Proposition H Increases Relocation Payments for No-Fault Evictions

The voters approved Proposition H on November 7, 2006. The proposition requires landlords to pay relocation payments to tenants who are evicted for owner/relative move-in under Section 37.9(a)(8), demolition or permanent removal from housing use under Section 37.9(a)(10), temporary evictions to do capital improvement work under Section 37.9(a)(11), and substantial rehabilitation under Section 37.9(a)(12). (Note: Relocation payments for Ellis evictions under Section 37.9(a)(13) remain subject to Ordinance Section 37.9A(e)(3), and are similar but not identical to the provisions of Proposition H.) Proposition H goes into effect on December 22, 2006, and by its terms applies to notices to quit served on or after August 10, 2006.

Under the proposition, each authorized occupant, regardless of age, who has resided in the unit for at least one year, is entitled to a payment of $4,500.00, with a maximum payment of $13,500.00 per unit. In addition, each elderly (60 years or older) or disabled tenant, and each household with one or more minor children, is entitled to an additional payment of $3,000.00. The above amounts are also required to be adjusted for inflation annually beginning March 1, 2007. The landlord is required to give tenants written notice of relocation rights on or before service of the notice to quit, and within 30 days of receiving a tenant's claim for the additional $3,000.00 payment, the landlord must inform the Rent Board in writing of the tenant's claim and whether or not the landlord disputes the claim. Note the following significant changes from current law: (1) single family dwellings and condominiums are now subject to the requirement to pay relocation even for OMI/relative move-ins, and (2)relocation payments also apply to subtenants and minor children as long as they are authorized occupants in residence for a year.

Source: The San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board



Rent Board Hearings on Elderly Or Disabled Status Of Tenants Limited To Owner Move-In Evictions

At its meeting on April 3, 2007, the Rent Board voted to limit Rent Board hearings on tenants' claims of protected status to those situations specified in Ordinance Section 37.9(i)(4) where the landlord "seeks to recover a rental unit by utilizing the grounds enumerated in Section 37.9(a)(8)". Therefore, such Rent Board determinations are available only if the landlord wants to recover possession of the tenant's unit for owner-occupancy and the tenant claims protected status. Determinations are not available at the Rent Board either for owners who want to sell the property or for owners who want to recover possession of a tenant's unit based on an Ellis eviction.

Landlords who seek to recover possession of the unit for owner-occupancy may request a Rent Board determination by completing Form I of the landlord petition for Operating and Maintenance Expenses and checking the "other" box with a request to determine the tenant's claim of protected status. In the alternative, the landlord may ask the court to decide the tenant's claim of protected status.

Source: The San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board