An act to amend Section 10084.2 of the Business and Professions Code, to add Section 1102.6k to the Civil Code, and to add Section 25417.2 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to real estate.
Summary
AB 455 adds a new real estate disclosure requirement for single-family residential property sales when the seller has actual knowledge of tobacco or nicotine residue, or a history of smoking on the property. In those cases, the seller must disclose that information to the buyer in writing. The bill defines residue from smoking tobacco or nicotine products to include chemical accumulation that may be indicated by tobacco odor or test results showing elevated nicotine on surfaces or in dust, and it expressly includes electronic cigarettes and vape devices within the smoking definition.
The bill also expands the state’s consumer education materials on environmental hazards. It requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to update the Homeowners Guide to Environmental Hazards with a new section on thirdhand smoke, defined as the toxic chemical residue left behind by tobacco smoke. To reduce costs, the department must delegate the drafting work to the Center for Tobacco and the Environment at San Diego State University, while retaining responsibility to review the update for adequacy and consumer clarity.
Impact
AB 455 amends the Civil Code, Business and Professions Code, and Health and Safety Code to add thirdhand smoke to California’s real estate disclosure and environmental hazard education framework. It creates Civil Code Section 1102.6k for seller disclosure obligations, and Health and Safety Code Section 25417.2 for updating the state’s homeowner environmental hazards guide. The bill also modifies Business and Professions Code Section 10084.2 to tie the guide’s update requirements to the new thirdhand smoke section. Its practical effect is to place an explicit disclosure duty on sellers with actual knowledge of smoking-related residue and to ensure state consumer materials address thirdhand smoke as a property-related hazard.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the Legislature. The voting record shows unanimous or near-unanimous approval at each stage, including committee votes and floor votes, with no recorded opposition in the provided history. Its movement to chaptered law suggests it was viewed as a consumer-protection and public-health measure with limited fiscal and political resistance.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available record. The main policy questions implied by the bill are whether thirdhand smoke should be treated as a material real estate hazard requiring disclosure, how far seller knowledge should extend, and whether vape and nicotine residue should be included alongside traditional tobacco smoke. The bill addresses implementation concerns by limiting the disclosure duty to sellers with actual knowledge and by using an existing university center to draft the guide update, which likely reduced objections over cost and administrative burden.