SB 364, as introduced, Leno. Residential real property: withdrawal of accommodations.
Existing law, commonly known as the Ellis Act, generally prohibits public entities from adopting any statute, ordinance, or regulation, or taking any administrative action, to compel the owner of residential real property to offer or to continue to offer accommodations, as defined, in the property for rent or lease.
This bill would authorize the City and County of San Francisco to prohibit an owner of accommodations from filing a notice of an intent to withdraw accommodations or prosecuting an action to recover possession of accommodations, or threatening these actions, unless all the owners of the accommodations have been owners of record for 5 continuous years or more, except as specified, or with respect to property that the owner acquired within 10 years after providing notice of an intent to withdraw accommodations at a different property. The bill would also permit the city and county to require an owner of accommodations notifying the city and county of an intention to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease to identify each person or entity with an ownership interest in the accommodations and to identify all persons or entities with an ownership interest in an entity. This information would be available for public inspection. The bill would provide specified, nonexclusive remedies that the city and county would be authorized to impose for a violation of these provisions.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City and County of San Francisco.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 7060.8 is added to the Government Code,
2to read:
(a) This section shall apply only to a city that is also
4a county.
5(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the city
6and county by ordinance or ballot measure may provide that:
7(1) An owner of accommodations shall not file a notice with a
8public entity of an intent to withdraw accommodations pursuant
9to this chapter, prosecute an action to recover possession of
10accommodations pursuant to this chapter, or threaten to do either
11of these things, unless all the owners of the accommodations have
12been owners of record for five continuous years or more. If an
13owner of record is not a natural person, then all persons or entities
14with an ownership interest in that entity shall have held that interest
15for five continuous years. The five-year ownership requirement
16in this paragraph
shall not apply to an owner of accommodations
17who is a natural person, who owns no more than two properties,
18and who owns no more than a total of four residential units.
19(2) If an owner of accommodations files a notice of intent with
20the public entity to withdraw accommodations under this chapter,
21and the owner subsequently acquires a new property containing
22accommodations within 10 years of that filing, the owner shall not
23withdraw accommodations pursuant to this chapter, prosecute an
24action to recover possession of accommodations pursuant to this
25chapter, or threaten to do either of these things, with respect to the
26later acquired property. For purposes of this paragraph, an owner
27of accommodations includes any person or entity with an
28ownership interest in an entity that owns the accommodations.
29(3) An owner of accommodations, or any person or entity with
30an ownership interest in an entity that owns the accommodations,
31shall not act in concert with a
coowner, successor owner,
P3 1prospective owner, agent, employee, or assignee, to circumvent
2the limitations of paragraph (1) or (2).
3(4) An owner of accommodations notifying the city and county
4of an intention to withdraw accommodations from rent or lease
5shall identify each person or entity with an ownership interest in
6the accommodations, and if any entity is not a natural person,
7identify all persons or entities with an ownership interest in that
8entity. This information shall not be confidential and shall be
9available for public inspection.
10(c) The city and county may provide that a person or entity that
11violates the provisions described in subdivision (b) is liable to the
12tenant or lessee for actual damages, special damages of not less
13than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation, and
14reasonable attorney fees and costs in an amount fixed by the court.
15The remedy provided by this section is not exclusive and shall not
16preclude either the
tenant or lessee from pursuing any other remedy
17provided by law.
The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
19is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
20within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
21Constitution because of the recent significant increase in the
22evictions under the Ellis Act in the City and County of San
23Francisco and the consequent displacement of long-time residents
24and severe reduction of availability of affordable rental housing
25in San Francisco.
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