Let's look at the compromises struck in AB 2216:
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Owners of buildings with 15 or fewer units will not be required to accept tenants with pets.
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Owners of larger buildings must allow at least one common household pet without charging any "pet rent." Landlords can charge $50 per month for each additional pet.
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Tenants can be required to carry liability insurance and have their pets licensed and vaccinated. Other standards can be set in terms of leash rules, cleanup policies, and spaying/neutering pets.
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Owners can limit the number of pets to one.
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A security deposit can be collected up to 50% of one month's rent, but not exceed $1,000.
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The effective date for the law to be implemented is April 1, 2025.
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Tenants cannot have restricted species. Think of unusual or exotic pets.
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The law does not impact existing leases or renewals of leases.
The new law will not give tenants the license to create a nuisance.
One of a renter's fundamental obligations is to not disturb other tenants' peaceful enjoyment of their dwelling unit, and this remains unchanged with the soon-to-be-inked pet law. We suspect that most tenants will be responsible pet owners, clean up after their pets, and not let them roam around to interfere with neighbors or damage property.
Rest assured, however, there will be conflicts and complaints of nuisances like dogs barking all day when the owner goes to work. The main point we want to convey is that the new pet law does not allow a tenant's pet to menace neighboring residents or damage property.
The same is also true with emotional support animals. Armed with documentation from a licensed medical professional who had a prior relationship with a patient, tenants are allowed to have these animals for their emotional well-being, but if they create problems, we have to address the behavior.
Can we inform the tenant with a problematic animal that they are not allowed to have an emotional support animal? No. But we can tell them they cannot have that particular animal because of documented nuisances and that another endeared animal can be welcomed into the rental unit, just not the offending one.
Parting thoughts
Please don't get us wrong. We love pets and are pet owners ourselves. We also have an affinity for the rights of property owners to evaluate risk and decide what is going on in and around their rental properties. The notion that owners exert some control over their units and can set guidelines is steadily being chipped away.
In a recent interview, Assemblyman Haney said he didn't anticipate the incessant calls from reporters that poured in after introducing this legislation or the reaction from the landlording community. Way back when, our own firm received a backlash on social media when we exposed cases of fraudulent claims made by tenants that they needed emotional support animals after downloading certificates from shadowy websites.
But like all other aspects of the law, we have to be removed from the emotional fray.
The bill heads to the Senate now, where it is sure to pass. We won't read it until it becomes law, but our preliminary thought is that tenants will not have the absolute right to have animals; housing providers can have a legitimate purpose to deny a certain animal. Neighboring residents who have allergies, for example, or a dog's past behavior. Let's not get ahead of ourselves at this point.
