This chapter shall only apply to commercial real property. As used in this chapter:

(a) “Commercial real property” has the meaning specified in subdivision (d) of Section 1954.26. For purposes of this chapter, commercial real property shall not include self-storage units.

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(b) “Landlord” means any operator, keeper, lessor, or sublessor of any furnished or unfurnished premises for hire, or his or her agent or successor in interest.

(c) “Owner” means any person other than the landlord who has any right, title, or interest in property.

(d) “Premises” includes any common areas associated therewith.

(e) “Reasonable belief” means the actual knowledge or belief a prudent person would have without making an investigation, including any investigation of public records, except that, if the landlord has specific information indicating that an investigation would more probably than not reveal pertinent information and the cost of an investigation would be reasonable in relation to the probable value of the property involved, “reasonable belief” includes the actual knowledge or belief a prudent person would have if an investigation were made.

(f) “Records” means any material, regardless of the physical form, on which information is recorded or preserved by any means, including in written or spoken words, graphically depicted, printed, or electromagnetically transmitted. “Records” does not include publicly available directories containing information an individual has voluntarily consented to have publicly disseminated or listed, such as name, address, or telephone number.

(g) “Tenant” includes any lessee or sublessee of any commercial real property and its premises for hire.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 134, Sec. 6. (AB 1094) Effective January 1, 2010.)