California law requires all installers, maintenance and repair handymen and contractors performing home improvement work valued at more than $500 to provide the homeowner with a contract that meets the requirements of California Business and Professions Code §7151-7159. Failure to provide clients with a written contract as required by the statute, can cost your license, […]
Recent headlines reveal that that big Southern California law firms are charging upwards of $1800-2500/hour for their services. “Eye-watering rates are nothing new for Big Law firms, which typically ask clients to pay higher prices at least once a year, regardless of broader market conditions. “Value is in the eye of the beholder,” said John O’Connor, […]
Are you a contractor in California that regularly performs home improvement work? If so, you need a statutorily compliant, written Home Improvement Contract for all work over $500.00. Under California law, construction work is considered “Home Improvement” work if it involves any of the following: Repairing, remodeling, altering, converting, or modernizing of, or adding to, […]
When a third party is using, or wishes to use or occupy your property, it is very important that you enter into an agreement that protects you, your interests and your property. Three types of agreements are typically used for such purposes: “Use Agreements”, “License Agreements” and “Leases”. They are all different, each protect and […]
AB 1482, also known as the “California Tenant Protection Act of 2019”, restricts residential rent increases in any 12-month period to the lesser of CPI plus 5% or 10%. As originally enacted, the law defined the “percentage change in the cost of living” as the percentage from April 1 of the prior year to April […]
Effective January 1, 2022, all California residences, multifamily properties and businesses will be required to separate organic waste from the trash and participate in organic waste collection programs under California Senate Bill 1383, “California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy”. SB 1383 requires California cities, municipalities and counties to enact programs and ordinances causing residents and […]
Beginning Jan. 1 2022, California‘s residential landlords will have to provide a booklet on mold to prospective tenants. The booklet, “Information on Dampness and Mold for Renters in California,” from the California Department of Public Health, can be found here. California’s Health and Safety Code added visible mold growth to the list of dangerous health […]
As 2021 winds down, residential landlords in Southern California will want to familiarize themselves with new laws and ordinances affecting their properties. If you are a landlord in the City of Los Angeles, you may not have heard of the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance #187109 which became effective August 6, 2021, and which affects all properties […]
Ransomware attacks used to be limited to movie studios, governments, or grandparents on their “Win95” computer, clicking any link that looks like it may have come from million-dollar giveaway clearance houses. Not anymore. Data breaches and ransomware attacks are hitting our largest corporations and our smallest businesses. Even companies with well-staffed IT departments and the financial […]
On July 8, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission to adopt rules that curtail non-compete agreements in the workplace. While President Biden’s “non-compete” executive order may not have an immediate effect on employers who have required their employees to sign non-compete agreements, if you do business in California or […]