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O1939 f \atty\munl\law\barry\temprelo2 ord wpd City Council Meeting 4-13-99 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER 1939 CCS (City CounCil Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SECTIONS 4 36 090 AND 436 100 OF SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SPECIFYING AN OWNER'S RELOCATION OBLIGATIONS WHEN THE OWNER MUST TEMPORARILY OBTAIN POSSESSION OF A RENTAL HOUSING UNIT TO COMPLY WITH HOUSING, HEALTH, BUILDING, OR SAFETY LAWS AND LEGAL REMEDIES, DECLARING THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY WHEREAS, as a result of State-mandated vacancy decontrol and the robust local economy, there has been a significant Increase I n the number of apartment buildings In the City that are undergOing substantial repairs, rehabilitation, and upgrades; and WHEREAS, such construction work can pose a serious threat to the health and safety of tenants occuPYing these properties dUring constructIon, and WHEREAS, there have been two recent Instances In which construction has posed a threat to the safety of tenants of such Immediacy that all work on the proJects had to cease until tenants were relocated to other accommodations, and WHEREAS, given the financial Incentive to upgrade apartment bUildings, other tenants Will likely be forced by construction to temporarily vacate their units until construction IS completed I and 1 WHEREAS, the forced relocation of tenants can be highly disruptive to their lives and costly, and WHEREAS, local law governing relocation currently requires a landlord to bear the reasonable cost of temporary accommodations for tenants when the landlord IS required to recover possession of rental housing Units to comply with housIng, health, or safety laws of the State of California or the City or when a tenant IS required to vacate a unit upon order or any governmental official or agency, and WHEREAS, It IS necessary to amend the City's relocation law to clarify the scope of relocation assistance that a landlord must provide when a tenant is forced to temporarily vacate his/her Unit due to hOUSing, health, or safety law Violations, NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS Section 1 Section 4.36.090 of the Santa Monica MUniCipal Code IS hereby amended to read as follows 4.36.090 Remedies. (a) If any action by a landlord to recover possession of a rental hOUSing Unit for one of the reasons set forth In Section 4.36.020, the landlord shall allege and prove complIance WIth thIS Chapter (b) Any landlord who falls to provide relocation assistance as reqUired by Sections 4.36040, 4.36050, 436070, and 436 100 of thiS Chapter shall be liable In CIvil action to the tenant to whom such assistance 2 IS due for damages In the amount of the relocation fee the landlord has failed to pay, a cIvil penalty In the amount offlve hundred dollars and reasonable attorney's fees and costs as determined by the court The court may also award pUnitive damages In a proper case as defined by CIvil Code Section 3294. Any person, Including the City, may enforce the provIsions of thiS Chapter by means of a civil action (c) Any person vlolatmg any of the provIsions or failing to comply with the reqUirements of thiS Chapter shall be gUilty of a misdemeanor (d) No landlord shall attempt to secure from a tenant any waiver of any provision of thIS Chapter Any agreement, whether wntten or oral, whereby any provIsion of thIS Chapter IS waived, shall be deemed against publiC policy and shall be VOid Section 2 Section 4 36 100 of the Santa MOnica MUnicipal Code IS hereby amended to read as follows 4.36.100 Temporary relocation mandated forcode compliance or by government order. (a) If a landlord IS required to temporanly recover possession of a rental housing Unit In order to comply With housing, health, bUilding, or safety laws of the State of California or the City of Santa MOnica, or If a tenant IS required to vacate a umt upon the order of any government officer or agency, the landlord shall proVide relocation benefits to the dIsplaced tenant In the event that the tenancy of such person IS subsequently terminated for one of 3 the reasons settorth In Section 436 020,the landlord shall pay the relocation fee required by Sections 436040 and 436050 and the landlord shall have no further obligation for temporary accommodations under this Section. (b) The relocation benefits required by this SectIon shall Include both temporary housing and moving costs This temporary housing shall be housing which IS comparable to the tenant's eXIsting housing In location, size, numberofbedrooms, accessibility, quality, and amenities, including the allowance for pets should the tenant have pets. Should the temporary housing be more expensIve than the tenant's eXisting housing, the landlord shall be responsible for the cost differential between the rent that the displaced tenant pays for his/her u nit and the cost of the temporary housing Moving costs shall consist of all actual reasonable costs of moving, Including, transportation of personal property, packing and unpacking, Insurance covering moving, compensation for any damage occurring during moving, and disconnection and reconnectlon of utility services (c) The displacement and relocation of a tenant pursuant to this Section shall not terminate the tenancy of the displaced tenant. The displaced tenant shall have the right to reoccupy the unit upon the completion of the work necessary for the Unit to comply with housing, health, bUlldmg or safety laws or any governmental order and the tenant shall retain all nghts of tenancy that eXIsted pnor to the displacement 4 SECTION 3 This ordinance IS declared to be an urgency measure adopted pursuant to the provIsion of Section 615 of the Santa MOnica City Charter As set forth In the findings above, thiS ordinance IS necessary for preserving the public peace, health, safety, and welfare As an urgency measure, thiS ordinance IS effective Immediately upon adoption and tenants currently displaced for the reasons specified In 4.36.100(a) are entitled to ItS protections from the date of ItS adoption SECTION 4 Any provIsion of the Santa MOnica MUniCipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provIsions of thiS Ordinance, to the extent of such Inconsistencies and no further, IS hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provIsions of thiS Ordinance SECTION 5 If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of thiS Ordinance IS for any reason held to be Invalid or unconstitutional by a deCISion of any court of competent JUriSdictIon, such deCISion shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance The City Council hereby declares that It would have passed thiS Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional Without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. 5 SECTION 6 The Mayor shall sign and the CIty Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once In the official newspaper Within 15 days after ItS adoption This Ordinance shall become effective upon its adoption. APPROVED A7JO, FORM If!vu~b~ MARSHA J~S MOUTRIE. City Attorney 6 "- '1=ftlM (YlJt1- - I Pam O'Connor, Mayor State of Cahforma ) County of Los Angeles) ss CIty of Santa Momca ) I, Mana M Stewart, CIty Clerk of the CIty of Santa MOllIca, do hereby certIfy that the foregomg Emergency Ordmance No 1939 (CCS) had its first readmg and was adopted on Apnl13, 1999 by the followmg vote Ayes CouncIl members Femstem. Genser. Holbrook. McKeown, O'Connor. Rosenstem Noes CouncIl members None AbstaIn CounCIl members None Absent CouncIl members None ATTEST \t-- ~~~. ~a.4- Mana M Stewart, ~Ity Clerk