California Assembly Bill 2093 requires each commercial property owner/lessor to state on each lease form or rental agreement executed on or after January 1, 2017, whether the premises have undergone an inspection by a Certified Access Specialist (CASp).  While this was true previously, there is now more language that needs to be added if the premises have not received an access inspection certificate.

Specifically, if the subject premises have not been issued a disability access inspection certificate, as described in subdivision (e) of Section 55.53, the commercial property owner/lessor must state the following on the lease form or rental agreement:

“A Certified Access Specialist (CASp) can inspect the subject premises and determine whether the subject premises comply with all of the applicable construction-related accessibility standards under state law. Although state law does not require a CASp inspection of the subject premises, the commercial property owner or lessor may not prohibit the lessee or tenant from obtaining a CASp inspection of the subject premises for the occupancy or potential occupancy of the lessee or tenant, if requested by the lessee or tenant. The parties shall mutually agree on the arrangements for the time and manner of the CASp inspection, the payment of the fee for the CASp inspection, and the cost of making any repairs necessary to correct violations of construction-related accessibility standards within the premises.”

The law also requires that the owner/lessor of property that remains unmodified or altered following a CASp inspection as specified provide a copy of the report to the lessee or tenant that is to remain confidential except as necessary to make repairs and corrections.  The law establishes a presumption that making repairs or modifications necessary to correct violations of construction-related accessibility standards that are noted in a CASp report is the responsibility of the owner or lessor unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties to a lease or rental agreement. Prospective lessees or tenants must have the opportunity to review any CASp report prior to execution of the lease or rental agreement, and if the report is not provided at least 48 hours prior to execution of a lease or rental agreement, the law grants a prospective lessee or tenant the right to rescind the lease or agreement, based upon information in the report, for 72 hours after execution.

There is more to AB 2093, and anyone preparing/negotiating a lease (or lease amendment) should be familiar with the entire law.

READ THE ENTIRE BILL HERE