“Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.” Samuel Griswold Goodrich

On July 2nd of 2024, the governor signed into law SB 1051 which changes existing law regarding the requirement of housing providers to either install new locks or pay to have them installed within 24 hours of the tenant providing a court order or a police report restraining contact from “protected tenants”.

WHAT IS A “PROTECTED” OR “ELIGIBLE” TENANT According to the track bill website :

“Existing law defines “protected tenant” as a tenant who has obtained a court order, as defined, or a police report showing that the tenant or the tenant’s household member is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, as specified. This bill would repeal, recast, and revise these provisions to apply when a person is alleged to have committed abuse or violence against an eligible tenant or the immediate family or household member of an eligible tenant, and the person is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit as the eligible tenant. The bill would define “eligible tenant” for these purposes as either a tenant who is a victim of abuse or violence, as defined, or a tenant whose immediate family member or household member is a victim of abuse or violence. The bill would require a landlord to, at the landlord’s expense and upon the eligible tenant’s written request, change the locks of an eligible tenant’s dwelling unit not later than 24 hours after the eligible tenant gives the landlord specified documentation”

WHAT TO DO? It is probably a good idea to make your tenants aware of this piece of legislation. A violent spouse or associate of your tenant could cause a lot of damage to all your tenants and to your property as well. A violent person could drive away your other good tenants, as well as giving your property a bad reputation. These situations have a tendency to escalate and that is bad for the well being of your tenants and for your property. If you can help by changing locks, it is in your best interest to do it. This is especially true if you don’t visit your building often and do not have an on site manager.

PENALTIES If you violate the provision, penalties can range from 100 dollars to 5000 dollars. My best advice is to have tenants notify you if they are experiencing this kind of a problem. Many tenants are embarrassed to let you know about these types of situations, but if any person is causing problems in your building, sooner or later it will become your problem.

“Government’s first duty and highest obligation is public safety.” Arnold Schwarzenegger

What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can give you a good idea of the current value of your building. We can suggest changes you might want to make before sale to give you an idea what type of building you would be able to exchange into. You may decide to stay in the rental business or you may want to move into a more passive real estate investment, such as a triple net or a DSL.. We are always available to chat. We can give you referrals for professionals, such as lenders, contractors, and engineers, so that you can decide who you feel best with. We can supply you with rent and sale comparable in the area of your properties, so that you know what rental values are in your area. It is important that you know the true value of your rental units, so that you can get them rented right away at market value, or at least as much as possible with rent control restrictions. We can look at potential purchases that you may be interested in to make the property more desirable, and maybe look at potential issues that an insurer might require you to repair.

If you should decide to sell your building, we can help you exchange into a larger or smaller properties. We can even help you move into something with less management responsibilities. We can also help with getting the paperwork together for a refinance if that is your desire. We can also recommend experienced licensed contractors who can perform any repairs or installations you may need prior to selling. We can also look at your building for other easy and inexpensive changes that might allow you to get a higher value. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We are currently looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, deferred maintenance or even with a problem tenant in place. We can offer a 7 day escrow and all cash at closing. Give us a call. We have also put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are currently in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45 day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

We look forward to a prosperous 2025 and we look forward to be of any help we can to buyers and sellers of multi unit properties.