San Francisco Rent Board News Archive: 2005

December 31, 2005

  1. 60-Day Eviction Notice Law Expires on December 31, 2005
  2. Bond Measure Worksheet for 2005 - 2006 Now Available
  3. Court Denies Landlords' Claim that Belief Req Preempted by Ellis Act
  4. New Regulations re Water Revenue Bond Passthroughs
  5. New Amendments to Rent Ordinance Section 37.13 re Keys
  6. Ellis Relocation Ord. Not Stayed Pending Appeal
  7. City Appeals Case Regarding Ellis Relocation
  8. Judge Finds Amended Ellis Relocation Ord. Illegal
  9. The Rent Board Adopts New Section 6.15D
  10. Ellis Amendments 02/05
  11. Return

Sections

  1. 60-Day Eviction Notice Law Expires on December 31, 2005
  2. Bond Measure Worksheet for 2005 - 2006 Now Available
  3. Court Denies Landlords' Claim that Belief Req Preempted by Ellis Act
  4. New Regulations re Water Revenue Bond Passthroughs
  5. New Amendments to Rent Ordinance Section 37.13 re Keys
  6. Ellis Relocation Ord. Not Stayed Pending Appeal
  7. City Appeals Case Regarding Ellis Relocation
  8. Judge Finds Amended Ellis Relocation Ord. Illegal
  9. The Rent Board Adopts New Section 6.15D
  10. Ellis Amendments 02/05
  11. Return
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60-Day Eviction Notice Law Expires on December 31, 2005

The following information provided courtesy of the California Department of Consumer Affairs.  You can find them at: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook

On January 1, 2006, for tenants who have resided in the premises for one year or more, landlords who wish to terminate that tenancy are no longer required to give 60-days notice, but only 30-days notice. Civil Code section 1946.1, which required the 60-day notice, was to remain in effect beyond this date only if legislation were passed to extend it. However, such legislation was not passed and, therefore, the notice requirement reverts back to the prior law requiring 30-days notice. Please note that references to the 60-day eviction notice requirement in California Tenants - A Guide to Residential Tenants’ and Landlords’ Rights and Responsibilities (Page 33-34) are no longer correct beginning January 1, 2006.

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Bond Measure Worksheet for 2005 - 2006 Now Available

The Bond Measure Worksheet for 2005-2006 is now available in the Forms Center.  It is document 056.

 

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Court Denies Landlords' Claim that Belief Req Preempted by Ellis Act

In the case of Johnson and Small Property Owners of San Francisco v. CCSF, SF Superior Court Case No. 505273,  Judge Quidachay denied the petition for writ of mandate on July 25, 2005 challenging Rent Ordinance Section 37.9A (e)(4), which requires landlords to state in notices to quit under the Ellis Act that tenants have the right to relocation payments and the amount which the landlord believes to be due. The judge found that the belief requirement was not preempted by the Ellis Act since it did not impose an obligation to investigate the tenants' entitlement but only state the landlord's belief, and also that landlords had an adequate remedy at law by resolving any disputes in the unlawful detainer action.

 

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New Regulations re Water Revenue Bond Passthroughs

After a public hearing on July 19, 2005, the Rent Board Commissioners unanimously approved proposed regulations to implement Rent Ordinance Section 37.3(a)(5)(B), which allows landlords to pass through to tenants 50% of the water bill charges attributable to water rate increases resulting from issuance of water system improvement revenue bonds authorized by voters at the November 5, 2002 election (Proposition A). New Rent Board Rules and Regulations Section 4.14 sets forth the procedures for imposing the passthrough and new Section 10.14 provides procedures for a tenant to challenge an improper water revenue bond passthrough. Like general obligation bond passthroughs, the water revenue bond passthrough does not require a landlord petition. The amount attributable to the revenue bonds (and therefore subject to the 50% passthrough) will be listed as a separate line item on water bills beginning July 1, 2005. For convenience, the landlord may want to wait to calculate and impose the passthrough on an annual basis. The new regulations are effective July 20, 2005, and a water revenue bond passthrough worksheet will be available from the Rent Board by September 1, 2005.

 

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New Amendments to Rent Ordinance Section 37.13 re Keys

On April 15, 2005, the mayor signed Ordinance No. 66-05, which makes the following changes to Section 37.13 regarding the provision of keys to tenants: (1) The landlord must provide additional keys to the tenant unless the landlord denies the request in writing for good reason within 14 days of the tenant's written request; (2) Unreasonable denial constitutes a substantial decrease in housing services; and (3) The landlord can only charge the tenant for the documented cost of replicating the additional keys. The ordinance amendment was effective May 15, 2005.

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Ellis Relocation Ord. Not Stayed Pending Appeal

Ellis Relocation Ordinance Not Stayed Pending Appeal

On May 26, 2005, the City appealed Judge Warren's ruling in the Pieri case that the recent Peskin amendment to the Rent Ordinance extending Ellis relocation payments to all tenants violated the Ellis Act and was illegal.  The appeal automatically stays the judge's ruling, and the plaintiff’s motion to lift the stay was denied on June 27, 2005.  Tenants may therefore assert their rights to relocation payments under the Peskin amendment pending a final decision on appeal. Owners and tenants may wish to seek legal advice regarding how to proceed while the appeal is pending.

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City Appeals Case Regarding Ellis Relocation

On May 26, 2005, the City appealed judge Warren's ruling in the Pieri case that the recent amendment to the Rent Ordinance effective February 20, 2005 extending Ellis relocation payments to all tenants violated the Ellis Act and was illegal.  The appeal automatically stays the judge's ruling unless and until the stay is lifted by the court. The plaintiff has filed a motion to lift the stay which is currently set for hearing on June 24, 2005.  Owners and tenants may wish to seek legal advice regarding how to proceed in the interim.

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Judge Finds Amended Ellis Relocation Ord. Illegal

Superior Court Judge Finds Amended Ellis Relocation Ordinance Is Illegal.
  
On April 25, 2005, Judge Warren ruled that the recent amendment to the Rent Ordinance expanding relocation payments to all tenants evicted under the Ellis Act violated the Ellis Act since the cost of relocation could potentially prevent an owner from going out of the rental business. The City has sixty days to appeal the court's ruling. If the court's ruling that the amended relocation ordinance is illegal is upheld, then the prior relocation ordinance limiting relocation payments to low-income households and elderly and disabled tenants would be back in effect.

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The Rent Board Adopts New Section 6.15D

The Rent Board adopted new Section 6.15D and the amendments to Sections 6.15A(b) and 6.15B(a).  The effective date is March 29, 2005. The Regulation sets forth the procedures a tenant must follow in order to obtain the landlord's consent to the addition of a family member or domestic partner. The procedure is similar in most respects to the consent procedure for obtaining consent for a replacement roommate under the Leno amendment. However, the landlord may not request credit or income information from the additional occupant if the person is not going to be liable to the landlord for any part of the rent. The regulation provides that a tenant who claims the landlord unreasonably denied consent may file a tenant petition for decreased housing services.

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Ellis Amendments 02/05

The Ellis amendments became law without the mayor's signature and are effective February 20, 2005. They prohibit the withdrawal of residential hotels under the Ellis Act, and allow relocation payments to all tenants in an Ellis eviction. The amendments provide for relocation payments of $4,500 per tenant up to a maximum of $13,500 per unit, plus an additional $3,000 for each elderly or disabled tenant. Any tenant who resided in an Ellised unit as of August 10, 2004, the date the amendments were first introduced, is eligible for the increased relocation payments. The relocation payment are also to be increased March 1 of each year to reflect increases in the "rent of primary residence" expenditure category of the CPI for the prior calendar year. Since this category did not increase in 2004, however, the relocation amounts stated above are applicable until March 1, 2006.

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