SR-1102-001 (2)
Proposed Charter Amendment
Section 1800. Statement of purpose.
A growing shortage of housing units resulting in a low vacancy rate
and rapidly rising rents exploiting this shortage constitute a serious
housing problem affecting the lives of a substantial portion of those Santa
Monica residents who reside in residential housing. In addition,
speculation in the purchase and sale of existing residential housing units
results in further rent increases. These conditions endanger the public
health and welfare of Santa Monica tenants, especially the poor,
minorities, students, young families, and senior citizens. The purpose of
this Article, therefore, is to alleviate the hardship caused by this serious
housing shortage by establishing a Rent Control Board empowered to
regulate rentals in the City of Santa Monica so that rents will not be
increased unreasonably and so that landlords will receive no more than a
fair return.
In order to accomplish this purpose, this Article provides for an
elected Rent Control Board to ensure that rents are at a fair level by
requiring landlords to justify any rents in excess of the rents in effect one
year prior to the adoption of this Article. Tenants may seek rent
reductions from the rent in effect one year prior to the adoption of this
Article by establishing that those rents are excessive. In addition to giving
tenants an opportunity to contest any rent increase, this Article attempts to
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provide reasonable protection to tenants by controlling removal of
controlled rental units from the housing market and by requiring just cause
for any eviction from a controlled rental unit.
Through this Article, the City exercises its police power in order to
address the serious housing problem recognized in the original enactment
of this Rent Control Law in 1979 and still existing in +984 2001. The 1984
and the 2001 Amendment~ to the Rent Control Law is are intended to
clarify the law and ensure that the Rent Control Board possesses
adequate and independent authority to carry out its duties. ./.t-is Thev are
intended to ensure due process of law for landlords and tenants, effective
remedies for violation of the law, and consistency with constitutional
requirements. ./.t-is Thev are also intended to enable the Board to provide
relief to persons facing particular hardship and to protect and increase the
supply of affordable housing in the City. Termination or erosion of the
protections of this Article would have serious disruptive consequences for
persons in need of protection and the supply of affordable housing in the
City.
Section 1801. Definitions.
The following words or phrases as used in this Article shall have
the following meanings:
(a) Board. The term "Board" refers to the elected Rent Control
Board established by this Article.
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(b) Commissioners. The members of the Board and Interim Board
are denominated Commissioners.
(c) Controlled Rental Units. All residential rental units in the City of
Santa Monica, including mobile homes, and mobile home spaces, and
trailers and trailer spaces, except single family homes to the extent
provided for in Section 1815 and those units found by the Board to be
exempt under one or more of the following provisions:
(1) Rental units in hotels, motels, inns, tourist homes and
rooming and boarding houses which are rented primarily to transient
guests for a period of less than fourteen (14) days.
(2) Rental units in any hospital, convent, monastery,
extended medical care facility, asylum, non-profit home for the aged, or
dormitory owned and operated by an institution of higher education.
(3) Rental units which a government unit, agency or
authority owns, operates, manages, or in which govern mentally
subsidized tenants reside only if applicable Federal or State law or
administrative regulation specially exempt such units from municipal rent
control.
(4) Rental units in owner-occupied dwellings with no more
than three (3) units. For purposes of this Section:
(i) The term "owner" means a natural person who
owns a fifty (50) percent ownership interest in the building and resides on
the property as his or her principal place of residence.
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(ii) An exemption under this Section shall expire by
operation of law when the owner ceases to reside on the property as his
or her principal place of residence; thereafter, all units on the property
shall be subject to all provisions of this Article.
(5) Rental units and dwellings constructed after the adoption
of this Article; this exemption does not apply to units created as a result of
conversion as opposed to new construction.
(6) Where a unit is actually used for purposes of providing,
on a nonprofit basis, child care or other residential social services in
accordance with applicable laws. This exemption shall expire when the
use upon which exemption is based ceases. This exemption shall only
apply to units as they become vacant and shall only operate to allow the
specified use without the necessity of obtaining a removal permit under
this Article. This exemption shall not be construed to authorize the eviction
of any tenant nor to authorize the charging of rent in excess of that
permitted under this Article. The Board may adopt regulations to
determine whether a unit qualifies for an exemption under this Section.
(7) Exemptions are not automatic but shall be granted by the
Board upon application by the owner pursuant to Board rules, provided
that if the Board does not act upon a completed application for exemption
within ninety (90) days of its filing it shall be deemed approved.
(d) Housing Service. Housing services include, but are not limited
to repairs, maintenance, painting, providing light, hot and cold water,
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elevator service, window shades and screens, storage, kitchen, bath and
laundry facilities and privileges, janitor services, refuse removal,
furnishings, telephone, parking, and any other benefit, privilege or facility
connected with the use or occupancy of any rental unit includinq the riqht
to have a specified number of occupants. Services to a rental unit shall
include a proportionate part of services provided to common facilities of
the building in which the rental unit is contained.
(e) Landlord. An owner, lessor, sublessor or any other person
entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any rental unit, or an
agent, representative or successor of any of the foregoing.
(f) Rent. All periodic payments and all nonmonetary consideration
including but not limited to, the fair market value of goods or services
rendered to or for the benefit of the landlord under an agreement
concerning the use or occupancy of a rental unit and premises including
all payment and consideration demanded or paid for parking, pets,
furniture, subletting and security deposits for damages and cleaning.
(g) Rental Housing Agreement. An agreement, oral, written or
implied, between a landlord and tenant for use or occupancy of a rental
unit and for housing services.
(h) Rental Units. Any building, structure, or part thereof, or land
appurtenant thereto, or any other rental property rented or offered for rent
for living or dwelling house units, together with all housing services
connected with use or occupancy of such property such as common areas
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and recreational facilities held out for use by the tenant.
(i) 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 rental unit.
U) Recognized Tenant Organization. Any group of tenants residing
in controlled rental units in the same building or in different buildings
operated by the same management company, agent or landlord, who
requests to be so designated.
(k) Rent Ceiling. Rent ceiling refers to the limit on the maximum
allowable rent which a landlord may charge on any controlled rental unit.
(I) Base Rent Ceiling. The maximum allowable rent established in
Section 1804(b).
(m) Property. All rental units on a parcel or lot or contiguous parcels
or contiguous lots under common ownership.
(n) Single Family Home. A property that has been developed with
only one one-family dwelling and any lawful accessory structures, or a
lawfully created condominium, stock cooperative or similar unit that is part
of a larger residential structure or complex, excepting those
condominiums, stock cooperatives, or similar units converted after April
10, 1979 for which no removal permit or vested right determination has
been issued by the Board, and those created pursuant to Article XX of this
Charter.
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Section 1804. Maximum allowable rents.
(a) Temporary Freeze. Rents shall not be increased during the one
hundred-twenty (120) day period following the date of adoption of this
Article.
(b) Establish ment of Base Rent Ceiling. Beginning
one-hundred-twenty (120) days after the adoption of this Article, no
landlord shall charge rent for any controlled rental units in an amount
greater than the rent in effect on the date one year prior to the adoption of
this Article. The rent in effect on that date is the base rent ceiling and is a
reference point from which fair rents shall be adjusted upward or
downward in accordance with Section 1805. If there was no rent in effect
on the date one year prior to the adoption of this Article, the base rent
ceiling shall be the rent that was charged on the first date that rent was
charged following the date one year prior to the adoption of this Article.
For tenancies commencinq on or after January 1. 1999. which qualify for a
vacancy rent increase pursuant to state law. the base rent ceilinq is the
initial rental rate in effect on the date the tenancy commences. As used
in this subsection. the term "initial rental rate" means only the amount of
rent actually paid by the tenant for the initial term of the tenancy.
(c) Posting. As soon as the landlord is aware of the maximum
allowable rent, the landlord shall post it for each unit in a prominent place
in or about the affected controlled rent units. The Board may require that
other information it deems relevant also be posted.
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Section 1806. Eviction.
A. No landlord shall take action to terminate any tenancy
including corvico of. but not limited. to makinq a demand for possession of
a rental unit. threateninq to terminate a tenancy. servinq any notice to quit
or other eviction notice or bringirJ.g any action to recover possession or be
granted recovery of possession of a controlled rental unit unless:
(a) The tenant has failed to pay the rent to which the
landlord is entitled under the rental housing agreement and this Article.
(b) The tenant has committed material and substantial
breach of an obligation or covenant of his or her tenancy which the
landlord has not waived either expressly or impliedly through the
landlord's conduct and which the landlord is not estopped from asserting,
other than the obligation to surrender possession upon proper notice, and
the tenant has failed to cure such violation after having received written
notice thereof from the landlord in the manner required by law.
(c) The tenant is committing or expressly permitting a
nuisance in, or is causing substantial damage to, the controlled rental
unit, or is creating a substantial interference with the comfort, safety, or
enjoyment of the landlord or other occupants or neighbors of the same.
(d) The tenant is convicted of using or expressly permitting a
controlled rental unit to be used for any illegal purpose.
(e) The tenant, who had a rental housing agreement which
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had terminated, has refused, after written request or demand by the
landlord, to execute a written extension or renewal thereof for a further
term of like duration and in such terms as are not inconsistent with or
violative of any provisions of this Article and are materially the same as in
the previous agreement.
(f) The tenant has refused the landlord reasonable access to
the controlled rental unit for the purposes of making necessary repairs or
improvements required by the laws of the United States, the State of
California or any subdivision thereof or for the purpose of showing the
rental housing to any prospective purchaser or mortgagee.
(g) The tenant holding at the end of the term of the rental
housing agreement is a subtenant not approved by the landlord.
(h) The landlord seeks to recover possession in good faith
for use and occupancy by herself or himself, or her or his children, parents,
grandparents, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, or
daughter-in-law. For purposes of evictions under this Subsection:
(1) A "landlord" shall be defined as a natural person
who has at least a fifty (50) percent ownership interest in the property.
(2) No eviction may take place if any landlord or
enumerated relative already occupies one unit on the property, or if a
vacancy already exists on the property and the vacant unit is comparable
to the unit for which eviction is sought. Where the vacant unit is
determined not to be comparable, thereby permitting eviction under this
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Subsection, the evicted tenant or tenants shall be first given the right to
occupy the vacant unit and the rent thereof shall be the lesser of the
maximum allowable rent for the vacant unit and the maximum allowable
rent of the unit from which the tenant or tenants are evicted. The Rent
Control Board shall promulgate regulations defining when a unit is
comparable for purposes of this paragraph.
(3) The notice terminating tenancy shall contain the
name, address and relationship to the landlord of the person intended to
occupy.
(4) The landlord or enumerated relative must intend in
good faith to move into the unit within thirty (30) days after the tenant
vacates and to occupy the unit as a primary residence for at least one
year. The Board may adopt regulations governing the determination of
good faith.
(5) If the landlord or relative specified on the notice
terminating tenancy fails to occupy the unit within thirty (30) days after the
tenant vacates, the landlord shall:
(i) Offer the unit to the tenant who vacated it.
(ii) Pay to said tenant all reasonable expenses
incurred in moving to and/or from the unit.
(6) No eviction pursuant to this Subsection shall be
allowed in any condominium or stock cooperative unit which has been
converted from an apartment or other rental unit after April 10, 1979,
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unless the Rent Control Board has issued a removal permit or declared a
vested right for said unit. As used in this subpart, a unit shall be deemed
converted after April 10, 1979, if on April 10, 1979, the recorded tract map
or parcel map for the property showed the unit as included in the property.
(i) The landlord seeks to recover possession to
demolish or otherwise remove the controlled rental unit from rental
residential housing use after having obtained all proper permits from the
City of Santa Monica.
(j) The landlord has filed the requisite documents with the
Rent Control Board initiatinq the procedure for withdrawinq units from rent
or lease under Government Code Section 7060 et. seq. and the Board's
requlations. with the intention of completinq the withdrawal process and
qoinq out of the residential rental business.
B. Notwithstanding the above provisions, possession shall not be
granted if it is determined that the eviction is in retaliation for the tenant
reporting violations of this Article, for exercising rights granted under this
Article, including the right to withhold rent upon authorization of the Board
under Section 1803(q) or Section 1809 or for organization other tenants.
C. In any notice purporting to terminate tenancy the landlord shall
state the cause for the termination, and in any action brought to recover
possession of a controlled rental unit, the landlord shall allege and prove
compliance with this Section. The landlord shall file with the Rent
Control Board a COpy of any notice terminatinq tenancy. except a three
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day notice to pay rent or vacate. within 3 days after servinq the notice on
the tenant.
D. Failure to comply with any requirement of this section may
be asserted as an affirmative defense in an action brouqht by the landlord
to recover possession of the unit. Additionally. Ar+y- any attempt to
recover possession of a unit in violation of this Section Article shall render
the landlord liable to the tenant for actual and punitive damaqes. includinq
damaqes for emotional distress. in a civil action for actual and punitive
damages wronqful eviction. The tenant or the Rent Control Board may
seek iniunctive relief and money damaqes for wronqful eviction. The
prevailing party in an action baced upon thic Section for wronqful eviction
shall recover costs and reasonable attorneys fees.
Section 1821. Tenant harassment.
Tenants livinq in rental housinq units have the riqht to quiet
enioyment. privacy and freedom from harassment by the property owner.
In order to effectuate this riqht. the City Council shall at all times maintain
a Tenant Harassment Ordinance in force which protects tenants from
landlords' malicious conduct in deroqation of tenants' riqhts.
f :\atty\m u n i\memos\m j m\rentcontrolcharteramend ment
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