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July 21, 1998

July 21, 1998B>

 

 

 

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL RENT
STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION BOARD,

Tuesday, July 21, 1998 at 6:00 p.m. at
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70, Lower Level

  1. Call to Order

    President Wasserman called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.

  2. Roll Call

    Commissioners Present: Bierly; Gruber; Lightner; Moore; Murphy; Palma; Wasserman.
    Commissioners not Present: Becker; Marshall; Mosser.
    Staff Present: Grubb; Wolf.

    Commissioner Justman appeared on the record at 6:15 p.m.; Commissioner Murphy arrived at 6:25 p.m.

  3. Approval of the Minutes

    MSC: To approve the Minutes of July 7, 1998.
    (Moore/Gruber: 5-0)

  4. Remarks from the Public

    Landlord Allen Chase appeared with Lisa Napolitano, one of the tenants in a unit that he owns. Mr. Chase and Ms. Napolitano explained that there is an enforceable absolute prohibition against subletting in the Rental Agreement for the apartment. Ms. Napolitano’s roommate is getting married, and she would like to find a replacement roommate and remain in the unit. This is fine with Mr. Chase, except he believes that the unit is now worth $325.00 more than the amount of rent the current tenants are paying. He would be willing to waive the absolute prohibition on this one occasion, but only if he could recover the additional amount of rent. While Ms. Napolitano would prefer to remain at the same rent, she does not want to move, and believes that splitting a $325.00 rent increase with a new roommate would be less expensive than the amount she would pay for a new apartment. Because of the "No Waiver" provision of the Rent Ordinance, Mr. Chase is unwilling to risk future liability for rent overpayments by allowing Ms. Napolitano to pay a rent increase in excess of limitations. The Board will put this issue on the Agenda for the August 18th Board meeting; Commissioner Lightner will draft language for a possible Rules change for the Board’s consideration.

    Tenant Carmen Garcia, involved in the appeal concerning 520 Geary St. #301 (S001-92R), inquired as to how the Board is constituted.

  5. Consideration of Appeals

    1. 1710 - 33rd Ave. S001-50A
      (cont. from 7/7/98)

      The tenant’s petition alleging substantial decreases in housing services was granted and the landlord was found liable to the tenant in the amount of $2,175.00. Additionally, rent overpayments in the amount of $700.00 were found to be owing from the landlord to the tenant. On appeal, the landlord claims that he never threatened to evict the tenant if he failed to pay the requested rent increase; the tenant had agreed to provide maintenance and repair of the premises, and deducted the costs from the rent; the conditions were not as depicted in the Decision of Hearing Officer; and the Department of Building Inspection found that the violations had been abated.

      Since the tenant’s attorney had not received a copy of the landlord’s appeal, and therefore had not had a chance to respond, this matter was continued from the meeting of June 23rd to the meeting on July 7th. Because of an apparent misunderstanding regarding the fact that the matter had been continued to that date, the Board passed a motion to further continue the matter to this evening’s meeting.

        MSC: To deny the appeal. However, if certain repairs have been effectuated, the parties shall make the appropriate adjustment in the amount that the landlord owes the tenant.
        (Moore/Bierly: 5-0)

    2. 784-A Dolores St. S001-91R

      The landlords’ petition for certification of capital improvement costs was granted, in part, resulting in a monthly passthrough in the amount of $45.48. On appeal, the tenant claims that: several of the items were necessitated by the current landlords’ deferred maintenance; some of the work was unnecessary; and certain of the work was not yet complete.

        MSC: To deny the appeal. (Lightner/Gruber: 5-0)

      p> The tenant’s petition alleging substantially decreased housing services was denied because the hearing officer found that the tenant had failed to meet her burden of proving that another tenant in the building was making sufficient noise to interfere with the quiet enjoyment of the unit. The tenant does not appeal the denial of her rent reduction claim. Rather, the tenant protests the inclusion of a statement in the decision to the effect that she has made "unwarranted complaints", and demands that this phrase be stricken from the record.

        MSC: To deny the appeal. (Bierly/Moore: 5-0)

    3. 226 Irving St., Apt. #2 S001-55A

      The tenants’ petition alleging substantial decreases in housing services was granted, in part, and the landlord was found liable to the tenants in the amount of $3,200.00 due to serious habitability defects on the premises. Additionally, the annual rent increase imposed by the landlord was ordered deferred until outstanding code violations were abated. The landlord had failed to appear at the properly noticed hearing. On appeal, the landlord claims not to have received notice of the hearing, and attaches the requisite Declaration of Non-Receipt of Notice of Hearing.

        MSC: To accept the appeal and remand the case for a new hearing. (Lightner/Moore: 5-0)

  6. Communications

    In addition to correspondence concerning cases on the calendar, the Commissioners received the following communications:

    1. A Summary of Mediated Move-Out Agreements for the months of April through June, 1998.

    2. A job announcement for the Construction Estimator contract with the Rent Board.

    3. A letter from landlord Allen Chase outlining the situation involving subletting described in Remarks from the Public, above.

  7. Director’s Report

    Executive Director Grubb introduced Lierion Gaylor, the Rent Board’s Budget Analyst from the Mayor’s Office. He informed the Board that the amended Moratorium on Owner Move-In (OMI) Evictions introduced by Supervisor Ammiano and passed by the Board of Supervisors will go into effect on August 16th; a piece of legislation which would restrict OMI evictions was introduced by Supervisor Bierman on July 20th; and an Initiative circulated by several tenants’ groups on this issue will be on the ballot in November. Legislation splitting the costs of capital improvement passthroughs and bond-related property tax increases evenly between landlords and tenants will be introduced by Supervisor Katz. Legislation introduced by Supervisor Ammiano and passed by the Board of Supervisors bringing certain aspects of Section 8 and other tenant-based rental assistance programs under Rent Board jurisdiction passed its Second Reading at the Board of Supervisors on July 20th, and will go into effect 30 days after it is signed by the Mayor. The Commissioners will be furnished with copies of all of the above legislation.

  8. Remarks from the Public (cont.)

    Tenant Carmen Garcia, of 520 Geary St. #301 (S001-92R), asked why her appeal had been denied. George Ju, the landlord’s representative for the case at 1719 - 33rd Ave. (S001-50A), thanked the Commissioners for their hard work and made several suggestions regarding dissemination of information regarding rent control in "plain language." The landlord in the case at 784-A Dolores St. (S001-91R) stated his beliefs that what is needed is less bureaucracy, and not more; that hearing officers’ decisions contain mistakes and irrelevant testimony and language; and that rent control destroys landlord-tenant relationships.

  9. Calendar Items

    July 28, August 4 and August 11, 1998 - NO MEETINGS

    August 18, 1998
    6 appeal considerations (1 rescheduled from 8/4/98)
    Old Business:

    1. Remarks from the Public" Portion of the Agenda
    2. Rules Section 7.12(b) (The "6-Month Rule")
    3. Rent Increases When There is an Absolute Prohibition Against Subletting

  10. Adjournment

    President Wasserman adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m.

Last updated: 10/9/2009 11:26:14 AM