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AB 2216 requires landlords to have reasonable cause to deny housing to tenants who have pets.
Sacramento, California – Chairman of the California Legislative Landlord Caucus; matt haney (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation that would ban blanket bans on pets in rental units in California. AB 2216 Landlords are required to have a reasonable excuse not to allow pets in rental units, and landlords can only inquire about pet ownership after the tenant's application has been approved.
California has the second highest number of tenants in the nation, with 17 million families and individuals renting. Of those, nearly 12 million, or 70%, are pet owners. Unfortunately, under current laws, only 30% of rental properties in any city allow pets. In San Francisco, only 21% of rental properties currently on the market are pet-friendly. Similarly, despite nearly 3 million pet-owning renters, only 26% of rental properties in Los Angeles allow pets.
“One of our main strategies to address the housing crisis is to build more housing,” said Rep. Haney. “We have to keep building housing faster, but when 12 million people across the state are being denied access to that housing because they have pets, we have to continue to build housing faster, but when we have to solve this crisis The vast majority of renters in our state – pet owners – are being denied access to most rental units. It makes no sense at all and is dramatically exacerbating the housing crisis. Masu.”
Due to a lack of pet-friendly housing, more than 829,000 tenants keep pets in their units without their landlord's knowledge.d. This prevents landlords from obtaining adequate compensation for damages that could be mitigated if they knew the tenant had a pet, such as pet insurance or reasonable pet restrictions.
“My partner and I searched for over a month for a two-bedroom rental that would accommodate a small cow/dog mix,” said Andrea Amavisca, of Sacramento. “Landlords who initially liked our application suddenly stopped answering our calls once they found out we had a dog. Or they asked for a pet deposit of nearly $1,000, and we have had cases where they would not accept a unit. would be completely beyond our budget. Each rental had a different pet policy and the rates varied based on discretion. It felt unfair.”
“Whether we like it or not, humans have pets. We always have pets, and we always will have pets,” Haney said. “No-pet policies are causing landlords to lose out on good tenants and turn them away without even having a chance to apply for a place to live. The current system is bad for everyone.”
“Along with millions of pet owners across California, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) strongly believes that household pets are an integral part of our families. “Housing is a fundamental right that should not be restricted because people have to choose between putting a roof over their heads,” said Jenny Berg, California state director for the Humane Society of the United States. “As we have demonstrated through our past legislative efforts, HSUS supports removing barriers to access to housing, including unnecessary and unreasonable pet restrictions, and joined Rep. Haney in sponsoring AB 2216. I’m proud to be able to do that.”
Many residents are forced to surrender their pets to already overcapacity shelters, which don't have enough resources to care for more animals. A survey of 240 California-based shelters found that 67,881 pets were surrendered by their owners, with a lack of access to pet-friendly housing being the primary cause.
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