California’s Mold Law – SB 655

Mold is now a factor in declaring a property unfit for a renter.

A landlord could even face misdemeanor criminal penalties if mold is not cleared out.  California’s Mold Law – SB 655 . .

However, he said a health officer actually has to come out to a property to declare it uninhabitable because of mold. A renter will not be successful in court, he said, unless a health official says the unit poses a risk.

“Here’s the really good news: You don’t need to do anything until you’re told about it,” Hutchinson said of when a landlord needs to clean it out.

The mold law also says mold is not the landlords’ fault if the tenant caused mold by “inappropriate housekeeping practices.”

Summary

BILL NUMBER: SB 655	INTRODUCED 	BILL TEXT      INTRODUCED BY   Senator Mitchell   FEBRUARY 27, 2015    An act to amend Sections 17920 and 17920.3 of the Health and  Safety Code, relating to housing standards.      	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST         SB 655, as introduced, Mitchell. Housing standards: mold.     (1) The State Housing Law, which is administered by the Department  of Housing and Community Development, prescribes standards for  buildings used for human habitation and establishes definitions for  this purpose. The law provides that a building, or a portion of it,  in which certain conditions are found to exist, such as a lack of  sanitation, as specified, is substandard. The law provides that a  violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor.     This bill would specify that visible or otherwise demonstrable  mold growth, excepting mold caused by inappropriate housekeeping  practices or improper use of ventilation, is a type of inadequate  sanitation and therefore a substandard condition. The bill would  define mold as living or dead fungi or its related products or parts,  including spores and hyphae. By expanding the definition of a crime,  this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.     (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse  local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the  state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that  reimbursement.     This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this  act for a specified reason.     Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.  State-mandated local program: yes.      THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:      SECTION 1.  Section 17920 of the Health and Safety Code is amended  to read:     17920.  As used in this part:      (a)       (a)  "Approved" means acceptable to the department.       (b)       (b)  "Building" means a structure subject to this part.       (c)       (c)  "Building standard" means building standard as  defined in Section 18909.      (d)       (d)  "Department" means the Department of Housing and  Community Development.      (e)       (e)  "Enforcement" means diligent effort to secure  compliance, including review of plans and permit applications,  response to complaints, citation of violations, and other legal  process. Except as otherwise provided in this part, "enforcement"  may, but need not, include inspections of existing buildings on which  no complaint or permit application has been filed, and effort to  secure compliance as to these existing buildings.      (f)       (f)  "Fire protection district" means any special  district, or any other municipal or public corporation or district,  which is authorized by law to provide fire protection and prevention  services.      (g)       (g)  "Labeled" means equipment or materials to which has  been attached a label, symbol, or other identifying mark of an  organization, approved by the department, that maintains a periodic  inspection program of production of labeled products, installations,  equipment, or materials and by whose labeling the manufacturer  indicates compliance with appropriate standards or performance in a  specified manner.      (h)       (h)  "Listed" means all products that appear in a list  published by an approved testing or listing agency.      (i)       (i)  "Listing agency" means an agency approved by the  department that is in the business of listing and labeling products,  materials, equipment, and installations tested by an approved testing  agency, and that maintains a periodic inspection program on current  production of listed products, equipment, and installations, and  that, at least annually, makes available a published report of these  listings.      (j) "Mold" means living or dead fungi or its related products or  parts, including spores and hyphae.       (j)       (k)  "Noise insulation" means the protection of persons  within buildings from excessive noise, however generated, originating  within or without such buildings.      (k)       (l)  "Nuisance" means any nuisance defined pursuant to  Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil  Code, or any other form of nuisance recognized at common law or in  equity.      (l)       (m)  "Public entity" has the same meaning as defined in  Section 811.2 of the Government Code.      (m)       (n) "Testing agency" means an agency approved by the  department as qualified and equipped for testing of products,  materials, equipment, and installations in accordance with nationally  recognized standards.    SEC. 2.  Section 17920.3 of the Health and Safety Code is amended  to read:     17920.3.  Any building or portion thereof including any dwelling  unit, guestroom or suite of rooms, or the premises on which the same  is located, in which there exists any of the following listed  conditions to an extent that endangers the life, limb, health,  property, safety, or welfare of the public or the occupants thereof  shall be deemed and hereby is declared to be a substandard building:     (a) Inadequate sanitation shall include, but not be limited to,  the following:     (1) Lack of, or improper water closet, lavatory, or bathtub or  shower in a dwelling unit.     (2) Lack of, or improper water closets, lavatories, and bathtubs  or showers per number of guests in a hotel.     (3) Lack of, or improper kitchen sink.     (4) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures in a  hotel.     (5) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures in a  dwelling unit.     (6) Lack of adequate heating.     (7) Lack of, or improper operation of required ventilating  equipment.     (8) Lack of minimum amounts of natural light and ventilation  required by this code.     (9) Room and space dimensions less than required by this code.     (10) Lack of required electrical lighting.     (11) Dampness of habitable rooms.     (12) Infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents as determined by a  health officer or, if an agreement does not exist with an agency  that has a health officer, the infestation can be determined by a  code enforcement officer, as defined in Section 829.5 of the Penal  Code, upon successful completion of a course of study in the  appropriate subject matter as determined by the local jurisdiction.       (13) Any visible or otherwise demonstrable mold growth, excluding  the presence of mold that is caused by inappropriate housekeeping  practices or improper use of natural or mechanical ventilation.        (13)       (14)  General dilapidation or improper maintenance.       (14)       (15)  Lack of connection to required sewage disposal  system.      (15)       (16) Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and  removal facilities, as determined by a health officer or, if an  agreement does not exist with an agency that has a health officer,  the lack of adequate garbage and rubbish removal facilities can be  determined by a code enforcement officer as defined in Section 829.5  of the Penal Code.     (b) Structural hazards shall include, but not be limited to, the  following:     (1) Deteriorated or inadequate foundations.     (2) Defective or deteriorated flooring or floor supports.     (3) Flooring or floor supports of insufficient size to carry  imposed loads with safety.     (4) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that  split, lean, list, or buckle due to defective material or  deterioration.     (5) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that  are of insufficient size to carry imposed loads with safety.     (6) Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or  other horizontal members which sag, split, or buckle due to defective  material or deterioration.     (7) Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or  other horizontal members that are of insufficient size to carry  imposed loads with safety.     (8) Fireplaces or chimneys which list, bulge, or settle due to  defective material or deterioration.     (9) Fireplaces or chimneys which are of insufficient size or  strength to carry imposed loads with safety.     (c) Any nuisance.     (d) All wiring, except that which conformed with all applicable  laws in effect at the time of installation if it is currently in good  and safe condition and working properly.     (e) All plumbing, except plumbing that conformed with all  applicable laws in effect at the time of installation and has been  maintained in good condition, or that may not have conformed with all  applicable laws in effect at the time of installation but is  currently in good and safe condition and working properly, and that  is free of cross connections and siphonage between fixtures.     (f) All mechanical equipment, including vents, except equipment  that conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of  installation and that has been maintained in good and safe condition,  or that may not have conformed with all applicable laws in effect at  the time of installation but is currently in good and safe condition  and working properly.     (g) Faulty weather protection, which shall include, but not be  limited to, the following:     (1) Deteriorated, crumbling, or loose plaster.     (2) Deteriorated or ineffective waterproofing of exterior walls,  roofs, foundations, or floors, including broken windows or doors.     (3) Defective or lack of weather protection for exterior wall  coverings, including lack of paint, or weathering due to lack of  paint or other approved protective covering.     (4) Broken, rotted, split, or buckled exterior wall coverings or  roof coverings.     (h) Any building or portion thereof, device, apparatus, equipment,  combustible waste, or vegetation that, in the opinion of the chief  of the fire department or his deputy, is in such a condition as to  cause a fire or explosion or provide a ready fuel to augment the  spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any cause.     (i) All materials of construction, except those that are  specifically allowed or approved by this code, and that have been  adequately maintained in good and safe condition.     (j) Those premises on which an accumulation of weeds, vegetation,  junk, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, offal, rodent harborages,  stagnant water, combustible materials, and similar materials or  conditions constitute fire, health, or safety hazards.     (k) Any building or portion thereof that is determined to be an  unsafe building due to inadequate maintenance, in accordance with the  latest edition of the Uniform Building Code.     (  l  ) All buildings or portions thereof not provided  with adequate exit facilities as required by this code, except those  buildings or portions thereof whose exit facilities conformed with  all applicable laws at the time of their construction and that have  been adequately maintained and increased in relation to any increase  in occupant load, alteration or addition, or any change in occupancy.       When an unsafe condition exists through lack of, or improper  location of, exits, additional exits may be required to be installed.       (m) All buildings or portions thereof that are not provided with  the fire-resistive construction or fire-extinguishing systems or  equipment required by this code, except those buildings or portions  thereof that conformed with all applicable laws at the time of their  construction and whose fire-resistive integrity and  fire-extinguishing systems or equipment have been adequately  maintained and improved in relation to any increase in occupant load,  alteration or addition, or any change in occupancy.     (n) All buildings or portions thereof occupied for living,  sleeping, cooking, or dining purposes that were not designed or  intended to be used for those occupancies.     (o) Inadequate structural resistance to horizontal forces.     "Substandard building" includes a building not in compliance with  Section 13143.2.     However, a condition that would require displacement of sound  walls or ceilings to meet height, length, or width requirements for  ceilings, rooms, and dwelling units shall not by itself be considered  sufficient existence of dangerous conditions making a building a  substandard building, unless the building was constructed, altered,  or converted in violation of those requirements in effect at the time  of construction, alteration, or conversion.    SEC. 3.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to  Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because  the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school  district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or  infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty  for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the  Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the  meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California  Constitution.                    California's Mold Law - SB 655  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/