Protections for Residential Tenants

The bill requires a plaintiff that files a complaint concerning the unlawful detention of real property to include certain documentation with the complaint.

The bill requires that if a landlord posts a written demand or notice, the landlord must:

• Include in the demand or notice certain information; and
• Redact from the document certain personal identifying information.

Under current law, when a landlord commences an action for forcible entry and detainer, any court record of the action is a suppressed court record. If the court issues an order granting the landlord possession of the premises, the record is no longer a suppressed court record unless the parties agree that the record remain suppressed. Under the bill, such a court record remains suppressed unless it concerns a substantial violation of the lease. A court may publish a judicial opinion concerning the action if the names and identifiers of the parties are anonymized.

The bill requires a landlord to provide a tenant at least one rent payment option that does not require the tenant to access an online portal or pay a transaction fee.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)