MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL RENT
STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION BOARD,
Tuesday, February 7, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70, Lower Level
I. Call to Order
Vice-President Marshall called the meeting to order at 6:09 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Commissioners Present: Becker; Gruber; Hurley; Justman; Marshall.
Commissioners not Present: Mosbrucker; Mosser; Murphy; Wasserman.
Staff Present: Lee; Wolf.
Commissioner Henderson appeared on the record at 6:10 p.m.
III. Approval of the Minutes
MSC: To approve the Minutes of January 17, 2006.
(Gruber/Hurley: 5-0)
IV. Consideration of Appeals
A. 1335 Washington #6 AL050255
(cont. from 1/17/06)
The tenant filed a petition alleging an unlawful increase in rent and requesting a determination as to the lawful rent for the unit. The Administrative Law Judge found the Master Tenant liable to the tenant in the amount of $15,500.43 because she was charged more rent for the unit than was paid to the owner. Additionally, because the Master Tenant has vacated the unit, a rent increase to market based on Costa-Hawkins was found to be warranted. The Master Tenant appealed, claiming that: the tenant agreed to pay more than the rent being paid to the landlord in order to reimburse the Master Tenant for childcare services and furniture that she bought from her; the tenant requested that the Master Tenant continue renting the unit in her name so that the rent would not be increased; the tenant knew the contents of the 6.14 notice, because the Master Tenant translated it for her; the tenant knew the amount of rent the Master Tenant was paying to the landlord; and the Master Tenant did not appear at the hearing because the tenant discouraged her from doing so. The tenant also appealed the decision on the grounds of financial hardship.
After discussion at the January 17th meeting, it was the consensus of the Board to continue consideration of this appeal to see if staff could facilitate a settlement between all the parties. At this evening’s meeting, Senior Administrative Law Judge Tim Lee reported that a global settlement had been reached, resulting in the dismissal of both appeals.
B. 405 Serrano Dr. #5D AT060005
The landlord’s petition for certification of capital improvement costs was granted, resulting in a monthly passthrough in the amount of $9.18. The tenant’s hardship appeal was accepted and remanded for hearing. However, the Administrative Law Judge found that no evidence was provided to show that the tenant’s son could not increase the amount of financial assistance he provided his mother and the hardship appeal was therefore denied. The tenant appeals the remand decision, swearing under penalty of perjury that her son cannot increase the amount of money that he gives her.
MSC: To recuse Commissioner Becker from consideration of this appeal. (Henderson/Gruber: 5-0)
MSC: To deny the appeal. (Gruber/Hurley: 3-2; Henderson,
Marshall dissenting)
C. 882 Haight St. AT060001
The landlord’s petition for certification of capital improvement costs to two of three units was granted, in part, resulting in monthly passthroughs of almost $300.00. The tenants in one unit appeal the decision, claiming that: work on the rear stairs and decks was not undertaken in a timely manner; and there are factual errors in the Decision.
MSC: To deny the appeal except to remand the case to the Administrative Law Judge for a necessary Technical Correction. (Gruber/Hurley: 5-0)
D. 1090 Eddy St. #507 AL060003
The tenant’s petition alleging decreased housing services was granted and the landlord was found liable to the tenant in the amount of $7,050.00 due to water intrusion in the unit and resulting damaged ceilings and walls. The landlord appeals, asserting that: the Administrative Law Judge used an improper base rent amount; and the tenant refused to allow the landlord to make necessary repairs.
MSC: To deny the appeal. (Becker/Marshall: 5-0)
E. 1374 Utah #A AL060004
The portion of the tenants’ petition alleging decreased housing services was denied. However, $8,861.29 in rent overpayments and $1,762.76 in unauthorized utility charges were determined to be owing from the landlords to the tenants. On appeal, the landlords maintain that the tenants failed to meet their burden of proving the amount of rent they were paying in 1994.
This appeal was withdrawn just prior to the meeting.
V. Communications
In addition to correspondence concerning cases on the calendar, the Commissioners received the following communications:
A. Several articles from the San Francisco Chronicle, S.F. Weekly, Beyond Chron and the Bay Guardian.
B. A letter from SRO tenant A. Wayne Ramsey asking that the Board enact stricter visitation rules when re-examining the Hotel Visitor Policy.
C. A letter from Christina Olague and Tony Robles of the Mission SRO Collaborative inviting the Commissioners to visit the Collaborative, the SROs and the SRO tenants that the Collaborative works with. The Executive Director will draft a response on behalf of the Board.
D. A letter from Lamar Johnson, President of the Golden Gateway Tenants Association, requesting one or more of the Tenant Commissioners to attend a Directors’ Meeting.
VI. Director’s Report
Executive Director Wolf informed the Board that Greg Miller has been hired to fill the vacant counselor position. Mr. Miller previously worked at the S.F. Apartment Association. Senior Administrative Law Judge Tim Lee told the Board that because of the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the case of Johnson v. City and County of San Francisco (Court of Appeal No. A111355, Superior Court Case No. 505273), landlords are no longer required to state the amount of relocation payment the landlord believes to be due to the tenant when evicting under the Ellis Act.
VII. New Business
Departmental Budget
Executive Director Wolf went over the Department’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year. The proposed budget of $4,856,716 is approximately $180,000 more than the current year’s budget, primarily due to salary increases. After a brief discussion, Vice-President Marshall read aloud a letter from the Mayor regarding this year’s budgetary process. The Board then passed the following motion:
MSC: To approve the proposed departmental budget for fiscal year 2006-2007. (Gruber/Justman: 5-0)
VIII. Calendar Items
February 14th, 21st & 28th, 2006 - NO MEETINGS
March 7, 2006
6 appeal considerations (3 rescheduled from 2/21/06)
IX. Adjournment
Vice-President Marshall adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m.