SR-9-A (79)
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City Council Meeting 1-19-99
Santa Monica, California
TO
Mayor and City CouncIl
FROM
City Staff
SUBJECT
Information Regardmg Proposals for Revisions to the Tenant Harassment
Ordmance
D-lTRODUCTION
At Lts meeting of January 12, 1999, the CouneLl dLscussed the CLty's law prohibiting tenant
harassment and requested informatIOn about the operation of that law and possibilities for amending
the law or placmg Lt m the Cny charter This staff report responds to those requests
BACKGROill\TQ Ahl) DISCUSSION
Since the law became effective It has been enforced my thiS office' s Consumer, Fair Housing, and
Individual Rights Unit That umt receives walk-in and telephone inquiries from members of the
public Persons alleging harassment are provided with a complaint form and given an appointment
for an mtervlew with one of the members of the unit After the mterview, the complaint is reviewed
and assessed
Records ofwntten complamts are kept by CIty fiscal year The number of complaints for each fiscal
year IS as follows
'1A
:JAtJ 1<1 1'1'1'
FY
95-96
96-97
97-98
98-99
.. ,
No Of Complaints
7
23
75
44 to date
Thus, the number of complaints mcreased dramatically In FY97-98 and appears to have increased
slightly this fiscal year However, given changes in state law, a more Significant increase may yet
occur this fiscal year
Four criminal actions have been filed as a result of harassment complaints One defendant pleaded
guilty and IS required to stay outside the City limits Another case settled out of court Two cases
are awaiting trial There are currently one or two other cases whIch may be filed depending upon the
results of investigations Thus, a small percentage of the formal complamts result in criminal
prosecution
Most of the complamts we receive fall mto three general categories (I) frivolous legal actions by the
landlord, such as improper notices to the tenant, (2) enforcement ofIease terms which appear to be
overzealous and whIch may be inconsistent With past enforcement, and (3) strained relations between
the landlord and tenant which may mclude a lack of cooperation as to repairs, confrontations, and
miscommunicatIOns The first of these areas -- frIvolous legal actIOns -- IS covered by the present
language of the law, and one of our prosecutions involved such a situation The second categoI)' of
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.
conduct -- zealous enforcement oflease provisions -- usually falls outside the ambit of the present
law However, In many circumstances, the tenant may assert waiver of a term of the rental agreement
as a defense in an unlawful detainer proceeding if the landlord has failed to enforce the provision for
a penod of time As to strained relatIOns, the Consumer/Falr Housing Unit IS often able to assist in
obtaining some informal resolution, a function which the umt performs as to a large percentage of
complamts
\Ve have been asked what factors Impact thIS office's decision whether or not to file a criminal
prosecution The prinCipal conSideratIon In filmg a tenant harassment case, or any other criminal case,
IS the eVIdence Generally speakmg, the office files a cnminal case when the evidence appears
suffiCient to establish the elements of the particular cnme to the cnmmal proof standard Frequently,
the eVidence presented to us and which we obtam through mvestlgation is insufficient to substantiate
the elements of harassment Additionally, investigatory resources might be of aSSistance in some
cases However, In many of these situatIons, the allegations describe conduct which, though mean-
spinted and very upsettmg, IS legal In other situations, the conduct described is subject to regulation
under other laws and appropnate referrals are made
\Ve have also been asked about our expenence in enforCing the law in court To date, our experience
has been successful However, two Judges have observed that the law appears to be "tough on
landlords"
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We have been asked if the law should be strengthened In a variety of possible ways including,
changing the malIce requirement, addmg administrative remedIes, and broadening the definition of
harassment by including a failure to protect the tenant's qUlet enjoyment This is in large part a
policy question for the Council, but we will supply the information we have As to the malice
requirement, so far it has not impacted crlmmal filing deciSIOns, though it may in future cases.
Moreover, one Judge has observed that WIthout that requirement he might question the law's
constltutlOnahty Nevertheless, the CounCil could certamly decide to alter or eliminate the malice
requirement ThIS would broaden the applicatIOn of the law and probably increase the chance that
the law will be challenged in court
As to possible admmistrative remedIes, we already use mformal procedures akin to "office
conferences" to address a significant number of cases Moreover, insofar as any administrative
system was perceived as a procedural barner to the landlord's pursuit of the unlawful detainer
remedy, it would lIkely be Invalidated AdditIOnally, we believe that the remedies presently proVIded
are strong because, m additIOn to the possIbility of cnmmal prosecution, the law establishes civil
recourse Thus, an aggrieved tenant may assert harassment as a defense in an unlawful detainer or
may file a civil action for both compensatory and pUnitive damages and recover attorney's fees
As to strengthening provisions relating to quiet enjoyment, there were several suggestions. \Ve agree
that examples ofunlav.wl disturbances could be added
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It has also been suggested that the standard for awardmg cIvil damages should be clarified We agree
that it would be advisable to resolve any ambigUIties in the law through amendment
At the meet10g ofJanuary 12th, one member of the public also suggested changes to the Rent Control
Law to provide greater protections to tenants, includmg protections ensuring fair notice to tenants
of theIr nghts and responslblhtles under the Rent Control Law Perhaps m response to these
suggestIOns, we were asked whether the boundaries between the Rent Control Law and its
admInistration, on the one hand, and the tenant harassment law and its enforcement, on the other, are
clear Theyare Any changes 10 the Rent Control Law would require approval of the voters, and
Cay Legal Staff suggests that any mformatlOn \'v'hlch the CounCIl needs to assess pOSSible changes
in the Rent Control Law be obtamed from the Rent Board and ItS staff Of course, short ofa Charter
change, mformation about the Rent Controlla\v and tenants' rights can certainly be disbursed at any
tIme
RECOl\1:\"1E1'\TIA TION
Legal staff recommends that the Council amend the tenant harassment ordinance to clarifY the
standard for compensatory damages and take any other actIOns which It deems advisable as a matter
of policy
PREP ARE 0 BY
:Marsha Jones Moutrie, CIty Attorney
Adam Radmsky, Consumer and FaIr Hous1Og Attorney
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