Many living in California don’t understand or communicate well in English. Unless you speak the same language they do, these residents will require more effort with communication, but they’re a substantial number of potential tenants you may not want to ignore.
Renting to Non-English Speakers May be Good Business. Discriminating Against Them is Illegal
Nearly 30% of Orange County residents were born outside the US, according to the US Census. That’s more than twice the population share for the entire US (13.7%). It’s 36% for Los Angeles. Nearly 44% of California households have members who speak a language other than English, according to the Attorney General’s office. About seven million Californians speak English “less than very well,” according to US Census Bureau surveys.
Although state and federal fair housing laws don’t explicitly state someone who doesn’t speak English is protected, they can be interpreted as doing so. Protected classes include ethnicity and national origin, so challenging a landlord’s “English only” practice or policy could cause discriminatory results.
State Law May Require a Lease in a Foreign Language
There are legal and practical issues when leasing to a non-English speaker. A lease is a contract. To be legally enforceable, there must be a “meeting of the minds. ” This means both parties understand the transaction, their rights, and their obligations. You must make the nature of the lease clear to the other party, what you expect from them, and what they should expect from you.
If you have a part or full-time business renting residential properties, under California law, if the negotiations are primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, and the term is longer than a month, the prospective tenant must get a written translation of the lease in the language used in addition to the English copy. An exception to this rule is if the prospective tenant uses their interpreter, who must be at least 18 years old. If you’re using a foreign language lease translation it must be provided before it, or an English version, is signed.
To ensure the person is getting a fair and complete translation, you should not be the party supplying a translator. However, some apps translate one language to another in writing and verbally. You could try this approach while speaking to them or sending text messages back and forth. This will slow the conversation, but you should be able to get your message across if both sides have some patience.
A notice of the consumer’s rights in one of the listed languages must be displayed (if it’s your office) or provided to the other person when negotiating. In addition to providing the contract in the tenant’s language, you must also give them, written in their language, any documents that modify the contract or substantially change the parties’ rights and obligations.
If there’s a dispute concerning both parties’ rights and obligations, the signed English version determines their rights and duties. If there’s a substantial difference between the contract and the translation, this may be a defense for the tenant, who may argue that no legally binding contract was entered into.
AWB Law is Here to Help
If you’re a residential landlord with questions about the law or need legal representation, call the legal team at AWB Law at (949) 244-4207 or complete our online contact form today to schedule a consultation.
