Bill > AB299

This bill creates a new legal provision for disaster survivors staying in hotels, motels, and short-term lodgings, allowing them to remain in their temporary housing without being classified as traditional tenants for up to 270 consecutive days. The bill defines a "disaster" as a federally declared major disaster or a state-proclaimed emergency, and "lodging" includes hotels, motels, and short-term rental properties that meet specific local registration requirements. Under this law, if a guest is displaced by a disaster that made their previous housing uninhabitable, they will not be considered a tenant and cannot be subject to standard eviction procedures until they have stayed in the lodging for more than 270 days. Lodging operators must provide guests with a written notice explaining these special circumstances and have guests confirm their disaster-displaced status through a confirmation form. The lodging can still require a guest to leave with 72 hours' notice, except in cases of non-payment, disruptive behavior, property damage, or safety concerns. The law is specifically designed to help people whose homes have been destroyed by events like wildfires and will remain in effect until January 1, 2031. The bill is classified as an urgency statute, meaning it goes into immediate effect to address the immediate needs of disaster survivors, particularly those affected by wildfires in Los Angeles County.