March 14, 2000p>
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE
SESSION OF THE SAN FRANCISCO
RESIDENTIAL RENT
STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION
BOARD,
Tuesday, March 14, 2000 at 6:00
p.m. at
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70, Lower
Level
I. Call to Order
President Wasserman called the meeting
to order at 6:15 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Commissioners Present: Becker;
Bierly; Gruber; Hobson; Lightner; Marshall; Murphy;
Wasserman.
Commissioners not
Present: Mosser.
Staff Present: Grubb;
Wolf.
Commissioner Justman
appeared on the record at 6:25 p.m.
III. Approval of the Minutes
MSC: To approve the Minutes of
February 15, 2000.
(Gruber/Becker: 5-0)
IV. Remarks from the Public
A. Miguel Wooding of the Tenants’ Union
told the Board of an owner move-in eviction attempt that he personally fought,
although his prior roommates vacated the unit. He believes that in situations
such as these, the unit should be covered by the vacancy control provisions
of Costa-Hawkins.
B. Robert Haalland of the Harvey Milk
Gay Democratic Club told the Board that many gays and lesbians live in revolving
roommate situations and any amendments to Rules Section 6.14 will have a major
impact on those communities.
C. Karen Cromey of the Small Property
Owners’ Group asked that the Commissioners clarify which versions of proposed
amendments to Rules Section 6.14 they would be discussing.
D. Tenant Heidi Klein asked that the
Commissioners adopt the "least destructive version."
E. Tenant Laura Hicks informed the Board
that she was "constructively evicted" due to a Costa-Hawkins rent increase.
V. Old Business
Rules and Regulations Section 6.14/Costa-Hawkins
The Board continued their discussion of
various draft proposals attempting to conform Rules and Regulations Section
6.14 to the requirements of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. The discussion
centered on a draft proposal put forth by President Wasserman which maintains
most of the elements of current Rule 6.14 except that the landlord is given
a "reasonable" period of time from actual knowledge of the new occupancy in
which to serve a 6.14 notice, with 60 days rebuttably presumed to be reasonable.
As for post-1/1/96 occupants, the landlord is given 90 days from actual knowledge
of their presence in the unit to either raise the rent or reserve the right
to do so, unless it is proved that the landlord had waived the right to do
so in any of four ways.
Commissioner Murphy expressed concerns that
the Wasserman draft "dilutes Costa-Hawkins", which is explicit as to only
one form of waiver. Commissioner Lightner felt that the Rule still contains
a notice requirement not found in Costa-Hawkins, it is just 90 days rather
than 60; she also felt that the burden should be on the departing tenant to
inform the landlord. The Landlord Commissioners expressed concerns that staff
would interpret "actual knowledge" to mean the landlord "should have known."
President Wasserman reiterated her desire for landlords and tenants to have
clear, easy to understand procedures to follow, in order that everyone know
where they stand and so that the agency not be burdened with holding hearings
on the issues of waiver and estoppel in the majority of these cases.
Commissioners Becker and Marshall then introduced
an amended version of President Wasserman’s draft, which defines occupants
of a unit who are there pursuant to an agreement with the landlord but haven’t
been served with a 6.14 notice as co-tenants. Co-tenants who have not received
6.14 notices within a reasonable period of time would have all the rights
of an original tenant.
The Commissioners engaged in further discussion,
made certain changes to the language and voted as follows below:
MSC: To put suggested amendments
to Rules and Regulations Section 6.14 out for Public Hearing on
April 25, 2000.
(Justman/Marshall: 5-0)
Please note that the entire section is
new and proposes to replace the current language of 6.14. The proposed language
reads as follows below:
Section 6.14 Establishing Rental
Rates for Subsequent Occupants
(Added March 7, 1989; amended August
29, 1989; Subsection (e) added February 14, 1995; repealed and adopted
April 25, 1995, effective February 14, 1995; Subsections (a), (b),
(c), (d) and (e) amended and renumbered July 2, 1996)
(a) Definitions. The following
terms have the following meaning for purposes of this Section 6.14:
(1) "Original occupant(s)"
means one or more individuals who took possession of a unit with
the express consent of the landlord at the time that the base rent
for the unit was first established with respect to the vacant unit.
(2) "Subsequent occupant"
means an individual who became an occupant of a rental unit while
the rental unit was occupied by at least one original occupant.
(3) "Co-tenant" for purposes
of this Section 6.14 only, is a subsequent occupant who has a rental
agreement directly with the owner.
(b) Subsequent Occupants who commenced
occupancy before 1/1/96; Co-tenants who commenced occupancy before, on or
after 1/1/96. When all original occupant(s) no longer permanently reside
in the rental unit, the landlord may raise the rent of any subsequent occupant
who resided in the unit prior to January 1, 1996, or of any subsequent occupant
who is a co-tenant and who commenced occupancy before, on or after January
1, 1996, without regard to the limitations set forth in Section 37.3(a)
of the Rent Ordinance if the landlord served on the subsequent occupant(s),
within a reasonable time of actual knowledge of occupancy, a written notice
that when the last of the original occupant(s) vacates the premises, a new
tenancy is created for purposes of determining the rent under the Rent Ordinance.
Failure to give such a notice within 60 days of the landlord's actual knowledge
of the occupancy by the subsequent occupant(s) establishes a rebuttable
presumption that notice was not given within a reasonable period of time.
If the landlord has not timely served such a notice on the subsequent occupant(s),
a new tenancy is not created for purposes of determining the rent
under the Rent Ordinance when the last of the original occupant(s) vacates
the premises.
(c) Subsequent Occupants who are
not Co-tenants and who commenced occupancy on or after 1/1/96, where the
last Original Occupant vacated on or after . When
all original occupant(s) no longer permanently reside in a rental unit,
and the last of the original occupants vacated on or after
(effective date), the landlord may establish a new base rent of any subsequent
occupant(s) who is not a co-tenant and who commenced occupancy of the unit
on or after January 1, 1996 without regard to the limitations set forth
in Section 37.3(a) of the Rent Ordinance unless the subsequent occupant
proves that the landlord waived his or her right to increase the rent by:
(1) Affirmatively representing
to the subsequent occupant that he/she may remain in possession
of the unit at the same rental rate charged to the original occupant(s);
or
(2) Failing, within 90 days of
receipt of written notice that the last original occupant is going
to vacate the rental unit or actual knowledge that the last original
occupant to longer permanently resides at the unit, whichever is
later, to serve written notice of a rent increase or a reservation
of the right to increase the rent at a later date; or
(3) Receiving written notice from
an original occupant of the subsequent occupant's occupancy and
thereafter accepting rent unless, within 90 days of said acceptance
of rent, the landlord reserved the right to increase the rent at
a later date.
Where the landlord has waived the right to
increase the rent under subsection (c)(1) or (c)(3) above, the subsequent
occupant to whom the representation was made or from whom the landlord accepted
rent shall thereafter have the protection of an original occupant as to
any future rent increases under this Section 6.14. Where the landlord has
waived the right to increase the rent under subsection (c)(2) above, any
subsequent occupant who permanently resides in the rental unit with the
actual knowledge and consent of the landlord (if the landlord's consent
is required and not unreasonably withheld) at the time of the waiver shall
thereafter have the protection of an original occupant as to any future
rent increases under this Section 6.14.
(d) Subsequent Occupants who are
not Co-tenants and who commenced occupancy on or after 1/1/96, where the
last Original Occupant vacated prior to . When
all original occupants no longer permanently reside in a rental unit and
the last of the original occupants vacated prior to (effective
date), the landlord may establish a new base rent for any subsequent occupants
who are not co-tenants and who commenced occupancy of the unit on or after
January 1, 1996 without regard to the limitations set forth in Section 37.3(a)
of the Rent Ordinance if:
(1) The landlord served on the
subsequent occupant(s), within a reasonable time of actual knowledge
of occupancy, a written notice that when the last of the original
occupants vacates the premises, the new tenancy is created for purposes
of determining the rent under the Rent Ordinance. Failure to give
such a notice within 60 days of the landlord's actual knowledge
of the occupancy by the subsequent occupant(s) establishes a rebuttable
presumption that notice was not given within a reasonable period
of time; or
(2) The landlord is entitled to
establish a new base rent under the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing
Act, California Civil Code Section 1954.53(d), even if no notice
was served on the subsequent occupant(s) pursuant to subsection
(d)(1) above.
(e) Subsequent Occupants of Proposition
I Affected Units. When all original occupant(s) no longer permanently
reside in a Proposition I Affected Unit, the landlord may raise the rent
of any subsequent occupant who resided in the unit prior to February 15,
1995 without regard to the limitations set forth in Section 37.3(a) of the
Rent Ordinance if the landlord served on the subsequent occupant(s), on
or before August 15, 1995, a written notice that when the last of the original
occupant(s) vacates the premises, a new tenancy is created for purposes
of determining the rent under the Rent Ordinance. If the landlord has not
timely served such a notice on the pre-February 15, 1995 subsequent occupant(s)
of the Proposition I Affected Unit, a new tenancy is not created
for purposes of determining the rent under the Rent Ordinance when the last
of the original occupant(s) vacates the premises. For subsequent occupants
who commenced occupancy in a Proposition I Affected Unit on or after February
15, 1995, the provisions of subsections (a) through (d) above apply.
(f) This Section 6.14 is intended to
comply with Civil Code Section 1954.50 et seq. and shall not be construed
to enlarge or diminish rights thereunder.
VI. Director's Report
Executive Director Grubb reminded the Commissioners
to get their Conflict of Interest forms in to the Ethics Commission by April
1st.
IV. Remarks from the Public (cont.)
E. Miguel Wooding expressed his belief
that the Board is considering passing regulations that are not allowed by
the Rent Ordinance or Costa-Hawkins, without "fact-based findings."
F. Laura Hicks said that she believed
that landlords had a greater responsibility to know and understand the law
since they have a significant investment at stake.
VII. Calendar Items
March 21, 2000
10 appeal considerations (1 cont. from 2/1/00;
2 cont. from 2/15/00)
March 28, 2000 - NO MEETING
VIII. Adjournment
President Wasserman adjourned the meeting
at 9:15 p.m.