November 19, 1998B>
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR
MEETING OF
THE SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL
RENT
STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION
BOARD,
Tuesday, November 19, 1998 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; Justman; Lightner; Marshall; Moore; Wasserman.
Commissioners not Present: Mosser; Murphy.
Staff Present: Grubb; Wolf.
III. Approval of the Minutes
MSC: To approve the Minutes of November
10, 1998, as corrected to properly reflect the date of the meeting. (Gruber/Marshall:
5-0)
IV. Old Business
Costa-Hawkins (Civil Code Section
1954.53)
The Board discussed remaining implementation
issues and possible amendments to the Ordinance and Rules and Regulations
necessitated by the passage of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act in
1995 with Deputy City Attorney Marie Blits. In a Memorandum dated June
15, 1998, the Deputy Director had framed certain questions for the Board’s
consideration. At their meeting on June 23, 1998, the Board reached a consensus
as to the following questions: single family dwellings with in-law units,
whether legal or illegal, constitute two-unit buildings and will not become
exempt; likewise, if there is another structure on the same lot as a single
family dwelling, then the home is not "alienable separate from the title
to any other dwelling unit" because it cannot be sold separately, and it
will not become exempt; the rental unit fee will continue to be collected
on units which are partially exempted by Costa-Hawkins as they will still
be subject to eviction limitations under the Ordinance; in a mixed-use
building with residential and commercial units, the commercial units will
not be counted, unless they are used for residential purposes and therefore
constitute a "dwelling unit"; and, since a decrease in housing services
is defined in the Ordinance as a rent increase, tenants in units affected
by Costa-Hawkins will be precluded from filing petitions alleging decreased
housing services and/or failure to repair.
Areas that required additional discussion
and/or assistance from the City Attorney include: 1) are life-time leases
issued pursuant to a condominium conversion under the Subdivision Code
affected in any way?; 2) what is the status of tenancies in rooms that
are separately rented in a single family dwelling?; 3) since the legislation
does not affect the City’s "authority to regulate or monitor the basis
for eviction", to what extent will allegations of wrongful eviction in
affected units be investigated, especially with regard to retaliatory rent
increases?; 4) what constitutes "serious health, safety, fire or building
code violations" sufficient to override exemption of the substandard unit,
and does this apply to the "setting of initial rent" in a non-vacancy control
jurisdiction such as San Francisco?; and 5) likewise, how does the provision
in Section 1954.53(a)(1) which allows for setting of the initial rent only
if the previous tenancy was not terminated apply in a jurisdiction with
"Just Cause" eviction?
As to a Memorandum prepared by Ms. Blits
regarding the above questions, the Board voted as follows:
MSC: To waive the confidentiality of
the Memorandum provided by the Office of the City Attorney. (Becker/Gruber:
5-0)
It was agreed that amendments to the definition
of "rental unit" in the Ordinance are necessary to indicate that single
family dwellings and condominiums are exempt as of January 1, 1999 from
rent regulation, but not eviction control; with language to distinguish
tenancies that commenced prior to January 1, 1996 from those that commenced
on or after that date. Additionally, language will need to be drafted that
clarifies what constitutes a dwelling or unit that is "alienable separate
from the title to any other dwelling unit" in this context (i.e., commercial
units are not counted, however, a house with a cottage on the same lot
that cannot be sold separately will not be exempt, etc.)
The Commissioners then discussed the above
questions in order:
1) The Executive Director agreed to alert
Department of City Planning staff to the provisions of Costa-Hawkins in
order that they might pursue the question of whether the Subdivision Code’s
limitations on rent increases are in contravention of State law.
2) As to rooms in a single family dwelling
that are not separately alienable, but are rented out as separate rental
units, the Commissioners discussed the possibility of following the same
standard as that used to define a "boarding house": 5 or less separate
units constitutes a boarding house; a dwelling with 6 or more units is
considered a hotel. Definitional language would also have to distinguish
between separate tenancies and those where roommates are jointly and severally
liable for the rent.
3) Current procedures with respect to the
processing of eviction reports could remain unchanged in that the issue
of retaliatory rent increases is currently within the purview of the courts,
and would be likely to remain so.
4 & 5) Neutral Commissioners Justman
and Wasserman articulated their belief that the legislation cannot be interpreted
to implement a vacancy control scheme where none had existed before. However,
as pointed out by Commissioner Marshall, there is nothing in the legislation
to prohibit a return to the vacancy decontrol/recontrol scheme currently
in effect for all covered units for those units with outstanding code violations
or where the prior tenancy was terminated. Landlord Attorney Dennis Hyde
pointed out that such an interpretation would provide landlords with an
incentive to issue 3-day rather than 30-day notices of termination; it
would also require that the Rent Board implement a procedure to track and
monitor the reasons that tenants are evicted and pursuant to what type
of notice. This issue was continued in order for the Commissioners to consult
with their respective constituencies.
These issues will be discussed further
at the meeting on December 15th, in conjunction with draft language to
be provided by the Deputy City Attorney.
V. Communications
The Commissioners received a current
Litigation Log showing the status of outstanding Writs filed against the
agency.
VI. Calendar Items
November 24, 1998 - NO MEETING
December 1, 1998
6 appeal considerations
Old Business:
A. Minute Order Program
B. Costa-Hawkins (Civil Code Section 1954.53)
X. Adjournment
President Wasserman adjourned the meeting
at 8:55 p.m.