Making Your Voice Heard - Richmond Rent Board Solicits Your Opinion about Owner Move-In Evictions

On June 22, 2019, the Richmond Rent Board held a tenant and a separate landlord workshop concerning Owner Move-In evictions. The board is considering revisions to the rent board Regulations which "clarify the municipal ordinance."

Having some familiarity with the rent board's OMI requirements, there is no requirement for the landlord to prove property ownership and/or percent ownership and, if the landlord purports to be a protected landlord (e.g. disabled and/or a senior), there is no proof required of the landlord to prove disability and/or age. However, if the tenant is protected, the tenant must provide written evidence of disability and/or age. I consider this a discriminatory and unfair practice. I hope that the rent board will re-balance this landlord-tenant equation.

The Board is requesting community feedback on topics such as:

• Methods of Tracking Compliance with Owner Move-In Requirements;
• Tenant First Right of Refusal Requirement;
• Rent Increases for Units Placed Back on the Rental Market; and
• Ownership Requirements.

To make your voice heard, call or email the Rent Program at (510) 234-RENT (7368) or rent@ci.richmond.ca.us.

You can also respond to the City survey via the links below (English, Spanish):

Access the English Survey

Access the Spanish Survey

Oakland City Council Votes to Include Owner-Occupied Duplexes and Triplexes under Rent Control and Tenant Protection Ordinance

On June 4, 2019, the Oakland City Council voted to revise the rent control ordinance to cover owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes and to allow these owners to "petition for a transitional rent increase equivalent to the Consumer Price Index increase of the last three years as permitted under the city’s rent control ordinance." See: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/05/23/oakland-scraps-rent-control-exemption-for-owner-occupied-duplexes/

For exact revisions to the municipal code, see file entitled "13542 CMS." Click here.

Is It Right to Rescue?

Recently, there was a post on a neighborhood social media website about a dog who had been left for 20 minutes in a car on a hot Oakland day. The dog was crying and a passerby didn't know what to do. So, she asked for help on social media and there were a flurry of replies. The woman called the police (who did not arrive) and the owner showed up. The dog was still alive but, given the extreme heat inside the car, likely heat damaged and dehydrated.

It is a crime to leave an animal in an unattended vehicle and there are penalties attached.

Steps to follow:

1) Call 911, animal control, police, or the fire department;

2) Break into the car; and

3) Stay with the animal until the authorities arrive.

Since the law is a little more detailed than what's written above, read about the Good Samaritan law via the following link:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB797

Also see the effect that outside (and inside vehicle) temperatures can have on your pet.

https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/pets-in-vehicles.aspx

Landlords Should Proceed with Caution in State-Controlled Jurisdictions Concerning Rent Hikes

Thinking about enticing your tenant to leave through an over 10% rent increase? You may be wise to read AB-1482, a bill to cap rent increases throughout the state in non-rent controlled municipalities. While the bill has been approved by the State Assembly, it is now in the Senate's hands. For more about the legislation, click here.

For an article discussing AB-1482, see link below:

https://la.curbed.com/2019/5/30/18645819/ab-1482-rent-bill-approved-california-assembly
 

Concord in Talks Concerning Rent Control

For more about this initiative, click here.

Just Cause Eviction Protection Expanded to El Cerrito with Limitations

Following is an excerpt from the City website:

"On May 21, 2019, the City Council adopted the Just Cause for Eviction and Prohibition on Harassment of Tenants Ordinance, El Cerrito Municipal Code Chapter 10.300 (Ordinance No. 2019-04), which was to become effective June 20, 2019. As passed, the ordinance would limit the bases for termination of residential tenancies. It would only apply to multi-family properties with five or more units that received a Certificate of Occupancy issued before January 1, 2015."

"However, on June 10, 2019, a referendum petition was filed with the City Clerk related to the Ordinance. This process, allowed by California Elections Code, suspends implementation of the ordinance and may require the City Council to either repeal the ordinance or call an election to allow voters to decide. Depending upon the timing of the Contra Costa County Elections Office whether the petition has a sufficient number of valid voter signatures, Council will meet in July or August to take any further action that might be required."

Fore more information, see website for the El Cerrito Progressives.

Tenants Right to Counsel in San Francisco

"San Francisco and New York are the first two jurisdictions to recognize the necessity of having a lawyer to protect housing rights."

Proposition F, Tenants' Right to Counsel in San Francisco, was approved by voters in June 2018 but the proposition left the right to implement the program up to the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development.

The Eviction Defense Collaborative is acting as the main "clearing house" for tenants facing eviction and is working with various partner organizations to ensure legal representation. Partner organizations are AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Asian Law Caucus, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Bay Area Legal Aid, La Raza Centro Legal, Legal Assistance to the Elderly, Open Door Legal, Tenderloin Housing Clinic, and the Bar Association of San Francisco and its affiliated-but-separate nonprofit, Justice & Diversity Center.

For more about this new initiative in San Francisco, see the links below:

http://www.sfweekly.com/news/tenant-right-to-counsel-moves-forward/

https://sfpublicpress.org/news/2018-04/proposition-f-free-legal-aid-for-tenants-facing-eviction

http://www.sfbar.org/forms/sfam/q32018/prop-f-right-to-housing-counsel-SFAM-Q318.pdf