Thursday, October 27, 2016

New California Law Requires Single User Bathrooms To Be Designated All Gender Bathrooms

Beginning March 1, 2017, all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or state or local government agency must be identified as all-gender toilet facilities. The signage must comply with Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and designate the bathroom for use by no more than one occupant at a time or for family or assisted use. A single-user toilet facility is defined by the new law to mean a toilet facility with no more than one toilet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user.

With respect to apartment communities, this law applies to areas of the property that are open to the public such as the leasing office. If the apartment community has a clubhouse that may be rented by the public for an event, the law may also apply to clubhouse bathrooms. Areas at the property that are open only to employees, residents, and their guests are not considered public areas.

This bill does not require businesses to add or remove existing restroom facilities or alter current restroom structures, it simply requires a single-user toilet facility (meant for one single-user occupant at a time) to be made available to any person, regardless of a person’s gender designation.
 
For further information, please contact Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP at (949) 748-3600; website: www.rwclegal.com.

The law firm of Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP represents landlords, property management companies, institutional and private lenders, employers and insurance companies throughout the State of California in real estate, business and employment litigation. The information provided herein is for general interest only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice. 

© 2016 Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

California Legislature Makes Clear That Landlords Have The Right To Enter Apartments To Inspect For Bedbugs

On September 26, 2016, California enacted Assembly Bill 551, which provides new rights and obligations for residential landlords and tenants regarding bedbugs. Among its provisions, Assembly Bill 551 makes clear that residential landlords have the right to enter an apartment to inspect for bedbugs. 

Under California Civil Code section 1954, a landlord has the right to enter an apartment for various reasons including to make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors. 

Assembly Bill creates a new Civil Code section 1954.604, which clarifies that “Entry to inspect any unit selected by the pest control operator and to conduct follow up inspections of surrounding units until bed bugs are eliminated is a necessary service for the purpose of Section 1954.” 

Moreover, the new law requires tenants to cooperate with the inspection. In that regard, Civil Code section 1954.604 states as follows: “Tenants shall cooperate with the inspection to facilitate the detection and treatment of bed bugs, including providing requested information that is necessary to facilitate the detection and treatment of bed bugs to the pest control operator.”

After entering to inspect for bed bugs, the landlord is required to notify the tenant of the pest control operator’s findings. In that regard, Assembly Bill 551 creates Civil Code section 1954.605, which provides: “The landlord shall notify the tenants of those units inspected by the pest control operator pursuant to Section 1954.604 of the pest control operator’s findings. The notification shall be in writing and made within two business days of receipt of the pest control operator’s findings. For confirmed infestations in common areas, all tenants shall be provided notice of the pest control operator’s findings.”

Assembly Bill 551 becomes effective on January 1, 2017.

For further information, please contact Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP at (949) 748-3600; website: www.rwclegal.com.

The law firm of Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP represents landlords, property management companies, institutional and private lenders, employers and insurance companies throughout the State of California in real estate, business and employment litigation. The information provided herein is for general interest only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.  Past performance is not a guaranty of future results.

© 2016 Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP Extends Its Winning Streak In Jury Trials

This week, the law firm of Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP’s extended its streak of consecutive jury trial victories to over 20. Partner Richard Sontag, Esq. successfully represented a landlord in a lawsuit filed against a tenant in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse located in Lancaster, California.  The tenant was represented by an attorney from BASTA. The jury decided 12 to 0 in favor of the landlord.  
  
For further information, please contact Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP at (949) 748-3600; website: www.rwclegal.com.

The law firm of Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP represents landlords, property management companies, institutional and private lenders, employers and insurance companies throughout the State of California in real estate, business and employment litigation. The information provided herein is for general interest only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.  Past performance is not a guaranty of future results.

© 2016 Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

New California Law Requires Landlords to Provide Tenants With Information Regarding Bedbugs

On September 26, 2016, California enacted Assembly Bill 551, which provides new duties for residential landlords and tenants regarding bedbugs.

Among the new requirements, Assembly Bill 551 requires residential landlords to provide prospective and existing tenants with a notification regarding bedbugs. On and after July 1, 2017, the notification must be provided to prospective tenants before they enter into a lease. The notice must be provided to all other tenants by January 1, 2018. The notice must be in at least 10-point type and be in substantially the following form:

Information about Bed Bugs

Bed bug Appearance: Bed bugs have six legs. Adult bed bugs have flat bodies about 1 ⁄4 of an inch in length. Their color can vary from red and brown to copper colored. Young bed bugs are very small. Their bodies are about 1 ⁄16 of an inch in length. They have almost no color. When a bed bug feeds, its body swells, may lengthen, and becomes bright red, sometimes making it appear to be a different insect. Bed bugs do not fly. They can either crawl or be carried from place to place on objects, people, or animals. Bed bugs can be hard to find and identify because they are tiny and try to stay hidden.
Life Cycle and Reproduction: An average bed bug lives for about 10 months. Female bed bugs lay one to five eggs per day. Bed bugs grow to full adulthood in about 21 days.
Bed bugs can survive for months without feeding.
Bed bug Bites: Because bed bugs usually feed at night, most people are bitten in their sleep and do not realize they were bitten. A person’s reaction to insect bites is an immune response and so varies from person to person. Sometimes the red welts caused by the bites will not be noticed until many days after a person was bitten, if at all. Common signs and symptoms of a possible bed bug infestation:
• Small red to reddish brown fecal spots on mattresses, box springs, bed frames, mattresses, linens, upholstery, or walls.
•  Molted bed bug skins, white, sticky eggs, or empty eggshells.
•  Very heavily infested areas may have a characteristically sweet odor.
•  Red, itchy bite marks, especially on the legs, arms, and other body parts exposed while sleeping. However, some people do not show bed bug lesions on their bodies even though bed bugs may have fed on them.
        For more information, see the Internet Web sites of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the National Pest Management Association.

The foregoing bed bug notice requirements will be contained in Civil Code section 1954.603.

For further information, please contact Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP at (949) 748-3600; website: www.rwclegal.com.

The law firm of Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP represents landlords, property management companies, institutional and private lenders, employers and insurance companies throughout the State of California in real estate, business and employment litigation. The information provided herein is for general interest only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.

© 2016 Ruzicka, Wallace & Coughlin, LLP.