Eviction Control v. Rent Control - Is It Possible To Evict From a Single Family House In San Francisco?

Common wisdom holds that, while certain housing units are exempt from the Rent Control in San Francisco, they are still subject to the Eviction Control. That is, even if you can raise rent in those units above the limits (URL upd. 05/26 — original Topic No. 19 archive (2015)) dictated by the Rent Board, you still can't evict a person but for the defined "just cause" reasons. Such is the statement in Topic No. 19, issued by the San Francisco Rent Board.

Yet a close analysis of applicable sections of the SF Administrative Code indicates that an exception to the rule does exist, albeit a very narrow one. Despite what is said in the Topic No. 19, the prohibition is not absolute.

Interest on security deposits in SF - paid annually and on all units, except subsidized

I've been at the Rent Board last Friday and overheard a conversation regarding payments on security deposits. I thought you might be interested to find out that:

(1) - The interest is paid annually, not when the tenant vacates [Section 49.2(b)];

(2) - The interest is paid also on the units exempt from the rent control; only government-subsidized units (Section 8, SFHA, etc.) are not subject to it.

2014 Developments in Real Estate in San Francisco

This looks like a perfect moment to look back and observe what's new on our real property scene and what changes were most notable in 2014. I can't climb down your chimney, but please accept as my present to you, this short summary of the most noticeable movements I assembled below:

Friday after Thanksgiving--Not a Business Day

The fact that the day following the Thanksgiving Day is not a business day is not obvious. After all, most retail outlets on that day are gladly open for business--even earlier than usual--to keep up with the Black Friday sale spirit. Government Code 6700 does not mention it. However, it is a holiday, as established by these statutes:

Employment Posters

2015 is coming up, and it is this time of the year, when we think of upgrading employment posters.

Dog Law

Dogs are in the spotlight lately. Governor Brown has recently signed into law a new act allowing statewide access for dogs in restaurants. There is also an ongoing debate of a too flexible and uncontrollable approach of "service animals," proliferating in great numbers, especially in San Francisco (URL upd. 06/26), who are often confused with rigorously trained guide dogs. San Francisco also now amended its Health Code (URL upd. 06/26), by adding Article 39, which codified a "commercial dog walker," which is in effect since April 21, 2013. How all these developments affect the landlord-tenant relationship?

Anti-Ellis Act SF Ordinance Found Unconstitutional (Fed) and Unreasonable (State)

Federal Judge Breyer found the recently enacted San Francisco [anti] Ellis Act ordinance unconstitutional in a memorandum published on October 21, 2014. (Scribd copy). It is interesting that the court addressed the application of ordinance's formula as bringing counterintuitive results in amounts payable to the tenants (see page 8 of the memo), in line with the hypotheticals I made in my June post. In February, state Judge Quidachay found the ordinance "unreasonable." (Rent Board (URL upd. 05/26 — Wayback snapshot; original Rent Board copy gone) copy).

Update: the Rent Board issued a bulletin confirming that the subject payment requirements under the new ordinance are currently off, and the payments proceed under the prior scheme.

Update 2-20-15: on the state trial court level, demurrer to Jacoby's petition is overruled (URL upd. 06/26), on the distinction between characterizing the payment to evicted tenants as "unreasonable" or "prohibitive."

Update 3-25-15: the Rent Board had the decision on demurrer in Jacoby case published (URL upd. 05/26 — Wayback snapshot; original Rent Board copy gone) as well, but what is more interesting is the annual report (URL upd. 05/26), issued March 23, 2015, covering the statistics on eviction notices filed from March 1, 2014, through February 28, 2015. Page 2 shows the impact this unreasonable [state court] and unconstitutional [Fed. court] legislation had on the housing: 48% decline in filed notices under the Ellis Act cause for eviction. For the short time the legislation was alive, it slashed the total number of a whole of Ellis Act filings in half--a huge impact by all means.

Update 6-14-15: the Rent Board caps (URL upd. 05/26) proposed total payment amounts at $50,000. More on this here.
Update 10-2-15: the court strikes this new 50K cap proposal, as even more unreasonable than the original regulation (Coyne (URL upd. 06/26) case, CPF-15-514382)

Update 3-21-17: the court of appeals affirmed the trial court's decision in Coyne and Jacoby, invalidating both 54-14 and 68-15 ordinances.



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More real property posts

Your options and available strategies in handling evictions will depend on your case's particular facts. If you want to learn on your options, rights, and obligations in contesting or preserving your real property rights, including the Ellis Act evictions, make your first step toward taking control over the circumstances, and call my office at (415) 987-7000. I will be glad to assist in guiding you through the jungle. The only thing you can't afford is to stay put and uninformed. My office provides a confidential assessment of your particular scenario, free of charge, and I will share with you the results of the analysis along with my thoughts on available solutions.