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