Commercial landlords and tenants are likely familiar with Civil Code section 1951.3, which allowed a landlord to trigger lease termination due to tenant abandonment based on a written Notice of Belief of Abandonment. The Notice could only be served if rent was due and unpaid for 14 consecutive days, and then the termination date of…
For commercial property owners in California, the recent amendment of California Civil Code Sections 1993.04 and 1993.07 is a welcome development. The problem surrounding tenants who vacate commercial properties and leave substantial personal property behind has long been a source of aggravation for landlords. Under the new laws, the threshold for keeping, selling, or destroying…
While most of the “new laws” compilations are surface level and generally unhelpful, I found this summary of new laws that went into effect in California as of January 1, 2019 that impact the real estate industry to be especially well done and a great resource. https://www.car.org/en/riskmanagement/qa/New-Laws/2019-New-Laws
Abandonment by residential and commercial tenants is an issue that frequently arises in California. Effective January 1, 2019, the statutory provisions relating to a landlord establishing a legal abandonment will be revised. Civil Code Section 1951.3 will be restricted only to residential real property, with the Legislature creating a new Civil Code Section 1951.35 for…
I’ve written a few blog posts over the past few months about SB 35 and its potential as a game-changer in more expeditiously getting development projects entitled and approved by local jurisdictions. Just this week, Cupertino approved a massive mixed-use development (with almost 3,000 units of new housing) after the City determined that it fell…
SB 2, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, acted to implement an additional $75 recording fee for most real estate documents, up to $225 per transaction. The fee applies to any deed, grant deed, trustee’s deed, deed of trust, reconveyance, quit claim deed, fictitious deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust, request…
I just wanted to follow up briefly on my last blog post from a few weeks ago highlighting a local developer invoking SB 35 on a controversial project in Berkeley. Since then, another developer at a high profile proposed development, this one in Cupertino near the new Apple campus, has turned to SB 35 to…
I’ve included a link below to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle concerning a proposed development in Berkeley and the implications of the recently enacted SB 35 here in California. While this developer is one of the first to invoke the provisions of SB 35, this may become an increasingly popular tool for…
As virtually everyone knows by now, Congress passed and the President recently signed a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. tax laws at the end of 2017. While all of the details are still being analyzed (the final bill was in excess of 1,100 pages) and we await clarification from the IRS on how several of…
Commercial Leasing As a commercial landlord, it can be too easy to sign a lease for a longer term, and then just rely on the built-in rental increases as time passes. If a tenant has a 5-year lease with a 5-year option to extend, you may not even think about updating the lease for 10…