Alex Farr and fiance Mara Nicole pet their dogs Rocco, Enzo and Luna at their Noe Valley apartment on Friday, May 5, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Paul Chin/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
A new bill in California would require landlords to accept pets.
The bill, officially known as AB 2216, was introduced by Rep. Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) and is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.
The bill would “prohibit property owners from asking about pets on applications, prohibit additional monthly fees to pet owners, also known as 'pet rental fees,' and limit pet deposits.” KQED reported.
The bill would also address problems Haney sees in the rental industry: an overabundance of tenants with pets and a lack of landlords willing to accommodate them.
Haney said his staff analyzed apartment listings on Zillow and found that many rental units do not allow tenants to own dogs or cats of any size. Specifically, only 26% of apartment properties in Los Angeles, 20% in San Francisco, and 18% in Sacramento accept such pets.
However, other surveys show that two out of three households nationwide own a pet, and 72% of renters say they have difficulty finding pet-friendly housing.
“A two-tiered system that punishes people simply for owning a pet, treats them differently, or imposes a greater burden just for that fact is not legal,” Haney told KQED. It shouldn't be allowed.”
Some groups, like the Humane Society of the United States, support the bill, while others, like the Berkeley Property Owners Association, oppose it.
Krista Gulbransen, executive director of the Berkeley Property Owners Association, told KQED that risk is the driving force behind her opposition.
“Pets have the potential to cause property damage, and stripping away pet bond protections while limiting owners’ discretion to take on that additional risk puts pets in a terrible position.”
The proposed bill would create an exception for landlords who “have reasonable cause to exclude pets from their premises.”
The proposed legislation is expected to be further fleshed out in the coming weeks and months.
KTLA reached out to Haney about the proposed bill but did not receive a response in time for publication.
