New Year Rings in New Real Estate Laws
Each year, new legislation impacts property owners, renters, and management groups such as homeowner associations (HOAs). The following are some of the important laws going into effect in 2018, you should know about whether you’re a buyer, seller, or renter:
• If you’re planning on interviewing real estate professionals to either list or buy a home, please be aware that all agents and brokers will be required to include their license number and the broker under whom they do business on all advertising, which includes their business cards, “for sale” and “open house” yard signs, and directional signs.
• If there’s a move in your future, rest assured that the landlord or agent must disclose in writing in the lease/rental agreement any insurance issues, information about floods, and any actual knowledge of special flood zones or areas of potential flooding.
• Landlords may not show or rent vacant units if they know of any current bed bug infestation. However, there is no duty on landlords to inspect dwellings if there was no notice of a suspected or actual infestation. You, as the tenant, will be responsible for reporting, in writing, a suspected bed bug infestation. The landlord will be required to remedy the situation with pest control services and provide copies of pest control reports.
•HOA managers must inform buyers that home disclosures are the property of the HOA. The seller can give to the buyer, at no cost, current copies of any of the mandatory disclosures that the seller has. A seller can request the mandatory disclosure documents from the HOA but isn’t required to purchase all of them. Itemized cost for each separate disclosure must appear on the annual budget report.
•Because marijuana is still illegal under federal law, a landlord can prohibit the use, cultivation, or possession of medical marijuana in a rental unit, and does not have to accommodate a disability claim by a tenant under the American Disabilities Act or California Disability Law for use of marijuana for medical or other purposes.
For more information, visit the California Association of REALTORS® at www.car.org or talk to your real estate professional.