Leases: notice of termination or rent increase: statewide database.

The California Constitution designates the Secretary of State as one of the constitutional officers of the State of California. Under existing law, the Secretary of State performs extensive duties, including, among others, receiving and filing various documents. Existing law specifies various terms and conditions that apply to all persons who hire dwelling units located within this state, including tenants, lessees, boarders, lodgers, and others. Existing law regulates evictions and provides that a tenant who remains in possession of a property after the term of the tenant's lease expires, or who fails to pay rent, is guilty of unlawful detainer. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2025, require a landlord to file with the office of the Secretary of State a copy of any notice of termination or notice of rent increase within 10 days of serving the notice on the tenant, subject to specified requirements. The bill would make failure to file the notice an affirmative defense to a cause of action for unlawful detainer. This bill would, by January 1, 2025, require the office to create and maintain a publicly available, searchable database called the Statewide Rental Reporting Database to, among other things, compile all those notices received from landlords and to adopt regulations for those purposes, as specified. The bill would authorize cities, counties, or city and counties to receive these filings from landlords locally, as the state-designated recipient, and to share the data with the office.