Amended bill will ensure that housing providers do not get lost in translation

Under AB 863, the onus is on the courts to provide a translated eviction summons, thereby relieving housing providers of the burden to effectively communicate with tenants in a language they know and understand.

California is so diverse that a staggering 43.92% of residents aged 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, according to the 2021 American Community Survey.

One of the bedrocks of contract law is that both parties understand what they are agreeing to, so it is no surprise that virtually all of the important documents and notices in landlord-tenant relationships are required to be translated into the tenant's native tongue.

Let's put an asterisk on California Civil Code § 1632, dubbed the California Translation Act, which mandates that when certain tradespersons or businesses negotiate a contract with consumers in non-English languages, the merchant must furnish a translation of the contract terms and conditions in the native tongue of the non-English speaking party before the contract is executed.

The law is always cleaner on the page than it is in real life. In practice, it is difficult to comply with the requirements, particularly when the owner or their agents are not fluent in the tenant's native language. Oftentimes, landlords and property managers will rely on an incompetent or improperly assigned translator.

Worse yet, some will use a child or teenager who answers the door for interpretation. This can be challenged later on because of the young one's lack of sophistication and, perhaps, understanding of all the terminology..

What is the job description of a landlord anyway? 

It's pretty clear that tenants should be well aware of their rights and the terms of their tenancy in a language they can understand - no dispute about that. The quandary has been who is responsible for the translation. Many housing providers, particularly small, mom-and-pop landlords, do not have the resources to translate on their own.

Increasingly, landlords have been asked to wear many hats. Their role goes beyond providing housing and keeping it well-maintained. Of course, they have always been tasked with mediating and resolving conflicts with neighboring tenants when there are noise complaints or someone gets mad as hell over parking complaints, etc. They are also responsible for customer service, in terms of establishing a sense of stability and trust, and responding promptly to requests.

Yet housing providers are sometimes asked to shoulder other burdens, and the COVID crisis is a classic example. Not only were landlords obligated to provide free housing during the pandemic because of eviction moratoriums. They were asked to become de facto social workers in helping tenants apply for rental assistance.

Translation also falls into the category of duties that landlords should not be asked to do in the ordinary course of operating a rental business. To add to the costs, administrative work, and aggravation, any lease amendment, rule change, or notice may need re-translation.

 

Enter new legislation that, if passed, will extend a rental property owner’s obligation to provide already-translated eviction complaints and summons.

We are pleased that lawmakers recognize the hardships of housing providers by shifting the responsibilities of translation to the courts.

Prior versions of the bill would put the cost of translating eviction documents squarely on the shoulders of landlords, but the revised legislation will put California’s Judicial Council in charge of creating a single, standardized summons form in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean by January 1, 2027.

This body sets policy guidelines and develops resources to ensure consistency throughout a vast court system. This modification eliminates the need to seek out professional translations. It also mitigates the risk of disputes over the accuracy of at least the initial document, i.e. the summons.

Our takeaways

Translation can create serious legal, financial, and communication issues and even if notices are legally valid, the tenant may not fully grasp the legal consequences. We have to be careful in eviction notices, rent increase notices, and other disclosures when landlords and their agents are not fluent in a tenant’s language.

If a tenant claims they didn’t understand the verbiage because it wasn’t translated, a judge or jury may side with the tenant. Ambiguity may make parts of the lease unenforceable or give tenants a defense to eviction cases.

Of course, there are translation tools online like Google Translate, but these are not foolproof. If a landlord uses a machine translation or a non-certified translator, a lack of understanding may be held against them in court.

Many housing providers think that when a written translation is provided to the non-English speaking tenant, their job is done. Yet it is prudent to verbally review major points in their language so that everyone is on the same page.

We would be remiss not to point out that Bornstein Law has a diverse staff that speaks several languages, a skill set that has proven to be invaluable for clients in the melting pot of the Bay Area.