Think that Renters in Emeryville have No Protections? Think Wrong!

Last year, in April 2017, the City of Emeryville enacted a new just cause and anti-harassment ordinance into law. Why?

"Because a majority of City residents are renters, and in light of the current housing affordability concerns that pervade the Bay Area, the City has explored ways to regulate the relations between certain residential landlords and residential tenants to increase certainty and fairness within the residential rental market."

There are 10 just cause "at fault" reasons for eviction and 4 "no-fault" eviction causes.

Landlords can evict a covered tenant in Emeryville for one of the following just causes:

• Failure to Pay Rent
• Breach of the Lease Agreement
• Tenant has Used the Unit for an Illegal Purpose (distribution of drugs or ammunition)
• Violation of Applicable Health and Safety Codes
• Failure to Allow Landlord Access (Cal. Civ. Code sec. 1954(
• Tenant Rejected Written Lease Extension (must be materially the same as original lease)
• Tenant Violated Occupancy Restriction
• Landlord has Returned from Sabbatical to Occupy Unit
• Landlord has Returned from Deployment
• Landlord Condominium Conversion.

No-fault reasons to evict a tenant in Emeryville include:

• Landlord Will Remove Unit from Market (Ellis Act eviction)
• Landlord Will Move into Unit (Owner Move-In)
• Unit is Temporarily Unfit for Human Habitation
• Unit will be Substantially Renovated.

In some no-fault cases, the Tenant is entitled to relocation assistance which is described in the ordinance.

Moreover, the Landlord must provide Notice of a Tenants rights under this new ordinance:

• When entering a lease agreement
• When renewing a lease agreement
• With a notice to terminate tenancy
• And at other times pending the amendment of the municipal ordinance.

The required Notice is set out in the municipal ordinance and there are civil remedies available to tenants should the landlord be in breach of the municipal requirements.

Finally, Emeryville has taken a chapter from Oakland in enacting a tenant harassment ordinance which is designed to prevent landlords with bad faith and ulterior motive from "encouraging" a tenant to relocate.

Clearly, municipalities are beginning to take control of the landlord-tenant landscape and provide additional protections to tenants because, under state law, there are far fewer protections for tenants. 

For more about the ordinance, click here.

City of Oakland Passes New Uniform Tenant Relocation Allowance which Includes Relocation Payments for Owner Move-In Evictions

The following is an excerpt from an article published by the East Bay Times on 1/24/18 entitled, "Oakland landlords will have to pay thousands to tenants if they evict tenants to move back in.'

“A new Oakland ordinance requires relocation payments of thousands of dollars to renters evicted by landlords who are moving back to their properties.

Passed by the City Council on Jan. 16, the Uniform Relocation Ordinance creates a schedule of relocation payments that will increase every year based on Consumer Price Index fluctuations

The first schedule would require landlords to pay $9,875 to those evicted from three or more bedroom units, $8,000 to renters evicted from two-bedroom units and $6,500 to people evicted from studios or one-bedroom units. Households with low-income, elderly or disabled people or those with minor children would be entitled to an additional payment of $2,500 per unit.

'With uniform relocation, we have an opportunity here to take care of the poor among us who are forced out of their homes and forced to live on the streets,' Oakland Warehouse Coalition’s Jonah Strauss said at the council meeting.

The ordinance would expand on another approved by the council last year, which created the same uniform schedule of relocation payments for landlords who evict tenants under the state’s Ellis Act. The Ellis Act allows landlords to evict tenants if they take their property off the rental market.

The final version of the ordinance passed Jan. 16 contained some amendments to what was originally proposed. One amendment allows landlords to pay the relocation payments in phases: the first third of the payment would be paid to the tenant upon eviction, another third would be paid after a year and the last third would be paid after two years.

Another amendment would allow landlords to avoid the relocation payments if there is an agreement before the renter moves in that the landlord would be moving back at a specific time.”

For more about the actual ordinance, see the 1/5/18 revised proposal which was voted on by the City Council on 1/16/18.  The new legislation adds Article VII, The Uniform Tenant Relocation Allowance, to the municipal ordinance along with Article VIII, Relocation Payments for Owner or Relative Move-Ins, to Chapter 8.22 of the Oakland Municipal Code (O.M.C.)

Finally, landlords must comply with Oakland's Certification Requirements concerning No-Fault evictions.  No-Fault evictions include Owner move-in evictions, evictions for substantial repairs, and Ellis Act evictions.  See No-Fault Eviction Forms under the section entitled "Laws" on the Oakland Rent Adjustment website.

The Oakland municipal code works in conjunction with Oakland regulations. The current version of the municipal code and regulations is available here. However, please be aware that with the rapid changes in the municipal code since the Ghostship fire, the publications of the law may not keep pace with these revisions or formal enactments of law.

My Landlord Withheld My ENTIRE Security Deposit - What Rights do I Have?

Landlords withholding a tenant's entire security deposit are common practice. Thus, before you move, request a move-out inspection within two weeks of your move so that the landlord can identify - and in writing - repair issues that may cause deductions from your deposit so that you can address these issues. Your right to this inspection can be found in Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.5.

Be sure to leave your rental residence in broom-clean condition with the appliances clean and the bathroom sparkling. Dust the blinds, wash the mirrors, and clean dirty windows. Take photographs of each room and of any damages that might cause deductions from your security deposit.

Your landlord has 21 days after you move out to return your deposit either in full or with itemized deductions. If your landlord failed to return your deposit or withheld unreasonably large amounts, you can challenge these deductions in small claims court. It takes up to 6-months to get a hearing but both you and the landlord have to present your case to the judge - you are both on equal footing and neither person can have a lawyer present.

Before you take your landlord to court, you must send your landlord a letter demanding the full (or partial) return of your security deposit. And, if you feel that the deductions were unreasonable, back up your feelings with evidence. For instance, if there is a small spot on a hardwood floor that your landlord considered "damaged," get counter-estimates to repair the damage. 

Your landlord can deduct monies from your security deposit based on estimates and not actual invoices. Within 14-days after receiving the itemized deductions from your landlord, you can ask the landlord to provide actual invoices (versus estimates) and the landlord has 14-days to comply. See Cal. Civ. Code section 1950.5(g)(5).

If you receive an order (e.g. a judgment) from small claims court in your favor, collecting on the judgment may be an issue. If a landlord feels that they can "fly in the face of the law" and boldly "take" your security deposit without justification, they may also avoid paying the judgment. While the judgment may affect their credit rating, it may be only a small "ding" and outweighed by their property assets. Thus, the best solution is to come to an agreement about your security deposit with your landlord before you move and, if you think that your landlord will "take" your deposit without justification, begin to build your small claims case before you move. There are legal methods available for collecting on a judgment such as a property lien but, hopefully, you won't need to employ them.

Finally, under state law, the landlord does not have to pay you interest on your security deposit. Certain cities, like Berkeley, require interest payment but not so in Oakland and other municipalities.

Lobby with your City Councilperson, State Assembly Member, and State Senators to try to get the laws changed to insulate tenants from unreasonable security deposit deductions. In 2013, Tenants Together estimated that landlords held up to $5 Billion in tenant security deposits. That's a whole lot of money held without a mechanism to protect the tenant consumer from unscrupulous landlords. That is also not to say that there are honest landlords who, in good faith, return security deposits to their renters. But, to those that fail to abide by the law, our state should legislate better protective measures.

Client Testimonial

"Karyn was our attorney in an affirmative lawsuit against our landlord for forcible eviction and severe habitability issues. We were faced with sewer leaks, mold, rodent infestation, and water intrusion. Through sheer persistence and creative lawyering, Karyn was able to settle our case within 6-months of filing our complaint in civil court. Our lawyer was diligent and detail-minded. We highly recommend Karyn for your landlord tenant issues." - A.C. and J.H., Contra Costa County (2018)

Tenants Together and Tenants Rights Attorneys Advise Attending State Assembly Hearings on Jan. 11, 2018 to Defeat Costa Hawkins

Normally, I would not post an advisory from a competitive law firm but to this post from Crow & Rose, I say "Hear, hear!"  Below is an excerpt from their post.

"I whole-heartedly support the efforts to repeal Costa Hawkins by tenant organizations like Tenants Together, the San Francisco Tenants Union, the San Francisco Anti-Displacement Coalition, the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco and all the other hard working individuals and organizations supporting this worthy goal...

"For those of you who can, I urge you to go to Sacramento on January 11, 2018 to attend the first Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee hearing and to loudly support Costa Hawkins repeal—to vociferously support the right of local government to enact rent control."

"The California Legislature enacted the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act in 1995 with the passage of AB 1164 (Hawkins) and its predecessor, SB 1257 (Costa) with support from one-percenters like the so-called Coalition for Fair Rental Policy, the California Building Industry Association, the California League of Savings Institutions, the California Land Title Association, the California Mortgage Bankers Association, and various property owners and apartment associations throughout California."

"The Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act (CA Civil Code §§ 1954.50-1954.535) gutted rent control by prohibiting local jurisdictions from enacting rent control on any building with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995. It banned any vacancy control–regulated rents for units despite vacancy (think Berkeley.) It also entirely exempted single-family dwellings from rent control."

For the full article, click here.