Relating to landlords and tenants, including service animal requirements, rent late fees, forcible entry and detainer property disposal, and peaceable possession, and including applicability provisions

This bill relates to landlord-tenant law. The bill provides that the request of a person for an accommodation of a service animal must be reasonable under the circumstances and that the landlord can accommodate the person by relocating the person to another housing unit managed by the landlord. The bill provides that for rental agreements where rent is more than $700 but less than $1,400 per month, late fees shall not exceed $20 per month. Late fees for rental agreements where rent is at least $1,400 or more per month shall not exceed percent of the rent per day or percent of the rent per month. This provision of the bill applies to rental agreements whose lease terms begin on or after January 1, 2022.11(1) in a rental agreement, the tenant may recover actual damages. Under current law, a tenant may recover actual damages if the landlord willfully uses prohibited provisions. The bill provides that any personal property left on the landlord’s property after the defendant’s removal from a forcible entry and detainer disposition may be disposed of by the landlord. The bill provides that a bar to a proceeding from a tenant’s peaceful possession with landlord notice does not apply to landlords who have notified a tenant in writing of a breach of financial obligation under the rental agreement and the landlord’s intent to enforce the obligation.