Megan's Law Website

At the January 2005 California Apartment Association meeting, the hot topic for discussion was the recent flurry of inquiries from landlords and managers over the new website, www.meganslaw.ca.gov/, which now provides the identity, date of birth, criminal history related to sex offenses, photograph, physical description (including gender and race), ZIP code and community of residence of California's registered sex offenders. In addition, the home addresses of the most serious offenders (for example, sexual predators) is also provided. This website is the product of new legislation signed by the Governor that expands Megan's Law by requiring information about sex offenders to be available on the internet. Previously, sex offender information was most readily disclosed via telephone or by personally visiting local law enforcement offices, and rental agreements entered into after July 1, 1999 are required to inform a tenant that he or she can access sex offender information. Now, with the availability of this data over the internet, landlords and tenants can more freely find out where sex offenders are living. Not surprisingly, they are.

So what do you do if a sex offender is living in your building? And, how do you respond to the demands of other residents to rid the premises of the perceived danger? California landlord-tenant law is increasingly holding landlords liable for failing to protect tenants from known risks and dangers. Yet places like San Francisco severely limit an owner's ability to terminate a tenancy. Moreover, Megan's Law itself prohibits a landlord from using sex offender information as a basis for discrimination. (In fact, you cannot deny a rental application simply because the applicant is a registered sex offender; however, there is argument that an owner is not under a legal duty to rent to applicants whose tenancy may constitute a direct threat to the safety and well-being of others.) At this time, in rent controlled jurisdictions like San Francisco, an owner cannot evict merely because he discovers that one of the residents in the building is on the list. Unfortunately, the offender must actually inflict harm in order to trigger just cause for termination of the tenancy.

Yet does the owner turn a blind eye to such a revelation? No. When the owner has actual knowledge that a registered sex offender is living at the property, he is under a duty to take measures to protect the safety of the other tenants. First, the owner should advise the local police precinct that there are children or other persons at risk at the property, and request dissemination of information to residents at the property about the sex offender. Second, if no dissemination by the police is made, the owner should consider advising the other residents of the offender's presence. However, some practitioners worry that this step may make the landlord liable to the sex offender tenant for harassment or wrongful eviction. Indeed, if the other residents commence a campaign of hostility against the sex offender, he could sue the landlord or seek a reduction in rent from the Rent Board. Ironically, the claim may also seek damages under Megan's Law itself, which prohibits discrimination against known offenders.

So, unfortunately, California owners must now face two somewhat contradictory set of laws: On the one hand, they must protect their tenants from known dangers while, on the other hand, they cannot discriminate against sex offenders whose identities are available on-line. And to make matters worse, extremely pro-tenant jurisdictions like San Francisco will foster an environment where all tenancies are preserved, and tenants who feel harmed by sex offenders and sex offenders who feel harassed in their apartments will both be able to run to court and sue their landlords for big damages.

The California Apartment Association and other interest groups are working to clarify when an owner may deny the application of a sex offender, and/or when a sex offender's tenancy may be terminated should the tenancy pose a risk to others in the building. Until and unless these efforts succeed, landlords must take very special caution to balance their obligations to protect their residents versus their obligations to ensure that all tenants, even sex offenders, maintain quiet enjoyment of apartment units. Therefore, you may want to contact your attorney if you discover a sex offender to be living at your property.