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Consider Adopting an Urgency Ordinance to Remove Certain Grounds for Just Cause Evictions by Amending Ordinance No. 3140, an Urgency Ordinance of the City of Alameda Imposing within the City of Alameda a Temporary (65-Day) Moratorium on Certain Residential Rent Increases and on Evictions from all Residential Rental Units Except for Just Cause Evictions. [Requires four affirmative votes] (City Manager 2110)
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To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Elizabeth D. Warmerdam, Interim City Manager
Re: Consider Adopting an Urgency Ordinance to Remove Certain Grounds for Just Cause evictions by Amending Ordinance No. 3140, an Urgency Ordinance of the City of Alameda Imposing within the City of Alameda a Temporary (65-Day) Moratorium on Certain Residential Rent Increases and on Evictions from all Residential Rental Units Except for Just Cause Evictions
BACKGROUND
At a special City Council meeting on November 4, 2015, the City Council adopted on November 5, 2015 an urgency ordinance that imposes a 65-day moratorium on residential rent increases at or above 8% for multi-family rental units built prior to February 1995, and evictions from all residential units except for just cause. The moratorium was effective on November 5, 2015, and expires on January 9, 2016, or until it is replaced with permanent legislation, whichever occurs first. The urgency ordinance was supported by findings that demonstrated the urgent need for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety of Alameda residents to stabilize rents and prevent no cause evictions while staff prepares legislation to enact longer-term renter protections for City Council consideration and action.
Exhibit A of the urgency ordinance contains 12 grounds upon which a property owner could serve a notice of termination and/or terminate a tenancy for cause during the moratorium period. These grounds range from non-payment of rent to an owner deciding to go out of the rental property business.
One of the grounds for a just cause eviction deals with substantial rehabilitation (Ordinance No. 3140, Exhibit A, #10) and reads: The Housing Provider seeks in good faith to recover possession so as to: i. Demolish the rental unit; or ii. Perform work on the building or buildings housing the rental unit or units; and a) Such work costs not less than the product of eight (8) times the amount of the monthly rent times the number of rental units upon which such work is performed. For purposes of this section, the monthly rent shall be the average of the preceding twelve (12) month period; and b) The work necessitates the eviction of the tenant because such work will render the rentable unit uninhabitable for a period of not less than thirty (30) calendar days.
City Council is concerned that this provision of the ordinance, and perhaps others, as written, is ambiguous and introduces uncertainty during the moratorium period rather than providing stability in the rental housing market. Therefore, staff is recommending that the City Council consider amending the urgency ordinance to remove the language cited above that allows notices of termination and/or terminations to go forward during the moratorium period if a property owner desires to demolish a rental unit or undertake substantial rehabilitation. If this language is removed from the ordinance, any action to terminate a tenancy on the grounds that this ordinance eliminates, such as serving a notice to vacate, would not be permitted during the moratorium period, along with any action to terminate a tenancy served after the adoption of the moratorium ordinance on November 5, 2015. These actions would now be null and void. Accordingly, any action a landlord would take to carry out the notice to terminate based on grounds eliminated by this Ordinance would be in violation of the Ordinance.
In addition, Council may wish to review other grounds for just cause evictions and delete those that the Council believes should be considered when the Council considers the more permanent legislation.
An urgency ordinance amending urgency ordinance No. 3140 requires a ⅘ vote of the City Council. If approved, the urgency ordinance would take effect immediately.
DISCUSSION
The City Council set its November 4 special meeting to receive a report on the City’s rental housing market and to consider policy options for providing additional tenant protections beyond those provided by the City’s current rent review program. Based on the data regarding rising rents and low vacancy rates, and the complexity of the issues involved with stabilizing rent increases, addressing just cause evictions, and providing assistance for renters receiving no fault termination notices, City Council unanimously adopted a temporary moratorium on rent increases at or above 8% and evictions only for just cause. A primary objective of the moratorium was to provide tenants with some certainty that they would not receive large rent increases or no fault termination notices during the critical period when staff is preparing tenant protection legislation for City Council consideration.
Certain rent increases for multi-family units built before 1995, are permitted during the moratorium period (increases up to 7.99% during a cumulative 12-month period), as are actions to terminate tenancies for just cause, as defined in the urgency ordinance. As noted above, the urgency ordinance contains 12 grounds for just cause eviction. Staff is proposing that one ground that allows termination for substantial rehabilitation be eliminated during the moratorium period as a termination for just cause. Because the language as written is ambiguous, Council is concerned there is uncertainty about when, how and to whom evidence should be presented to establish the dollar amount of the proposed renovations, whether a building permit should be required prior to serving a termination notice as evidence that the work will commence in a timely fashion, how to/who should determine that the proposed work will take longer than 30 days, etc. Given the lack of clarity on how to meet, and how to enforce, the requirements of this section, it may be prudent to remove this grounds for a just cause eviction during the moratorium period until staff can return to City Council with long-term policies and regulations governing terminations for substantial rehabilitation. By doing so, it ensures the status quo regarding these issues during the moratorium period in that any action to terminate a tenancy, such as serving termination notices based on substantial rehabilitation that occurred between November 5, 2015 and December 1, 2015, would be null and void. The Ordinance, if adopted, will provide an opportunity for both property owners and tenants to help shape a long-term framework for undertaking substantial rehabilitation of rental housing in Alameda.
Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council consider adopting an urgency ordinance that amends urgency ordinance No. 3140 to remove substantial rehabilitation, or any other grounds, as a ground for just cause termination during the 65-day moratorium period, thereby rendering any notice of termination served for substantial rehabilitation between November 5, 2015 and December 1, 2015, stayed and of no force or effect.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact to the General Fund to adopting an urgency ordinance amending urgency ordinance No. 3140 removing substantial rehabilitation or any other grounds, as a ground for just cause termination during the 65-day moratorium period.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Adopting programs, including ordinances and moratoria, to address the impact of rising rents and low vacancy rates on Alameda residents is consistent with the City’s Housing Element and a number of Housing Element policies aimed at encouraging housing affordable to a range of household incomes, promoting diverse housing types, and providing a jobs/housing balance in the community.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Adopting an urgency ordinance amending urgency ordinance No. 3140 to remove substantial rehabilitation or any other grounds as a ground for a just cause termination is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the following, each a separate and independent basis: CEQA Guideline Section 15183 (action consistent with the General Plan); Section 15378; and Section 15061 (b)(3) [no significant environmental impact].
RECOMMENDATION
Consider adopting an Urgency Ordinance to remove certain grounds for just cause evictions by amending Ordinance No. 3140, an Urgency Ordinance of the City of Alameda imposing within the City of Alameda a temporary (65-Day) moratorium on certain residential rent increases and on evictions from all residential rental units except for just cause evictions.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter, Community Development Director
Janet C. Kern, City Attorney
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director