A Tenant Law that Nobody Knows About

In 2003, the state legislature and Governor Gray Davis passed AB 647, codified into law as California Civil Code Section 1942.4. Sponsored by ACORN and Assemblyman Fabian Nunez, the law states that a landlord “may not demand rent, collect rent, issue a notice of a rent increase or issue a three-day notice to pay rent or quit” if all of the following four factors exist:

(1) The rental unit violates the Implied Warranty of Habitability – which could include broken windows or doors, lack of heat, no hot or cold running water, electrical wiring in deficient order, rodents or broken floors, stairways or railings.

(2) A Housing Inspector has notified the landlord in writing of such a code violation and has ordered them to make repairs, such as in a Notice of Violation.

(3) The landlord has not made repairs within 35 days after the Notice was sent, and the delay is without good cause.

(4) The tenant did not create the code violation.

If a landlord collects rent despite these conditions, he may be liable for up to $5000 in damages. There is also a clause that gives attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in case they have to go to court. Any judge who awards these damages may also require the landlord to make repairs in the form of injunctive relief. But today, we haven’t seen many cases around 1942.4.

From 2000 to 2003 (prior to attending law school), I worked at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic where I organized low-income tenants around code enforcement issues. When I did outreach about habitability problems, many tenants would say that they wanted to go on a “rent strike” because the conditions in their rooms were so bad. But I always advised them not to because that would get them evicted.

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