California Bill Prohibiting Pet Bans by Landlords Advances

Assemblyman Matt Haney’s bill that would outlaw blanket pet bans by landlords is on its way to becoming law after passing out of the Judiciary Committee, now headed to the Assembly floor. Under Assembly Bill 2216, California landlords could be barred from asking prospective tenants about pets, helping expand rental options for pet owners. “The majority of renters in our state, pet owners, are denied access to the majority of rental units. That makes no sense at all and it’s dramatically exacerbating the housing crisis,” the San Francisco Democrat said in an April 10 news release. He added that about 70 percent of California renters—an estimated 12 million people—own pets and have limited access to rentals. The recent announcement explained that in any given city, only 30 percent of rentals are pet-friendly, including cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, which have about 21 percent and 26 percent pet-friendly rentals on the market....