landlord/tenant lawyer in San Francisco

Why is My Apartment Not Rent Controlled?

June 30, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

There are many reasons why your particular rental unit may not have the benefits of rent control. It could be that your local authorities never enacted any type of rent control. Meaning it might not just be your building that is without rent increase limitations, it may be your entire city or county. You may lack rent control because despite your area having rent control, you live in an exempted unit. Many areas, like San Francisco, have rent control for older units but exempt “new construction,” which is any unit granted a residency certificate after a specific date. In San Francisco, that date is June 13, 1979. However, there is another reason you may not have a rent controlled unit. A California law known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act restricts municipalities from creating rent control ordinances on newer buildings.

Your Local Ordinance

While some cities in California chose to enact rent control at one time, many never did. Rent control becomes popular during times of rising rents and limited housing. However, it is not standard across the country by any means. Many cities and counties across the U.S. have never experienced housing shortages. Or when issues arose, they allowed the market to control the outcome instead of attempting to legislate the issue.

Santa Monica Rent Control Board Announces $40 Adjustment Cap

June 14, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

In June, the City of Santa Monica’s Rent Control Board announced its 2017 general adjustment (GA) cap. This year, landlords cannot raise rent for rent controlled units by more than 2%, with a maximum increase of $40. This applies to all maximum allowable rents of $1,975 or higher.

The Rent Control Board sets the yearly GA based on 75% of the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for the greater Los Angeles Area, which was 2.7%. The Board announced the 2% GA back in May, yet the Board voted to implement the $40 cap in July over concern about rising rents.

When Santa Monica’s GA May go into Effect

Is My California Apartment Rent Controlled?

May 26, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

Despite what you might have heard, California does not have a statewide rent control provision. This leaves rent control up to cities or counties. If you live in a unit that is applicable to your local rent control ordinance, then you have a number of additional rights as a tenant compared to another renter in a non-rent controlled unit. Your landlord can only raise your rent a certain amount at a certain interval, and must give you a specific amount of notice regarding the increase. Each of these elements, including how much, will be dictated by your local law. If you believe your unit is rent controlled and your landlord is violating the ordinance, contact a local tenants rights attorney to find out how to protect your rights.

Look up Your Local Law

When you are wondering if your unit is rent controlled, the first question you should ask is whether your city has a rent control ordinance. Some cities do, and some do not. The following cities have some type of rent control ordinance in California:

San Francisco Judge Cracks Down on Landlord with $2.4 Million Fine

May 10, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

San Francisco rental and housing costs have skyrocketed in recent years. The amount a landlord can get for a small unit has doubled or tripled compared to potential rent prices just a few years ago. This potential financial gain means it is often in the landlord’s best interests to have a long-term tenant move out so that the new rent can be increased a significant percentage – a move that may not be possible with current tenants under rent control laws. This motivation has led landlords across the area to illegally evict tenants. However, lawmakers and prosecutors are cracking down on this type of behavior and at least one notorious landlord has been fined millions of dollars for deceptive and bad faith practices.

San Francisco Landlord Heavily Fined

In a ruling against local landlord Anne Kihagi, Judge Angela Bradstreet stated there was a pattern of bad-faith harassment, retaliation, and fraud against Kihagi’s tenants, San Francisco Gate reported. Kihagi was found to have intentionally ruined her tenant’s ability to quietly enjoy their rental property due a campaign of continual harassment, a reduction in services, and unlawful evictions. She was fined close to $2.4 million for violations of California housing law and ordered to pay all of the city’s court and investigative fees, which are expected to be a couple million dollars.

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors Tries to Fight Wrongful Evictions With Proposed Legislation

April 21, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

In early April, the Board of Supervisors introduced two new pieces of legislations both aimed at making it more difficult for landlords to wrongfully evict tenants. The legislation, introduced by Supervisor Mark Farrell and Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Jane Kim, was drafted after an NBC Bay Area Investigation found landlords were fraudulently claiming landlord move-ins to evict tenants. It is legal for landlords to evict tenants so that they or one of their family members can move into a unit. However, NBC found there is little oversight to this process and many landlords are lying to get old tenants out and new tenants willing to pay much higher prices in.

The NBC Bay Area Investigation

NBC investigators knocked on doors throughout San Francisco to survey residents in addresses that were listed as having an owner-move-in eviction. They were able to survey residents at more than 100 addresses and found 24 instances in which neither the landlord nor a family member was currently living in the unit. This meant that nearly one in four evictions may have been unlawful.

California Assembly Reviews AB 291: Immigrant Tenant Protection Act of 2017

March 6, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

With the current political climate in the U.S., it is becoming more important for states to protect immigrant and minority populations from harassment and discrimination. That is why California Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), along with other California leaders, announced AB 291, known as the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act of 2017. This bill, if made into law, would offer protections for immigrants from landlords who would have the power to disclose the tenant’s legal immigration status to the authorities. Under the law, landlords would not have the right to disclose this information for any reason or threaten to do so.

Why Legislators Feel AB 291 is Necessary

Current law bars landlords from asking about a tenant’s immigration status. There are also laws to protect tenants from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by their landlords. However, these statutes do not stop landlords from assuming a person’s status based on his or her race, country of origin, religion, spoken language, or more. Legislators realize in the current climate, questionable landlords could use a person’s undocumented immigration status as leverage against the tenant. Immigrants are particularly at risk for intimidation and retaliation based on their legal status. Landlords may use or threaten to use this information to get tenants to vacate the premises or pay more rent. That is why a bill specifically addressing this issue has been introduced.

Understanding “Repair and Deduct” in California

February 24, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

There are certain circumstances under which if your landlord will not fix a problem in your rental unit, you have the right to take control of the situation, pay for the repair, and deduct the cost from your next month’s rent. However, this is only an option in limited circumstances and you must follow the law to do this “repair and deduct” process correctly. If you take a misstep, you could end up with problems with your landlord and not being able to deduct the amount. If you have serious issue in your apartment that needs repairs and your landlord is not responding, contact a San Francisco tenant rights attorney from Brod Law firm at (800) 427-7020 to learn about your options.

When is Repair and Deduct an Option?

Repair and deduct may be an option if an issue within your apartment makes it uninhabitable. This includes but is not limited to:

Your Rights During a No-Fault Eviction in San Francisco

February 17, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

Evictions, or when you are required by your landlord to leave your rental unit, can happen in multiple ways. Evictions based on fault occurs if you do not pay rent or break the lease in some other way. No-fault evictions occur when you receive notice to leave the premises even though you have done nothing wrong. No-fault evictions can happen when your landlord needs full access to the unit without anyone in it. There is also a circumstance known as constructive eviction, when you are not told by the landlord to leave, but a habitability issue forces you to leave.

Your Rights When Evicted

Under San Francisco’s landlord-tenant laws, your rights upon eviction will depend on why you were evicted and how. If you were evicted based on not paying rent, you have minimal rights. You must leave and you may even still owe the landlord money. However, if you face a no-fault eviction, your rights are quite different. Under Section 37.9C of the Rent Ordinance and Section 1947.9 of the California Civil Code, you may have the right to payments from the landlord for your relocation or temporary displacement.

Is Your Landlord Harassing You?

January 1, 2017 | Gregory J. Brod

Has your landlord been harassing you or bothering you for no good reason? Harassment can make your life miserable, and may cause you a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety. In San Francisco, as in other places, landlords are not allowed to bother their tenants. Laws prevent landlords from taking unreasonable actions against their tenants. A landlord can not simply try to force you to leave without proper reason.

Landlord Cannot Act in Bad Faith

The landlord cannot act in bad faith. There are a number of acts that may be considered bad faith. For example, threatening a tenant with harm, trying to get a tenant to leave through intimidation, or interfering in a tenant’s privacy are all considered actions of bad faith. The law requires that a landlord evict tenants only if they have a legitimate reason for doing so.

Can I Withhold Rent Until My Landlord Fixes the Problems?

December 18, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Tenants in the San Francisco area often wonder what they can do if their landlord fails to fix problems with their apartment. Landlords are responsible for providing a space that is livable. There are some things that tenants can do to resolve issues that are not being taken care of by the landlord. Tenant’s rights are protected by law.

Conditions That Make Premises Uninhabitable

There are a number of conditions that may make an apartment or home unlivable. Some of the most common conditions include: