O1943
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City Council Meeting 5-25-99
Santa MOnica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1943
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE SECTIONS 4 56 010. 4 56.020 AND 4 56 040 RELATING TO TENANT
HARASSMENT AND DECLARING THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, the State-mandated vacancy decontrol for apartments In the City
became effective January 1, 1999, and
WHEREAS, the number of tenant complaints to the City of harassment by
apartment owners has Increased su bstantlally In each of the past th ree fiscal years and the
number of reports of seriOUs violations has Increased In recent months, and
WHEREAS, based on the content of harassment complaInts and staffs experience
In investIgatIng and prosecuting those complaInts, the eXistIng Tenant Harassment
Ordinance IS inSUffICient In certain areas to protect tenants agaInst unlawful conduct by
owners Intended to cause them to vacate,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS
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SECTION 1 Santa MOnica MUnicipal Code SectIon 4.56 010 IS amended to read
as follows
Section 4.56.010. Definitions.
(a) Fraud Intentional misrepresentation, deceIt or concealment of a
material fact
(b) Housing Service Housing servIces Include, but are not limited to,
hot and cold water, heat, electricity, gas, refrigeration, elevator service,
wmdowshades and screens, storage, kitchen, bath and laundryfaclhtles and
prIvIleges, JanItor servIces, refuse removal, furnishings, telephone, parkIng,
effective waterproofing and weather protection, painting, and any other
benefit, pnvllege or facIlity that has been provided by the landlord to the
tenant with use or occupancy of any rental housing Unit Services to a rental
housing Unit shall Include a proportionate part of servIces provided to
common facilities of the bUilding In which the rental hOUSing Unit IS contained
(c) Landlord An owner, lessor, sublessor, or any other person entitled
to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any fental hOUSing unit, or an
agent, representative or successor of any of the foregOing
(d) Malice An Intent to vex, annoy, harass or Injure another person
(e) Rental HOUSIng Agreement. An agreement, oral Of wntten or
Implied, between a landlord and tenant for use or occupancy of a rental
hOUSing Unit and for hOUSing servIces
(f) Rental HOUSing Unit A hOUSIng Unit In the City that constitutes a
controlled rental unit pursuant to CIty Charter Section 1800 et seq including
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a room In a single-family home, hotel or motel, roomlnghouse or apartment,
single-family home, mobile home or mobile home space, trailer or trailer
space
(9) Tenant A tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee or any other
person entitled under the terms of a rental housing agreement to the use or
occupancy of any fental housing Unit
SECTION 2 Santa MonIca MUniCipal Code Section 4 56.020 is amended to read
as follows
Section 4.56.020 Prohibition.
No landlord shall, wIth respect to property used as a rental hOUSing
Unit under any rental hOUSing agreement or other tenancy or estate at will,
however created, do any of the following with malice
(a) InterruptJ. or terminate or fall to provIde hOUSing services feqUlfed
by contract or by State. county or local hOUSing, health or safety laws,
(b) Fall to perform repaIrs and maIntenance required by contract or by
State, county or local hOUSIng, health or safety laws,
(c) Fall to exercIse due diligence In completmg repairs and
maintenance once undertaken,
(d) Abuse the landlord's nght of access Into a rental hOUSing Unit as
that fight IS specified In CalifornIa CIvil Code Section 1954,
(e) Abuse the tenant with words which are offenSive and Inherently
likely to provoke an ImmedIate violent reactIon,t3
(f) Seek to entice or entice a tenant to vacate a rental housing unit
through fraud, IntImidatIon or coefClon,
(g) Threaten the tenant, by word or gesture, wIth physical harm,
(h) VIolate any law which prohibits diSCrimination based on race,
gender, sexual preference, sexual onentatlon, ethnic background, nationality,
religion, age, parenthood, mamage, pregnancy, disability, AIDS or
occupancy by a minor Child,
(I) (1) Take action to termmate any tenancy mcludmg service of any
notIce to qUIt or other eViction notice or bring any action to recover
possession of a rental housing Unit based upon facts which the landlord has
no reasonable cause to belIeve to be true or upon a legal theory which IS
untenable under the facts known to the landlord.
(2) This subsectIon shall not apply to any attorney who in good faith
Initiates legal proceedings against a tenant on behalf of a landlord to recover
possession of a rental housing Unit;
(J) Interfere wIth a tenant's right to qUiet use and enjoyment of a rental
housing unIt as that right IS defined by California law,
(k) Refuse to acknowledge fecelpt of a tenant's lawful rent payment
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SECTION 3. Santa MonIca MUnicipal Code Section 456040 is amended to read
as follows
Section 4.56.040 Enforcement and penalties.
(a) Criminal Penalty Any person who IS convicted of violating this
Chapter shall be gUilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be
pUnished by a fine of not greater than five hundred dollars or by
Imprisonment in the County Jail for not more than six months, or by both
such fine and Imprisonment.
(b) CIvil Action Any person, Including the City, may enforce the
provisions of thiS Chapter by means of a cIvil action The burden of proof In
such cases shall be preponderance of the eVidence A violation of thiS
Chapter may be asserted as an affirmative defense In an unlawful detainer
actIon
(c) Injunction Any person who commits an act, proposes to commit
an act, or engages in any pattern and practice which violates Section
4 56.020 may be enJomed therefrom by any court of competent JUriSdictIon
An action for injunction under thiS subsection may be brought by any
aggrieved person, by the CIty Attorney, or by any person or entity who Will
faIrly and adequately represent the Interest of the protected class
(d) Penalties Any person who vloJates or aids or IncItes another
person to vIolate the provIsions of thiS Chapter is liable for each and every
such offense for the actual damages suffered by any aggrieved party or for
statutory damages In the sum of fIve hundred dollars, whIchever IS greater,
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and shall be lIable for such attorney's fees and costs as may be determined
by the court In addItion thereto. The court may also award pUnitive damages
In a proper case as defIned by CIvil Code SectIon 3294. The burden of proof
for purposes of pUnitive damages shall be clear and convincIng eVidence
(e) Nonexclusive Remedies and Penalties. The remedies provided In
this Chapter are not exclusive, and nothing In this Chapter shall preclude any
person rom seekIng any othef remedies, penalties or procedures provided
bylaw
SECTION 4 This Ordinance IS declared to be an emergency measure adopted
pursuant to the provIsions of Section 615 of the Santa MonIca City Charter and IS
necessary for preserving the public peace, health, safety and welfare
SECTION 5. 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 Ofdlnance.
SECTION 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, Of phf8se 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
Qfdlnance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, Of phrase not
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declared Invalid or unconstItutIonal wIthout regard to whether any portion of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstItutional
SECTION 7 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 AS TO FORM.
lk~fA<LjA/c1 ~~
MARSHA JoJfEs MOUTRIE
City AttorneY"
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Adopted and approved thIS 25[b day of May, 1999
\
~1I1A (;r6t1
plm O'Connor, Mayor
State of Cahforma )
County of Los Angeles ) ss
CIty of Santa Maruca )
I, Mana M Stewart. CIty Clerk of the CIty of Santa Maruca, do hereby certify that the
foregomg Ordmance No 1943 (CCS) had Its mtroductIon and adoptIon on May 25, 1999,
by the followmg vote
Ayes
CouncIl members McKeown. FelDStem, Bloom,
Holbrook. RosensteIn. Mayor Pro Tern Genser.
Mayor 0 'Connor
Noes
None
Abstam
None
Absent
None
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~~, ~
Mana M Stewart, CIty C~