Voters Approve Proposition H Requiring Landlords to
Pay Inflated Relocation Expenses to Tenants for No-Fault
Evictions Voters in San Francisco last week approved
Proposition H, a measure that requires rental property
owners to pay outrageously high relocation expenses
to "eligible tenants" for no-fault evictions.
Proposition
H is that the measure applies to all notices to quit
served on or after August 10, 2006.
Covered under
the measure are notices to quit based on Sections 37.9(a)
(8), (10), (11) or (12) of the city's Rent Ordinance.
Those sections apply to landlords who seek to recover
possession of a rental unit:
(8) For the landlord's use or occupancy as his or her
principal place of residence or for the use or occupancy
of the landlord's relatives as their principal place
of residence;
(10) To demolish or otherwise permanently remove the
rental unit from housing use;
(11) To remove temporarily the unit from housing use
in order to be able to carry out capital improvements
or rehabilitation work; or
(12) To carry out substantial rehabilitation work.
"Eligible tenant" means any authorized occupant of a
rental unit regardless of age who has resided in the
unit for 12 or more months.
Each eligible
tenant who receives a covered no-fault eviction notice
is entitled to receive relocation expenses from the
landlord in the amounts specified in Section 37.9C of
the Rent Ordinance, which is set forth in the paragraphs
below.
Each eligible
tenant receiving a covered no-fault eviction notice
shall receive $4,500, $2,250 of which shall be paid
at the time of the service of the notice to quit, and
$2,250 of which shall be paid when the unit is vacated.
In no case, however, shall the landlord be obligated
under this Section 37.9C (e) (1) to provide more than
$13,500 in relocation expenses to all eligible tenants
in the same unit.
In addition,
each eligible tenant who is 60 years of age or older
or who is disabled within the meaning of Section 12955.3
of the California Government Code, and each household
with at least one eligible tenant and at least one child
under the age of 18 years, shall be entitled to receive
an additional payment of $3,000, $1,500 of which shall
be paid within 15 calendar days of the landlord's receipt
of notice from the eligible tenant of entitlement to
the relocation payment, along with supporting evidence,
and $1,500 of which shall be paid when the eligible
tenant vacates the unit. Within 30 days after notification
to the landlord of a claim of entitlement to additional
relocation expenses because of disability, age, or having
children in the household, the landlord shall give written
notice to the Rent Board of the claim for additional
relocation assistance and whether or not the landlord
disputes the claim.
Commencing
March 1, 2007, the relocation expenses, including the
maximum relocation expenses per unit, shall increase
annually, rounded to the nearest dollar, at the rate
of increase in the "rent of primary residence" expenditure
category of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Region for the
preceding calendar year, as that data is made available
by the United States Department of Labor and published
by the Board.