landlord’s agent to respond to a request within 5 calendar
days,
days of receiving the request,
except as specified. The bill would require a landlord or a landlord’s agent, if they receive a request for a reasonable accommodation that they cannot grant, to engage in a timely, good faith, and interactive process with the tenant to
make best efforts to
identify, evaluate, and implement a reasonable accommodation. The bill would authorize a landlord or a landlord’s agent to request certification from a tenant requesting a reasonable accommodation demonstrating the tenant’s or family
or household member’s status as a victim, as specified, and would impose confidentiality requirements upon any certification or other documentation provided to a landlord or their agent, except as provided. The bill would require a landlord or a landlord’s agent to provide written notice whether a request has been
approved.
approved or denied, as specified.
Existing law prohibits a landlord from taking an adverse action, as defined, based on, among other things, a prospective tenant having previously requested to have their locks changed due to abuse or violence and provides that a landlord who violates this prohibition is liable to the tenant in a civil action for actual damages and statutory damages of not less than $100 and not more than $5,000.
This bill would prohibit a landlord or a landlord’s agent from retaliating against a tenant for requesting a reasonable accommodation, as specified, and would provide that a landlord or a landlord’s agent
is
may be
liable to the tenant in a civil action for the same above-described damages, as provided, for a violation of
any of the
specified
provisions described above relating to a tenant’s request for reasonable accommodations.
The bill would also specify that it does not require a landlord or landlord’s agent to undertake an action that
constitutes an undue
hardship, as defined,
hardship
on the landlord or landlord’s agent.