California Bill Saying Landlords Can’t Ban Pets Is Revamped to Exempt Small Landlords

Property owners with 15 or fewer units are excluded. The revised bill also requires prospective tenants to give 72-hour notice that they plan to keep a pet.

A pit bull at an animal shelter in Lancaster, Calif., on May 30, 2013. AP/The Antelope Valley Press, Claudia Lopez

Recent revisions to a California bill to outlaw blanket pet bans by property owners added protections for mom-and-pop landlords, or those with buildings where there are 15 units or fewer, before the bill cleared the Assembly floor.

According to the bill’s author, pet restrictions in California limit available housing but also contribute to pets being surrendered to shelters.