P. ex rel. Soto v. Group IX BP Properties

INTRODUCTION

Assembly Bill No. 1418 (AB 1418), codified at Government Code1 section 53165.1, became effective January 1, 2024. Section 53165.1, subdivision (b) bars “local government[s]” from “promulgat[ing], enforc[ing] or implement[ing]” an “ordinance, rule, policy, program, or regulation” that penalizes tenants or their landlords “solely as a consequence of contact with a law enforcement agency.” The primary purpose of section 53165.1, according to the bill’s author, is to bar local “crime-free housing ordinances” that prohibit landlords from renting to prospective tenants with criminal histories, including arrests without conviction, regardless of the risk to the safety of the property or other tenants. This appeal raises a single issue. Here, a landlord argues that a case brought on behalf of the People of the State of California by the Los Angeles City Attorney to enforce the state’s Public Nuisance Law (Civ. Code, § 3479 et seq.) (PNL) violates section 53165.1. This is so, says the landlord, because the evidence in the nuisance case is based in significant part on police reports that identified ongoing criminal activity at the landlord’s property. We disagree with the…