In The News

Marijuana

Recreational use: Provisions of Proposition 64 regarding the lawful sale and subsequent taxation of recreational marijuana in California are in effect. Legalizing the sale of marijuana for recreational use, however, does not impede a property owner’s ability to ban the smoking of marijuana on the property. In fact, the proposition expressly allows owners of private property to prohibit any of the actions related to marijuana otherwise permitted by the initiative. Note that this new law for recreational use of marijuana does not repeal or otherwise affect the already in force medicinal marijuana law. Those tenants with a medical prescription by a licensed doctor, are still permitted to buy and smoke medicinal marijuana for medical purposes. Please feel free to call the office for the interplay between tenants smoking recreation marijuana at the rental property and those that are smoking it for personal use under the medicinal marijuana exception.

Pending Fair Housing Laws…

Fair Employment and Housing Council is currently working on two sets of fair housing regulations which will likely be finalized and take effect:

  • Harassment, Retaliation, Reasonable Accommodation, and  Assistance Animals
  • Discriminatory Effect, Discriminatory Land Use Practices, and Use of Criminal History Information:

Use of Criminal History Information

  • Prohibits consideration of criminal history information that did not result in conviction, or which has been sealed or expunged
  • Allows use of narrowly tailored “bright line” criminal history policy (i.e. no individualized assessment), but the policy must be very narrowly tailored

Reasonable Accommodation and Assistance Animals

  • Allows reasonable accommodation verification to be provided in a “credible statement” from the individual or family members
  • No Verification may be required of a person with an alleged service animal, only two questions are permitted:

1)  Are you a person with a disability?

2)  What is the disability-related task the animal has been trained to perform?