BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Senator Joseph L. Dunn, Chair
Bill No: AB 1467Hearing: July
2, 2001
Author: KehoeFiscal: No
Version: June 19,
2001Consultant: Mark Stivers
CODE ENFORCEMENT: RECEIVERSHIP AND DEMOLITION
Background and Existing Law :
The California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations) contains building standards
and regulations as adopted by the California Building
Standards Commission. Buildings are considered substandard
under state law if violation of building standards results
in any of the following conditions:
Inadequate sanitation
Structural hazards
Nuisances
Unsafe or inoperable wiring, plumbing, mechanical
equipment
Faulty weather protection
Other fire, health or safety hazards
Building codes are generally enforced by local building
officials. When violations are discovered, a building
official sends the owner a letter notifying him or her of
the deficiency. Except in cases of imminent danger, owners
are then generally given at least 30 days to correct the
violation. If violations remain uncorrected after 30 days,
the code officials may institute any appropriate action or
proceeding to correct building code violations or abate
nuisances.
When the structure is in a substandard condition, the
agency is required to commence actions to ensure correction
of the violations by repair, rehabilitation, or demolition.
The choice to repair or demolish is up to the owner, but
if the owner chooses repair, he or she must comply with the
agency's reasonable and feasible schedule for compliance.
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If the owner does not choose or fails to adhere to the
compliance schedule, the agency may repair or demolish the
unit itself. The agency is required to give preference for
repair when it is economically feasible to do so without
having to repair more than 75% of the dwelling. For
vacant, substandard single-family homes in its
jurisdiction, the City of Los Angeles must give preference
to repair if less than 50% of the building requires repair.
If the violations are so extensive and of such a nature
that the health and safety of residents or the public is
substantially endangered and the owner does not comply with
a repair order within a reasonable amount of time, the
enforcement agency, a tenant or tenant association may
petition the court to appoint a receiver for the property.
The receiver effectively takes control of the property,
collecting rents, paying debts and expenses, and making the
necessary repairs to the property. The receiver is
discharged by the court when the violations have been
remedied and a complete accounting of all costs and repairs
has been delivered to the court.
Proposed Law :
Assembly Bill 1467 allows a court to appoint a non-profit
organization or community development corporation as a
receiver for a substandard building and allows a receiver
to record a lien against the property to recover the costs
of any services performed as a receiver.
With respect to vacant single-family dwellings, the bill
allows the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego to initiate
any appropriate action to correct the violations or abate
the nuisances after 15 days notice to the owner. The bill
also extends to the City of San Diego the lowered
preference for repair of a substandard home. The city must
only give preference to repair when less than 50% of the
dwelling, as opposed to 75%, requires repair.
Comments :
1. Purpose of the bill . The sponsor of the bill, the City
of San Diego, is aggressively attempting to revitalize its
neighborhoods by cracking down on substandard residential
dwellings. Such properties often become havens for
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vandalism, trespassing, drug-dealing and other illegal
activities. This bill is intended to facilitate these
revitalization efforts.
According to the sponsor, the appointment of a receiver for
substandard properties can be a powerful tool to correct
extensive and chronic health and safety violations.
Substandard properties that are heavily encumbered, are
vacant, or do not generate income, however, make poor
candidates for receivership because there is no cash flow
to pay for the costs of repair and the receiver's own
expenses. While the bill doesn't substantively change the
law with respect to receiverships, it highlights mechanisms
that can be used to repair properties with little cash
flow. The bill explicitly states that non-profits and CDCs
may be appointed as receivers. Such organizations have the
ability to obtain grants to rehabilitate the property and
may be able to bring other resources, such as volunteer
labor and in-kind donations, to the property. In addition,
the bill makes explicit that a receiver may recover the
costs of any services performed through a lien on the
property.
San Diego has at least 175 vacant and substandard single
family residences and an additional 50 homes that are
vacant and suspected substandard dwellings. Once an order
or notice has been issued and ignored, the city would like
to be able to intervene sooner to correct code violations.
In addition, the city would like to make it easier to
demolish substandard homes. Reducing the waiting period
for the city to commence enforcement actions and lessening
the preference for repair will facilitate the expeditious
repair or demolition of substandard dwellings.
2. Quick on the draw . The bill reduces from 30 to 15 days
the waiting period for San Diego and Los Angeles to
commence enforcement actions for any type of code violation
at a vacant single-family residence, not just those that
create a nuisance or result in substandard conditions.
While 15 days may be appropriate for more serious
violations, this time period may be too short for
violations that do not require immediate action. The
committee may wish to consider an amendment to limit the
15-day trigger to nuisances or substandard conditions.
3. When is repair the better choice ? The bill makes it
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easier for the City of San Diego to require demolition of a
substandard single-family home instead of repair. As
opposed to a preference for repair when less than 75% of
the structure requires repair, the bill sets the percentage
at 50%. According to the City of San Diego, demolition is
a last resort, but it is generally uneconomical to
rehabilitate a home that requires 75% repair. This
provision in intended to give the city additional
flexibility to make decisions about substandard homes on a
case-by-case basis. The impact of this change is likely to
be less than it appears. Because code enforcement agencies
are wary of being sued, buildings requiring 60% or more
repair may be demolished, but homes that hover anywhere
near the 50% figure will still be repaired.
4. Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee referred
AB 1467 to the Senate Housing and Community Development
Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. If AB 1467
passes, the bill must be re-referred to Senate Judiciary
Committee.
5. Conflict with AB 472 . This measure has significant
chaptering conflicts with AB 472 (Cedillo). At a later
date, the author may want to take chaptering amendments
that will remove these conflicts.
Related Legislation :
AB 472 (Cedillo) Requires property owners to pay relocation
benefits within a specified time period and creates a
process for receivers and tenants of any real property
subject to receivership to file a motion requesting
instructions from the court to address substandard
conditions or a dispute concerning the powers or duties of
the receiver.
Previous Action :
Assembly Floor: 72-2
Assembly Housing and Community Development: 9-0
Support and Opposition : (6/27/)
Support : City of San Diego (sponsor)
Opposition : None received
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