4 New Real Estate Laws in 2021 that homeowners should be aware of.
The new year always brings New Real Estate Laws, 2021 was no exception. There were 4 laws that homeowners, home buyers, investors and tenants should be aware of. As well, if you are hiring a Real Estate Agent to represent you, they absolutely should have extensive knowledge on these new laws.
Proposition 19 (Statewide Tax Basis Portability)
With the passage of Proposition 19, a homeowner who is 55 years of age or older, severely disabled or whose home has been substantially damaged by wildfire or natural disaster may transfer the taxable value of their primary residence to:
• A replacement primary residence
• Anywhere in the state
• Regardless of the value of the replacement primary residence (with adjustments if "greater" in value)
• Within two years of the sale
• Up to three times (but without limitation for those whose houses were destroyed by fire)
Proposition 19 will supersede the old rules which limited this exemption to the sale and purchase of a principal residence within the same county (Proposition 60) or between certain counties (Proposition 90) -- but only if the replacement property was of "equal or lesser value" and only one time. Prop 19 tax portability clearly applies to any sale or purchase on or after April 1, 2021.
AB 38 (Home Hardening Disclosure)
This law requires delivery of a statutory disclosure for homes in designated high fire areas built before 2010. In it, the seller will disclose specified home hardening retrofits that the property lacks. The disclosure will apply to any property in which the Transfer Disclosure Statement must be delivered, and the standard TDS exemptions and cancellation rights apply.
This law is not actually a new law for 2021. In fact, it was passed the year before last. However, it applies to transactions starting January 1 of this year. Your Realtor should provide this with your home disclosures.
AB 3182 (The Right to Rent out Your Unit in a Common Interest Development)
This new law requires common interest developments (CIDs) to allow at least 25 percent of owners to rent or lease out their units starting January 1, 2021, regardless of whether the HOA has formally amended their governing documents. If the owner actually occupies their own unit then renting out a space within the unit, an ADU or junior ADU must be permitted. No matter what, the existing rights that owners currently enjoy to rent out their units cannot be changed.
SB 1079 (Tenant, Prospective Owner and Non-Profit Right of First Refusal to Purchase Residential Property after Foreclosure)
This law grants tenants, prospective owner-occupants, nonprofit affordable housing providers, and other entities a 45-day window to purchase residential property through foreclosure if they can match (in the case of tenants) or exceed (in the case of other purchasers) the last and highest bid made on residential one to four single-family homes at the foreclosure auction. To ensure that residential properties are available to potential consumer purchasers, this law prohibits a trustee at a foreclosure sale from bundling the sale one to four single-family homes. Each one must be sold as a single sale.
AB 3088 (Temporary Statewide Rent Moratorium)
The "COVID-19 Tenant Protection Act of 2020" creates a statewide rent moratorium effective from March 1, 2020 through January 31, 202, for when a tenant cannot meet the rent due to a COVID related financial hardship. By the time this magazine is published, this law may have already been extended beyond the January 31st deadline. Under this law, rent owed during this period may be collected at the owner's option through small claims court beginning March 1, 2020, for any amount, but cannot be collected in connection with an action for possession. Not only is a rent moratorium put in place but the just cause eviction rules under the statewide just cause eviction laws are extended temporarily to all properties even if previously exempt from the just cause eviction rules. However, a homeowner of a single-family home can still evict a tenant for no cause if the owner is in contract to sell to a buyer who will take occupancy.
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