Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: rental debt.

Existing law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA) , generally regulates the collection of a consumer debt by a debt collector, as defined. The RFDCPA defines "consumer debt" to mean money, property, or their equivalent, due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person by reason of a consumer credit transaction. Existing law, the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA) , prohibits a person from engaging in business as a debt collector in the state without a license from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. The DCLA requires the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation to revoke or suspend a license for a violation of the RFDCPA. The DCLA defines the term "consumer credit transaction" to mean a transaction between a natural person and another person in which property, services, or money is acquired on credit by that natural person from the other person primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. This bill would define "consumer debt," for purposes of the RFDCPA, to additionally include rental debt that became past due on or after January 1, 2019, and would make conforming changes. This bill would also specify that, for the purposes of the DCLA, the term "consumer credit transaction" does not mean a transaction that results in rental debt. The RFDCPA requires every debt collector collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt to comply with certain provisions of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) , including certain provisions relating to mandatory disclosures. This bill would additionally exempt a landlord collecting rent, as specified, from the requirement to comply with the provisions of the FDCPA referenced above related to mandatory disclosures.