By Daniel Bornstein, Esq.

There’s a lot to fall in love with the New Year. A clean slate and a fresh start, the feeling that everything is possible, and of course, the best parties.

For the rental housing industry, however, the exuberance over new beginnings should be tempered with the reality there are a new set of laws to obey.

As we look into the back mirror of an eventful year, one of the highlights has been the defeat of efforts to repeal the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act. Our fraternity’s successful outcome in the epic battle against Proposition 10, however, has obscured less prominent initiatives that were successfully passed and we summarize some of them here.

By Daniel Bornstein, Esq.

With the holiday season nearing, the traditional images conjured are families gathering to feast and enjoy quality time together, yet we all know that not all families are so harmonious. When conflicts reach a boiling point with family members living in close quarters, the status quo may no longer be sustainable.

Transitioning relatives out of a property can clearly be a gut-wrenching decision that many families face, and with the rising rate of adult children living with their parents and a growing number of multigenerational households, these tortuous decisions are being made with greater frequency.

by Daniel Bonstein, esq.

Immigration law has become a combustible subject lately and while all politics are local, some are more local than others. The Bay Area has become a microcosm of weighty immigration issues that have recently stirred up a lot of soul searching and widespread national debate.

Our role at Bornstein Law is not to legislate or get mired into policy, but to educate the rental housing industry on legal issues that impact their business and to prepare for any anticipated changes in the law.

With California seemingly hunkering down as the capital of democratic resistance in the Trump era, the state was prophetic in enacting AB 291, or the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act. This law clamps down on unscrupulous rental housing providers who use an individual’s immigration status against tenants. Assemblymember David Chiu spoke to his colleagues on the Assembly floor and made his case for the bill.

by Daniel Bornstein, Esq.

An Inglewood family sued their landlords, Amusement Six Apartments, for breach of warranty of habitability, emotional distress, negligence, and breach of contract after they didn’t sleep tight.

Nothing can tug at the heart of a jury more than a three-year-old that is covered in bed bug bites and scratches himself to permanent scarring. As if Little Jorge Jr.’s bleeding and disfigurement were not enough to incur the ire of the jury, the child’s family was instructed by apartment management to discard their furniture and sleep on the floor in the aftermath of a bed bug infestation.

By Daniel Bornstein, Esq. | Bornstein.law

When rental relationships sour, even the most studious investment property owners can be slapped with a lawsuit that may cost tens of thousands of dollars to defend against, regardless of the merits of the case.