As of July 1, 2013, California Civil Code §1938 will require all commercial leases to state whether the premises have been inspected by a “Certified Access Specialist” (“CASp”) and, if so, whether the premises has or has not been determined to meet all applicable construction-related accessibility standards per California Civil Code §55.53.  California Civil Code §55.53 sets forth the criteria for a written assessment of whether a site meets all applicable construction-related accessibility standards or whether corrective actions are required.  California Civil Code §1938 does not require that a CASp accessibility assessment actually be performed.  Rather, it requires disclosure of whether one has been performed and its results.

California Civil Code §1938 is silent as to whether an owner is permitted to qualify the disclosure to be to the owner’s actual knowledge.  An owner may not know whether a CASp assessment has been performed with regard to its current property holdings.

Revise your commercial lease form by July 1, 2013 to include a statement as to whether a CASp accessibility assessment has been performed on the premises and, if so, its results.  If the assessment was performed on the exterior and common areas of the building and not the interior of the premises, make that distinction in the disclosure.  When purchasing commercial property, add CASp assessments to your list of requested documents and to your list of requested representations from a seller.

If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Stalteri at lstalteri@carr-mcclellan.com or at (650) 342-9600.