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November 19, 1998

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.

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