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Hearing: SB 522 would extend tenant just-cause protections for units rebuilt after disaster
Summary
Sen. Lena Gonzalez (presented by Sen. Wahab in committee) and Los Angeles city officials described SB 522, which would preserve Tenant Protection Act just-cause eviction protections for units that were destroyed in disasters and rebuilt, saying the bill prevents loss of protections for renters displaced by wildfires and other disasters. Supporters
Sen. Lena Wahab presented SB 522 to extend just-cause eviction protections under the Tenant Protection Act (TPA) to residential units that were previously covered by the TPA but lost that status if they were destroyed in a declared disaster and later rebuilt.
Los Angeles City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto (testifying for Los Angeles) described wildfire damage in Los Angeles earlier in the year and said the city lost hundreds of rent-stabilized units; she said the bill would ensure renters who return to rebuilt units retain just-cause protections. Andres Ramos of Public Advocates said preserving just-cause protections would reduce the risk of additional displacement and homelessness in already tightly constrained rental markets.
Opposition came from apartment owner associations and the rental housing industry, including the California Apartment Association and California Association of Realtors, which argued the TPA’s 15-year certificate-of-occupancy exemption for newly constructed housing is an important financing tool for rebuilding and that added regulatory obligations could hamper reconstruction after disasters.
Supporters said SB 522 is a narrow bill that preserves only just-cause protections, not rent caps, and is designed to stabilize communities recovering from natural disasters. Committee discussion noted the bill had strong support from Los Angeles and other local jurisdictions; the committee did not take a final vote on SB 522 during this hearing and supporters asked to return the bill when the committee can take it up for a vote.
