May 17, 2005

 

 

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF

THE SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL RENT

STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION BOARD,

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 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

 

    III.     Approval of the Minutes

MSC:To approve the Minutes of May 3, 2005.

(Gruber/Becker:  5-0)

    IV.     Remarks from the Public

Tenant Julian Lagos of 128 Garces Dr. in Parkmerced (AT050121) told the Board that he believes the fact that the landlord is reducing rents to Section 8 tenants whose subsidies are being reduced constitutes “discrimination,” since other Parkmerced tenants are having their rents increased.  Mr. Lagos also alleged that: the landlord did not corroborate the commercial square footage measurements they submitted; the individual who conducted the measurements no longer works for the landlord; an 8-acre parcel should have been excluded from the landlord’s petition; and the petition was based on increased debt service and property taxes which are write-offs, so it “should have been thrown out.”

    V.     Consideration of Appeals

    A.    600 Buchanan        AL050120

The tenant’s petition alleging a substantial decrease in housing services was granted.  The landlord failed to appear at the hearing.  On appeal, the landlord claims not to have received notice of the hearing, and attaches the requisite Declaration of Non-Receipt of Notice.

MSC: To accept the appeal and remand the case to the Administrative Law Judge for a new hearing.  (Murphy/Henderson:  4-1; Becker dissenting)

    B.    1060 Bush, Apt. 203        AL050116

                (rescheduled from 5/3/05)

The landlord’s petition seeking a determination pursuant to Rules and Regulations Section 1.21 was denied because the Administrative Law Judge found that the tenant is a “Tenant in Occupancy” who is temporarily residing in a convalescent hospital while she recovers from an accident.  On appeal, the landlord argues that:  the Administrative Law Judge was prejudiced by sympathy and did not apply the facts to applicable law; a stay of 1.3 years in a convalescent facility cannot be equated to hospitalization and the tenant resides there by choice and not out of necessity; there are no plans for the tenant to move back to San Francisco; and the Administrative Law Judge exhibited bias on behalf of the tenant.

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

    C.    128 Garces Dr. & 122 Cardenas Ave.        AT050121 & -0122

The landlord’s petition for rent increases based on increased operating expenses at this multi-unit complex was granted, resulting in 7% base rent increases for most units.  The joint appeal of 144 tenants was accepted and remanded for the landlord and tenants to provide square footage information in order to allocate the expenses between the residential and commercial units on a square footage basis.  The remand decision affirmed the 7% rent increases.  The tenants in two units appealed the remand decision.  Their appeals were accepted and remanded to require that the landlord provide additional square footage measurements for laundry rooms and storage areas.  The Second Decision on Remand also approved 7% base rent increases for both units.  The tenants appeal the Second Decision on Remand, arguing that:  the square foot measurement figures submitted by the landlord are unsubstantiated and incomplete; an 8.5 acre vacant lot was sold prior to the close of Year 2 and should not be factored in; the landlord failed to include measurement figures for satellite administrative offices and a dog run; the landlord failed to meet its burden of proof; and the landlord should not be allowed to rely on debt service and property taxes, which are tax-deductible, to justify rent increases based on increased operating expenses.

MSC: To recuse Commissioner Becker from consideration of these appeals. (Henderson/Murphy:  5-0)

MSC: To deny the appeals of the tenants at 128 Garces Drive and 122 Cardenas Avenue. (Murphy/Gruber: 3-1; Henderson dissenting)

    D.    461 Capp St.            AT050118

The landlord’s petition seeking a determination pursuant to Rules Section 1.21 was granted and the Administrative Law Judge found that the tenant is not a “Tenant in Occupancy” at the subject unit.  The tenant appeals, claiming that:  she was inadequately represented by her attorney; and the subtenants in the unit constructively evicted and prevented her occupation of the unit, with the cooperation of the landlord.

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

    E.  824 Hyde St., Apt. No. 7        AT050119

The landlords’ petition for rent increases based on increased operating expenses for 5 of 8 units was granted.  The tenants in one unit appeal the decision, arguing that:  amended Schedule B of the landlord’s petition was not properly served; documentation for all relevant time periods was not provided; and the landlords remain in violation of State and local laws, which should preclude imposition of an O&M increase.

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

        F.  1124 Filbert                    AL050123

The landlords’ petition for extension of time to complete capital improvement work was denied because the Administrative Law Judge found that the landlords knew or should have known that the work would require removal of the tenant for more than three months and all necessary permits and a breakdown of the work to be performed were not filed with the petition.  The landlords appeal, maintaining that: at the time they gave the Notice to Vacate, their estimate of the amount of time the project would take was reasonable; the landlords believed that the contractor was bound to an earlier start date than turned out to be the case; the contractor’s unreliability made it difficult to realistically estimate a revised completion date for the project; the project is currently back on schedule; all necessary permits were filed for the portion of the work that necessitated displacement of the tenant; and the decision fails to take into account the landlords’ good faith efforts to limit the amount of time the tenant will be displaced, as well as unforeseen circumstances.

MSC: To deny the appeal with no finding of bad faith on the part of the landlord.  (Gruber/Murphy:  5-0)

    VI.     Director’s Report

Acting Executive Director Delene Wolf informed the Board that she is investigating the purchase of a scanner to facilitate the e-mailing of documents to them.  She also told the Commissioners that an experienced Private Investigator gave a presentation at the last Administrative Law Judge staff meeting in order to enhance staff’s knowledge regarding the increasing use of private investigators in 1.21 cases.

    VII.     Old Business

    Water Bill Increase Passthroughs Resulting from Issuance of Water System     Improvement Revenue Bonds        

    Discussion of this issue was continued to the June 7 th Board meeting.

    VIII.     Calendar Items

         May 24 th and 31 st , 2005 - NO MEETINGS

         June 7, 2005

        7 appeal considerations

        Old Business:  Water System Improvement Bond Passthroughs

    IX.     Adjournment

    President Wasserman adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m.