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city Council Meeting 2-13-90
Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO:
Mayor and city council
FROM:
city Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance Amending Chapter 8B of Article IV
of the Santa Monica Municipal Code Relating
to Tenant Relocation Assistance
At its meeting on January 30, 1990, the City council
directed the City Attorney to expedi te its review of proposed
revisions to the City's Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance.
In response to that direction, the accompanying ordinance has
been prepared and is presented to the City Council for its
consideration.
The ordinance has been revised in two main areas. First,
the relocation fee amounts have been adjusted as reflected in the
table below.
Housing unit size
Current Fee
Proposed Fee
Bachelor or Single
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,000
One Bedroom
$3,750
Two Bedroom*
$4,250
Three Bedrooms*
$5,250
Four or More Bedrooms*
$5,500
*The current ordinance requires that a fee of $3,000 be paid for
units with two or more bedrooms.
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As can be seen in the table below, the newly proposed
relocation fee represents the sum of four cost components:
1. The differential between the average Maximum Allowable
Rent ("MAR") and the average market rent. This component
represents the difference in payment a displaced tenant must make
when that tenant pays the first month's rent at a new unit.
2. Two times the average market rent. This component
represents the security deposit that a displaced tenant will
likely be required to pay in order to move to a market rate unit
of the same size the tenant is vacating.
3. Moving expenses. This component represents the average
cost to hire a professional moving company to move a displaced
Santa Monica tenant to a unit in the Santa Monica/West Los
Angeles area.
4. Utility start-up Costs. This component represents the
average installation/hook-up charges for gas, water and power,
and telephone service for a residential unit in the Santa
Monica/West Los Angeles area.
The following table shows the average maximum allowable
rents in the City as well as the average rents for market rate
units in the city:
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Average Average
# Bedrooms MAR* Market Rent**
0 Bedroom $380 $ 950
1 Bedroom $416 $1,186
2 Bedroom $558 $1,357
3 Bedroom $662 $1,684
4 Bedroom $698 $1,784
*Source: Rent Control Board.
**Source: Community and Economic Development Department.
The following table shows the relocation fee cost
components:
# Bedrooms
Difference
Between
Averaqe MAR
and Average
Market Rent
Security
Deposit*
(2x Market
Rate)
o
$ 570
$ 770
$ 799
$1,900
1
$2,372
2
$2,71.4
3
$1,022
$1,086
$3,368
$3,568
4
Average
Moving
Costs**
$288
$360
$432
$504
$576
utility
startup
Costs***
$153
$178
$1.98
$218
$238
Total
Relocation
Fee
(Rounded)
$3,000
$3,750
$4,250
$5,250
$5,500
*State law allows a maximum security deposit of two months' rent
for an unfurnished unit.
**Based on rates quoted by five local moving companies. Rates
include two movers and one van for between four hours for a 0
bedroom unit move to 8 hours for a 4 bedroom unit move.
***Based on rates quoted by Southern California Gas Company
(costs range from $15 for a 0 bedroom unit to approximately $100
for a 4 bedroom unit), General Telephone Company ($75, assuming
it is necessary to install GTE equipment at the unit), and
Department of Water and Power ($13 application fee and $50
deposit; the latter assumes no prior DWP account).
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In addition to the relocation fee set forth above, if a
displaced tenant is a senior citizen, disabled person, or tenant
with whom a minor child resides, an additional $1,000 fee is
required.
This does not reflect a change from the current
ordinance.
The second maj or change involves extension of the
relocation ordinance to cover tenants who vacate their units
prior to receipt of a notice to terminate tenancy but subsequent
to receipt of a written notice from either the landlord or the
Rent Control Board stating that their landlord has filed a
removal permit application or a notice of intention to withdraw
units pursuant to the Ellis Act with the Rent Control Board.
In addition to these major modifications, clarifying
language has been added where necessary and is underlined in the
attached ordinance.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be introduced for first reading.
PREPARED BY:
Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
Laurie Lieberman, Deputy City Attorney
Barry Rosenbaum, Deputy City Attorney
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CA:RMM:lld582jhpc
City Council Meeting 2-13-90
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(city Council series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING CHAPTER 8B OF ARTICLE IV
OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO
TENANT RELOCATION ASSISTANCE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 8B of Article IV of the Santa Monica
Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
Chapter 8B - TENANT RELOCATION
ASSISTANCE
SECTION
4850.
Definitions.
For
purposes of this Chapter, the following
words and phrases shall have the following
meaning:
(a)
Disabled Person.
Any person
who is receiving benefits from a federal,
state, or local government, or from a
private entity on account of a permanent
disability that prevents the person from
engaging in regular, full-time employment.
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(b) Displaced Tenant. Any tenant
who vacates a rental housing unit in the
ci ty for any of the reasons set forth in
Section 4851.
(c) Landlord. Any owner, lessor,
sublessor, or any other person entitled to
receive rent for the use and occupancy of
a rental housing unit, or any agent,
representative or successor of any of the
foregoing.
(d) Minor Child. Any person
younger than eighteen (18) years of aqe.
(e) Rental Housinq Unit. A housing
unit in the City of Santa Monica including
a room in a single family home, hotel or
motel, roominghouse or apartment, single
family home, mobile home or mobile home
space, trailer or trailer space, offered
for rent. tlRental housing unitU does not
include any unit occupied pursuant to an
innkeeper-guest relationship.
(f) senior citizen. Any person
sixty-two (62) years of age or older.
(q) Tenant. Any tenant, subtenant,
lessee, sublessee, or any other person
occupying a rental housing unit pursuant
to a rental housing agreement.
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SECTION 4851.
Required.
(a) A relocation fee shall be paid
in accordance with the provisions of this
Chapter by any landlord who terminates or
causes the termination of a tenancy for
When Relocation Fee
any of the following reasons:
(1) The landlord seeks to
withdraw all rental housing units from the
rental housing market as provided in
Government Code sections 7060 et seq.
(2) The landlord seeks to
recover possession of a rental housing
unit pursuant to Section 1806 (h) or
section 1806(i) of the city Charter.
(3) The landlord seeks to
recover possession to demolish or
otherwise remove a rental housing unit
from residential rental housing use after
having obtained all proper permits from
the city.
(b) A relocation fee shall be paid
in accordance with the provisions of this
Chapter to a displaced tenant who serves a
landlord with a notice to terminate
tenancy after having received written
notice from either the landlord or the
Santa Monica Rent Control Board that the
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landlord has filed a Notice of Intent to
Withdraw Residential Rental Units pursuant
to Government Code section 7060.4 and
Santa Monica Rent Control Board Regulation
16002(a) or an Application for Removal
Permit pursuant to Santa Monica Charter
section 1803(t).
(c) The fee required by this
Chapter shall be due and payable to a
displaced tenant whether or not the
landlord actually utilizes the rental
housing unit for the purposes stated in
the notice of eviction.
SECTION 4852.
Notice to Tenants
Being Displaced.
(a) Any notice to terminate a
tenancy which is served upon tenants for
any of the reasons set forth in Section
4851 shall be accompanied by the following
on the form provided by the City:
(1) A written statement of
the rights and obligations of tenants and
landlords under this Chapter.
(2) A written statement
informing
relocation
the tenants that the required
fee has been placed in an
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escrow account or other account approved
by the city.
(3) A written statement that
the landlord has complied with section
4854. If the landlord has complied with
section 4854 by obtaining City approval of
a Displacement Plan, a copy of the
Displacement Plan shall accompany the
written statement.
(b) A landlord shall comply with
the provisions of this section within two
(2) workinq days after receiving a
tenant's notice to terminate tenancy as
set forth in section 4851(b).
SECTION 4853. Amount of Relocation
Fee. The amount of relocation fee payable
pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter
shall be determined as follows:
(a) The relocation fee shall
determined according to the size of
rental housing unit as follows:
Housing Unit size Relocation Fee
Bachelor or Single $3,000.00
One Bedroom $3,750.00
Two Bedroom $4,250.00
Three Bedroom $5,250.00
Four Bedroom $5,500.00
be
the
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(b) If the rental housing unit from
which the tenant is being evicted is
furnished, Two Hundred Fifty Dollars
($250.00) shall be deducted from the
amount set forth in subsection (a) of this
section. For purposes of this subsection,
a rental housing unit shall be considered
to be furnished if the landlord has
provided substantial furnishings in each
occupied room of the rental housing unit.
(c) If one or more of the displaced
tenants is a senior citizen or disabled
person, or is a tenant with whom a minor
child resides, and the displaced tenant(s)
occupied the rental housing unit on or
before the effective date of this Chapter,
an additional One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00) shall be added to the amount
set forth in subsection (a) of this
Section.
SECTION 4854. Additional Fee for
Required Counseling.
(a) For each rental housing unit
from which tenants are displaced for any
of the reasons set forth in section
4851 (a), prior to service of a notice to
terminate tenancy, the landlord shall pay
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a fee to the City in the amount of Two
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) to be used
by ci ty to pay for counseling or other
assistance required by displaced tenants
as a result of displacement.
(b) In lieu of the fee required by
subsection (a) of this Section, a landlord
may prepare a Displacement Plan which must
be approved by the Community and Economic
Development Department prior to service of
a notice to terminate tenancy. The
Displacement Plan shall identify the
special needs of the displaced tenants,
identify the types of assistance that will
be provided and include a commitment to
pay for any such assistance. At the time
of submitting the Displacement Plan to the
city for review and approval, the landlord
shall pay a fee to the city for such
review and approval in the amount of One
Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each rental
housing unit.
SECTION 4855. Deposit of Relocation
Fee into Escrow.
(a) The relocation fee required by
this Chapter shall be placed in an escrow
account prior to service by a landlord
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upon any tenant of a notice to terminate
tenancy for one of the reasons set forth
in section 4851(a) or within two (2)
working days of service by a tenant upon a
landlord of a notice to terminate tenancy
as set forth in Section 4851(b). All
costs of an escrow opened pursuant to the
provisions of this Section shall be borne
by the landlord. Escrow instructions
shall be approved by the city.
(b) The escrow instructions shall
provide that monies deposited in the
escrow account shall only be distributed
to displaced tenants in accordance with
the instructions of the landlord and that
no monies deposited in escrow may be
returned to the landlord wi thout the
written approval of the city.
(c) In lieu of deposit of the
relocation fee in an escrow account, a
landlord may deposi t the fee in another
account approved by the city.
SECTION 4856.
Tenants.
(a) within two (2) workinq days of
the written request by the tenant, the
landlord shall deliver written
payment to Displaced
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instructions to the escrow holder to
distribute all or a portion of the
relocation fee to a third party providing
moving or replacement housing to the
tenant. The instructions shall direct the
escrow holder to make the distribution
within three (3) workinq days of del i very
of the instructions.
(b ) within two (2) workinq days of
the vacation of the rental housing unit,
the landlord shall deliver written
instruction to the escrow holder to
distribute the amount of the remaining
relocation fee to the displaced tenant or
displaced tenants of such rental housing
unit. The instructions shall direct the
escrow holder to make the distribution
within three (3) workinq days of delivery
of the instructions.
(c) The entire fee shall be paid to
a tenant who is the only displaced tenant
in a rental housing unit. If a rental
housing unit is occupied by two (2) or
more displaced tenants, the relocation fee
shall be paid to all displaced tenants
jointly. In no event shall a landlord be
liable to pay a total amount more than the
fee required by section 4853 of this
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Chapter for one rental housing unit, and
the landlord shall have no responsibility
or liability for disputes between
displaced tenants over allocation of the
relocation fee between such displaced
tenants.
(d) In the event the landlord has
been required to commence a legal action
to recover possession of the rental
housing unit and iudgment in favor of the
landlord has been entered prior to the
tenant's vacation of the unit, the
landlord may instruct the escrow holder to
wi thhold from distribution to the
displaced tenant or displaced tenants of
such rental housing units the amount of
any unsatisfied monetary judgment entered
in such action in favor of the landlord.
Upon the judgment becoming final, the City
shall authorize the escrow holder to
return to the landlord the amount
withheld. If no monetary judgment has
been entered prior to the tenant's
vacation of the uni t, the landlord must
authorize the distribution of the entire
relocation fee in accordance with section
4856.
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SECTION 4857.
Physical Relocation
In Lieu of Fee.
(a) In lieu of the relocation fee
required by sections 4853 and 4854, the
landlord may, at the landlord's option,
relocate the displaced tenant into a
comparable replacement housing unit
satisfactory to the tenant, in which event
the landlord shall be liable only for the
actual costs of relocating the tenant,
except that this section shall not
abrogate any rights already created by
section l806(h) (2) of the city Charter. A
tenant shall not unreasonably withhold
approval of a comparable replacement
rental housing unit offered by the
landlord. For purposes of this Section, a
replacement unit shall be comparable to
the existing unit if both units are
comparable in size, price, location,
proximi ty to medical and recreational
facilities, parks, community centers,
shops, transportation, schools, churches
and synagogues, amenities, and if the
tenant desires, location of the rental
unit in the City of Santa Monica.
(b) If a tenant displaced for the
reason set forth in Section 4851(a) (2)
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elects to occupy a noncomparable vacant
unit on the same property from which that
tenant is being displaced, pursuant to the
terms set forth in Section 1806 (h) of the
city Charter, in lieu of the relocation
fee required by sections 4853 and 4854,
the landlord shall only be liable for the
actual costs of relocating the tenant.
SECTION 4858. 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 4851, the landlord shall allege
and prove compliance with this Chapter.
(b) Any landlord who fails to
provide monetary relocation assistance as
required by Sections 4853, 4854, and 4856
of this Chapter shall be liable in civil
action to the tenant to whom such
assistance is due for damages in the
amount of the relocation fee the landlord
has failed to pay, a civil penalty in the
amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)
and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs
as determined by the court.
(c) Any person violating any of the
provisions or failing to comply with the
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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 written or oral, whereby any
provision of this Chapter is waived, shall
be deemed against public policy and shall
be void.
SECTION 4859. Relocation Due to
Necessary Code Enforcement. If a landlord
is required to recover possession of a
rental housing unit in order to comply
with housing, health, or safety laws of
the state of California or the City of
Santa Monica, or if a tenant is required
to vacate a unit upon the order of any
government officer or agency, the landlord
shall be responsible for the reasonable
cost of temporary accommodations for the
displaced tenant necessitated by such
recovery of possession until such time as
the tenant is restored to possession. In
the event that the tenancy of such person
is subsequently terminated for one of the
reasons set forth in Section 4851, the
landlord shall pay the relocation fee
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required by Sections 4853 and 4854 and the
landlord shall have no further obI igation
for temporary accommodations under this
Section.
SECTION
4860.
Applicability
Requirements
of
as
Relocation Assistance
Provided in this Chapter.
(a) The relocation
assistance
requirements set forth in this Chapter
shall apply to any tenant in possession of
a rental housing unit on or after the
effective date of the Ordinance amendinq
this Chapter, including any tenant who has
been served with a notice to terminate
tenancy for one of the reasons set forth
in section 4851 (a) prior to the effective
date of the Ordinance amendinq this
Chapter and has not yet vacated the unit.
(b) The landlord shall comply with
the requirements contained in Sections
4852, 4853, 4854, and 4855 within five (5)
days of the effective date of the
Ordinance amending this Chapter in the
event that a notice to terminate tenancy
for one of the reasons set forth in
Section 4851{a) has been served on a
tenant or a notice to terminate tenancy
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pursuant to Section 4851 (b) has been
served on a landlord prior to the
effective date of the Ordinance amendinq
this Chapter. In the event that on the
effective date of this Section, a landlord
has complied with the provisions of
section 4855 previously in effect, but has
not yet received a written request from a
tenant for distribution of the fee
pursuant to Section 4856, the landlord
shall place in escrow the addi tional
amount of relocation fee required by
section 4853 within five (5) working days
of the effective date of this Section.
(c) Nothing in this Chapter shall
limit the amount of the relocation fee
that the City Council may require under
Government Code Section 65863.7.
SECTION 4861. Inapplicability of
Chapter to Certain Evictions.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 4860,
the requirements set forth in this Chapter
shall not apply to any tenant whose
tenancy is terminated pursuant to a lawful
notice to terminate tenancy pursuant to
Section 1806(h) of the City Charter served
on or before June 10, 1986.
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(b) section 4859 shall not be
applicable if the displacement and
relocation of the tenant is the result of
a fire not caused by the landlord,
earthquake, or other natural disaster.
SECTION 4862. Coordination with
other Relocation Requirements. In the
event that a landlord is required by any
other governmental body to provide
relocation benefits to a tenant who
receives a notice to terminate tenancy for
one of the reasons set forth in section
4851, such benefits shall be offset
against the amount of relocation benefits
required by Section 4853. This Chapter
shall not apply to any relocation plan
approved by agreement by the Rent Control
Board on or before June 24, 1986.
SECTION 2. 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, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to affect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. 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 any competent
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jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validlty 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.
SECTION 4. 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 after 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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February 13, 1990
:)CN-";:A ~ .-J-.'A~i::O!EN
KE'JI N V .....OZAL
E_ ZA5::-... A ST::R....
S-Eq~AN _ STAcey
"iIAND DELIVERED
Santa Monica City Council
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Re: Item No. BE
Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance
Dear Councilmembers:
This firm has only recently received a copy of the city
staff Report regarding the proposed amendment of Chapter BB of
Article IV of the Santa Monica Municipal Code relating to tenant
relocation assistance.
We have not had ample opportunity to review the proposed
amendment. Therefore, we request that you continue this item to
your next IDeeting to enable our firm and other members of the
public to adequately review the proposed ordinance and provide any
pertinent comments.
Sincerely yours,
C~~~.~~
Christopher M. Harding
of LAWRENCE & HARDING
a Professional Corporation
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