(California), USA — An executive order signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom today gives California tenants twice the time to react to eviction notifications, giving them a better chance to save their homes.
After a spike in evictions occurred when tenant safeguards enacted during the pandemic expired, the new law is passed amidst a housing crisis that affected the entire state.
Tenant groups are arguing that Assembly Bill 2347, which increases the time to react from 5 to 10 business days, will benefit tenants in areas with limited access to legal representation or who are experiencing other difficulties that make it difficult to meet the current deadline.
It is required by law in California for landlords to serve tenants with an unlawful detainer before they can suit for eviction. Not responding in writing within five business days will result in the renter losing the case by default.
Tenants typically need to consult an expert in housing law because the lengthy and technical response form asks them to list any reasons they disagree with the facts or select one of more than a dozen potential legal defenses.
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Lorraine López, a senior attorney with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, who supported the bill, stated, “If you think about folks who are living in legal aid deserts, it may take them the entire five days just to get in the door and get that help.” Or they’re driving forty or fifty kilometers to the closest courtroom in the hopes of submitting the necessary paperwork by five o’clock in the afternoon.
According to López, tenants’ proficiency in responding can be hindered by factors such as language hurdles, inaccessible transportation, and work schedules. According to data, almost 40% of tenants in California wind up having their claims dismissed automatically.
There was no official opposition to the new law from the California Apartment Association, the state’s leading landlord lobby, and it goes into effect on January 1. However, several landlord organizations in the area have voiced their disapproval, arguing that postponing evictions just permits more overdue rent to accumulate, which the owners would inevitably forward to the next renter.
Landlord attorney Daniel Bornstein of San Francisco remarked, “Every time there is an elongation of the process it creates more loss to owners.” He explained that the five-day grace period is a component of a longer eviction procedure that sometimes starts months after renters are significantly behind on their payments, even if the grace period itself may appear brief.
Even yet, it still moves along at a far faster pace than normal litigation. One common rule in civil litigation is the 30-day response deadline for defendants. The National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel estimates that fewer than 5% of landlords in the US have legal representation, whereas more than 80% of landlords hire attorneys to help them fight eviction.
Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) introduced a bill that would provide tenants additional time to reply to an eviction notice; but, it would also reduce the amount of time that tenants’ attorneys have to file specific motions correcting landlords’ mistakes in the complaint.
In an interview, Nancy Wiles, a tenant who escaped an eviction order for her Oakley, California, apartment, suggested that the new rule would be useful for people in her situation.
The eviction notice was delivered to Wiles by her landlord as she was already vacating the residence, which she claimed was plagued by mold. A judge had already decided that Wiles was obligated to pay her landlord $7,000 by the time she understood she needed to reply; the five-day deadline had ended.
According to Wiles, a retired hairstylist living off of a fixed income, “It was very stressful.” Sometime later, she sought the assistance of a pro bono attorney, who was able to have the case dismissed.
In an earlier stage of the eviction process, when landlords inform tenants of a problem before filing a lawsuit, tenant activists have also sought to create more distance. Tenants in California have three days to remedy the situation before an eviction petition may be initiated. This could involve anything from paying overdue rent or repairing property damage.
In 2022, the city of San Francisco decided to grant tenants an additional 10 days to address any issues. Last Monday, however, a judge on the state’s appeals court reversed the municipal decision, holding that eviction processes are matters for the state to decide.
Additionally, Los Angeles is one of several California cities that is contemplating a policy similar to San Francisco’s, which would ensure that renters facing eviction have access to qualified legal representation.
