Post date: Mar 07, 2017 8:55:6 PM
The City of Emeryville has adopted Ordinance No. 16, the “Residential Landlord and Tenant Relations”Ordinance, which is effective April 1, 2017, according to Emeryville city clerk. According to the text of the ordinance, it was adopted to “increase certainty and fairness in the residential rental market in the City by addressing just cause eviction, anti-harassment, and relocation assistance.”
The Ordinance applies to most rental properties in the city, with some exceptions including dwelling units in hotels, motels, lodging houses and rooming houses; nonprofit cooperative housing; and units exempted under state laws, such as units single family homes or new construction as defined in the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act. A full list of exemptions is available in the ordinance, available here.
Some of the significant changes under the Ordinance include:
Just Cause for Termination of Tenancy: Like ordinances in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond, an owner must have “just cause” to terminate a tenancy in Emeryville. Just cause may include the following: failure to pay rent, breach of rental contract, tenant illegal activity, violations of city Health and Safety code, failure to allow access to unit, tenant rejected written lease extension, violated occupancy restriction, owner returning from sabbatical to occupy the unit, and condo conversion.
Relocation Assistance for No Fault Terminations: Tenants may be entitled to relocation assistance if a termination qualifies as “No Fault.” This includes removal of the unit from the market, owner move-in, sale of a unit, units removed from the market due to habitability issues, and substantial renovations. “Relocation assistance” means either five times the most current fair market rents as published annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) for the Oakland-Fremont, California HUD Metro FMR Area in the Federal Register, or four times the monthly rent that the tenant(s) is paying at the time the Notice of Termination is delivered, whichever amount is greater.
Anti-harrassment and Other Prohibited Activities: In addition, the ordinance prohibits owners from harassing behavior towards tenants, including (but not limited to) failure to perform repairs or maintenance, removal of personal property from a unit, or refusal to accept rent. For a full list of the anti-harrassment laws, download the ordinance.
Notice of Tenant Rights: Owners must provide to each tenant in a covered unit a “Notice of Tenant Rights” in substantially the same form as follows:
“The City of Emeryville regulates the relationship between most landlords and tenants within the City. Generally, landlords may not terminate your tenancy without cause or explanation, and may not reduce or stop providing services agreed to in the rental contract, so long as you pay rent on time as agreed in the rental contract. In addition to State and Federal Laws, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Relations chapter of the Emeryville Municipal Code creates certain rights for landlords and tenants, which may include the right to relocation assistance or the right to return to your rental unit if you are evicted. Visit the City of Emeryville website for more information: http://www.emeryville.org.”
Contents from East Bay Rental Housing Association
March, 2017
On December 6, 2016, the City of Emeryville adopted Ordinance No. 16, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Relations Ordinance. Slated to take effect on April 1, 2017, the ordinance prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy unless it is for one of the enumerated just cause reasons. All rental units within the city limits are subject to the provisions of the ordinance, unless specifically exempted. The ordinance also requires a separate “Notice of Tenant Rights” be served on the Emeryville residents. This article outlines some of the requirements that a landlord must comply with.
What units are exempt from the ordinance?
All residential rental units in the city of Emeryville are subject to the ordinance unless they are:
Dwelling units in hotel, motels, lodging houses, and rooming houses subject to Chapter 25 of Title 5 of the Emeryville Municipal Code (so long as the tenant in a dwelling unit do not reside in the unit for more than 30 consecutive days).
A single owner occupied residence when the owner-occupant rents or leases two or fewer bedrooms to one or more lodgers.
Dwelling units where the rent is controlled, regulated, or restricted by a state or federal government unit, agency, or authority, when the regulation or restriction would preempt local regulation of landlord and tenant relations (including the federal low income housing tax credit program). No exemption applies whenever a dwelling unit may be leased or rented for fair market value.
Housing accommodations in any nonprofit hospital, convent, monastery, extended care facility, asylum, residential care or adult day health care facility for the elderly.
Dwelling units owned by any government unit, agency, or authority (including divisions or departments of a local, state, or federal government).
When can a landlord terminate a tenancy?
A landlord may not terminate a tenancy unless the landlord can demonstrate the following:
That the landlord has a valid Residential Landlord Business License;
That the landlord has provided the tenant with a “notice of tenant rights” in accordance with the ordinance,
That the landlord served a Notice of Termination in a format required by the ordinance and that a copy of the notice was delivered to the City Clerk within ten days of service of the notice upon the resident; and
That the Landlord has not accepted and will not accept rent or any other consideration for the continued use of the dwelling unit beyond the term of the terminated tenancy in compliance with California Civil Code Sections 1945, 1946, and 1946.1.
What are the “Just Cause” reasons for which a landlord may terminate a tenancy?
A landlord may only terminate a tenancy for one of the nine enumerated grounds:
The tenant has failed to pay rent.
The tenant has violated a material term of the rental agreement.
The tenant has used the dwelling unit for an illegal purpose (including but not limited to the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance or the unlawful use, manufacture, or possession of weapons and ammunition).
The tenant created or is maintaining a dangerous and unsanitary condition (as defined Chapter 2 of Title 6 of the Emeryville Municipal Code) and that condition has not been promptly abated or repaired (as required by Chapter 2 of Title 6 of the Emeryville Municipal Code).
After receiving notice as required by California Civil Code Section 1954, the tenant failed to allow the landlord access to the dwelling unit.
The tenant failed to execute a written extension of their rental agreement (if the written extension is materially and substantially the same as their original rental agreement).
The tenant failed to comply with the long-term occupancy restrictions of the rental agreement, but only when the unapproved, long term occupants of the unit would cause the number of persons living in the unit to exceed the total of two persons per bedroom in the unit plus one.
When the landlord has temporarily rented the entirety of a single covered unit up to six months and the landlord intends to return to the unit as his or her primary residence (additional requirements apply pursuant to the ordinance).
When the landlord is converting the covered unit to a condominium and has provided the tenant with relocation assistance payment as required by the ordinance.
When can a landlord terminate a tenancy as a “no fault termination”?
Under certain conditions a landlord may terminate a tenancy as a “no fault termination” in which case the tenant is entitled to relocation assistance and in some cases must be given the right to return to the dwelling unit under substantially the same material terms (including the monthly rent paid for the last month of the tenancy) as the prior rental agreement, these include:
The landlord will imminently demolish the unit or otherwise permanently remove the unit from the residential rental use or purpose
The landlord, or one of the landlord’s parents or children, will imminently move into and reside in the dwelling unit as their permanent residence no less than ten months of any calendar year and for no less than two years from the termination of tenancy.
The landlord of a single covered unit will imminently sell the unit.
The unit must be temporarily removed from the rental market because the unit is not fit for human habitation, but will be repaired and returned to the rental market.
The unit must be temporarily removed from the rental market because it will imminently become unfit for human habitation because of planned capital improvements and other necessary rehabilitation (the landlord must possess all necessary permits before electing to terminate the tenancy).
When must the Notice of Tenant Rights be provided to the tenant?
The Notice of Tenant Rights must be provided to the tenant in each covered unit as follows:
For existing tenants, within 30 days of enactment of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Relations Ordinance, (i.e. by May 1, 2017);
When entering into a lease or rental agreement;
When renewing a lease or rental agreement;
With a Notice of Termination of tenancy (as provided for in Section 5-40.8 of the ordinance); and
When required by the City of Emeryville (which may include when the Residential Landlord and Tenant Relations ordinance is significantly amended).
A copy of the Notice of Tenants Rights can be found at Section 5-40.07 of the ordinance located here:
www.ebrha.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Emeryville-Residential-Landlord-And-Tenant-Relations.pdf
What must be included in the Notice of Termination to the Tenant and City?
The Notice of Termination of tenancy provided to the tenants must contain the following (note that a sample form is provided in the ordinance):
The reason for the termination of the tenancy in accordance with Subsection (e) of Section 5-40.03 of the ordinance;
A notice of tenant rights in accordance with Section 5-40.07 of the ordinance; and
A list of rents charged throughout the tenancy in substantially the same form as provided in Subsection (b) of Section 5-40.08 of the ordinance
Lastly, the landlord must provide a copy of the Notice of Termination to the City Clerk within ten days of delivery to the tenant(s). The landlord must attach a copy of the rental agreement to the Notice of Termination when submitting the Notice of Termination to the City Clerk. The address for mailing or delivering the Notice of Termination and rental agreement is: City Clerk, 1333 Park Avenue, Emeryville, CA 94608, ATTN: Notice of Termination of Residential Tenancy.
Additional Resources:
Contents from Kimball, Tirey & St. John Legal Alert