Senior Water Rights Are Suspended In California

Suspending senior water rights in California is a new development in the state's real property law, with its practical implications being of much more interest than its legal background. The drought affects all Californians and this reform relates to many. Will it sustain the challenge?

Drafting Eviction Notice In San Francisco -- Book's Volume I Is Published

I  am excited to report that the first part of my book, covering general requirements and nine "for-fault" evictions, is finally out and went live on Amazon today. Here are direct links: paperback and the ebook (URL upd. 06/26) versions. Second volume is still in the works, it will cover the "no fault" evictions.

Historical Development Of Eviction Laws

An eviction lawsuit is not a modern invention. Its elements developed over the course of centuries, some surprisingly long time ago. This short article is an attempt to cover most noticeable cornerstones.

Is There A True Ellis Act Eviction Epidemy—A Study In Reading Statistics

On March 23, 2015, the Rent Board published its annual statistical report (URL upd. 05/26) on eviction notices, filed with the Board from March 1, 2014, through February 28, 2015. Page 2 shows a break-down by the types of notices and their change in usage in comparison to the previous year. I noticed a 48% decline in filed notices under the Ellis Act cause for eviction, and wondered, whether this decline is connected with the last year's attempt to increase the relocation payments due to the tenants to some cosmic amount, something the courts currently holding as unreasonable and unconstitutional. I saw it closely related, and along with that I also made several peculiar findings on how statistics work in scaling up (scarring up?) the reported amount of the Ellis Act evictions.

Tenant Buyout Forms are out

The "Buyout Ordinance," S.F. Admin Code, Section Section 37.9E, is now fully in force, and the Rent Board had made the new forms coming with it:

Pre-Buyout Negotiations Disclosure Form Required by Ordinance Section 37.9E (URL upd. 05/26 — original Sep 2015 archive).

Declaration of Landlord Regarding Service of Pre-Buyout Negotiations Disclosure Form (URL upd. 05/26).

New practice of S.F. tax assessor requesting extensive info

A new practice of assessing the property tax gains speed in San Francisco. No longer it is enough to report your sale's price to establish the new value. Instead, new owners now receive a letter like this from the San Francisco Tax Assessor Office. It asks the new buyer about a lot of additional information, even some that buyer may not even know, such as future rent values. What a buyer to do?

Direct Deposits And Other Electronic Means Affecting Landlord and Tenant Duties

An important new case came down last December, Kruger v. Reyes, 232 Cal.App.4th Supp. 10, 181 Cal. Rptr. 3d 521 (2014), covering several rules: timely service of the notice for non-payment rent, proper calculations in that notice of the rent due and the time when it is due. None of those concepts are new, but the case contains rare findings due to its fact pattern, including the issue of tenants paying rent by depositing funds directly to the landlord's account.