§ 10035. Filing a Complaint of Housing Discrimination with the Department.

(a) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by a housing practice made unlawful by the FEHA, or any other law the department enforces, may file with the department a verified complaint, in writing, that shall describe the unlawful conduct alleged and include the following, on a form prescribed by the department:

(1) complainant's name and, where available, address, telephone number and e-mail address;

(2) respondent's name and, where available, address, telephone number and e-mail address;

(3) a description of the alleged act or acts of housing discrimination, harassment or retaliation;

(4) the date or dates each alleged act of housing discrimination, harassment or retaliation occurred, including the date of the last or most recent act alleged;

(5) a description of the housing accommodation at issue;

(6) the address of the housing accommodation at issue;

(7) each protected basis upon which the alleged housing discrimination or harassment was based;

(8) for retaliation complaints, the date and type of protected activity in which the complainant engaged;

(9) the complainant's declaration, made under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California, that to the best of his or her knowledge, all information stated in the complaint is true and correct, except matters stated on information and belief, which the complainant declares he or she believes to be true;

(10) the signature of the complainant, or an authorized signature, and the date signed, unless the complaint is filed electronically;

(11) complaints filed electronically need not be signed; complaints filed electronically shall state that by submitting the complaint, the complainant declares under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that to the best of his or her knowledge, all information stated in the complaint is true and correct, except matters stated on information and belief, which the complainant declares he or she believes to be true.

(b) No complaint may be filed after the expiration of one year from the date upon which the alleged unlawful practice occurred, except that this period may be extended as set forth in section 10052 of the department's regulations.

(c) For all complaints not filed online via the Department's Web site, the filing date shall be the date the department receives a signed complaint, regardless of whether the complaint is signed by the complainant in a department office or the complaint is signed elsewhere and transmitted to the department via U.S. mail, private carrier mail (e.g., FedEx), electronic mail, facsimile, or hand delivery. The filing date for complaints referred by HUD is the date the HUD complaint is received by the department. All complaints shall be date-stamped received by the department on the same day the department first receives the signed complaint. A limited exception exists where a complainant cannot sign a complaint before the applicable statute of limitations runs. In this limited circumstance, the department shall file the unsigned complaint and date-stamp it received before the statute of limitations runs. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the department shall obtain a signature on the unsigned complaint before it is served.

(d) The filing date for complaints filed via the department's Web site shall be the date on which the complaint was submitted online, which is printed on the complaint after the words “DATE FILED.”

HISTORY

1. New subchapter 2 (sections 10035-10066) and section filed 9-7-2011; operative 10-7-2011 (Register 2011, No. 36).

Note

Note: Authority cited: Section 12930(e), Government Code. Reference: Sections 52(f) and 54.3(b), Civil Code; and Sections 12930(f)(1)-(2), 12955(d) and 12980(a)-(b), Government Code.