§ 117.08 JUST CAUSE EVICTION.

(A) The “just cause eviction” provision of this section of the chapter will apply to all rental units in the City of Baldwin Park. No landlord shall take action to terminate any tenancy including but not limited to, making a demand for possession of a rental unit, threatening to terminate a tenancy, serving any notice to quit or other eviction notice, or bring any action to recover possession, or be granted recovery of possession of a controlled rental unit unless one of the following apply:

(1) The tenant has failed to pay the rent to which the landlord is entitled under the rental housing agreement and this chapter.

(2) The tenant has continued, after written notice to cease, to commit a material and substantial breach of an obligation or covenant of his or her tenancy which the landlord has not waived either expressly or impliedly through the landlord’s conduct and which the landlord is not stopped from asserting, other than the obligation to surrender possession upon proper notice. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this section, and notwithstanding any contrary provision in the rental housing agreement, a landlord shall not take any action to terminate a tenancy based on a tenant’s sublease of the unit if the following requirements are met:

(a) The tenant continues to reside in the rental unit.

(b) The sublease replaces a departed tenant(s) under the rental agreement on a one-for-one basis.

(c) The landlord has unreasonably withheld the right to sublease following written request by the tenant. If the landlord fails to respond to the tenant in writing within 14 days of receipt of the tenant’s written request, the tenant’s request shall be deemed approved by the landlord.

(3) The tenant has continued, after written notice to cease, to commit or expressly permit a nuisance in, or cause substantial damage to, the controlled rental unit, or to create a substantial interference with the comfort, safety, or

enjoyment of the landlord or other occupants or neighbors of the same.

(4) The tenant is convicted of using or expressly permitting a controlled rental unit to be used for any illegal purpose.

(5) The tenant, who had a rental housing agreement which had terminated, has refused, after written request or demand by the landlord, to execute a written extension or renewal thereof for a further term of like duration and in such terms as are not inconsistent with or in violation of any provisions of this chapter and are materially the same as in the previous agreement.

(6) The tenant has continued to refuse, after written notice, to grant the landlord reasonable access to the controlled rental unit for the purposes of making necessary repairs or improvements required by the laws of the United States, the State of California or any subdivision thereof, or for the purpose of showing the rental housing to any prospective purchaser or mortgagee.

(7) The tenant holding at the end of the term of the rental housing agreement is a subtenant not approved by the landlord.

(8) The landlord seeks to recover possession in good faith for use and occupancy by herself or himself, or her or his children, parents, grandparents, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law.

(a) A "landlord" shall be defined as a natural person who has at least a 50% ownership interest in the property.

(b) The notice terminating tenancy shall contain the name, address and relationship to the landlord of the person intended to occupy.

(c) The landlord or enumerated relative must intend in good faith to move into the unit within 30 days after the tenant vacates and to occupy the unit as a primary residence for at least one year. The city may adopt regulations governing the determination of good faith.

(d) If the landlord or relative specified on the notice terminating tenancy fails to occupy the unit within 30 days after the tenant vacates, the landlord shall:

1. Offer the unit to the tenant who vacated it.

2. Pay to said tenant all reasonable expenses incurred in moving to and/or from the unit.

(9) The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of the rental unit in order to comply with a governmental agency’s order to vacate, order to comply, order to abate, or any other order that necessitates the vacating of the building housing the rental unit as a result of a violation of the City of Baldwin Park Municipal Code or any other provision of law.

(10) The landlord has filed the requisite documents with the city initiating the procedure for withdrawing units from rent or lease under Cal. Government Code §§ 7060 et seq. And the city’s regulations, with the intention of completing the withdrawal process and going out of the residential rental business.

(B) Any written notice as described in divisions (A)(2), (A)(3) or (A)(6) shall be served by the landlord a reasonable period prior to serving a notice to terminate tenancy and shall inform the tenant that a failure to cure may result in the initiation of eviction proceedings. The city may enact regulations regarding reasonable notice.

(C) Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this section or in the rental housing agreement, if the tenant’s spouse, child(ren), and/or domestic partner who has filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership with the city have lived in the unit for at least six months at the time the tenant vacates the unit due to death or incapacitation, the landlord is prohibited from taking any action to obtain possession of the unit from the tenant’s spouse, child(ren), and/or registered domestic partner on the ground that the spouse, child(ren) and/or registered domestic partner are not authorized to occupy the unit.

(D) Notwithstanding the above provisions, possession shall not be granted if it is determined that the eviction is in retaliation for the tenant reporting violations of this chapter, for exercising rights granted under this chapter, including the right to withhold rent upon authorization of the city under § 117.20(B)(2) or for organizing other tenants.

(E) In any notice purporting to terminate tenancy the landlord shall state the cause for the termination, and in any action brought to recover possession of a controlled rental unit, the landlord shall allege and prove compliance with this section. The landlord shall file with the city a copy of any notice terminating tenancy, except a three-day-notice to pay rent or vacate, within three days after serving the notice on the tenant.

(F) A landlord shall not change the terms of a tenancy to prohibit pets and then evict the tenant for keeping a pet which was kept and allowed prior to the change, unless the landlord can establish that the pet constitutes a nuisance and the nuisance has not been abated upon proper notice to the tenant.

(G) Failure to comply with any requirement of this section may be asserted as an affirmative defense in an action brought by the landlord to recover possession of the unit. Additionally, any attempt to recover possession of a unit in violation of this chapter shall render the landlord liable to the tenant for actual and punitive damages, including damages for emotional distress, in a civil action for wrongful eviction. The tenant or the city may seek injunctive relief and money damages for wrongful eviction. The prevailing party in an action for wrongful eviction shall recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

(Ord. 1447, passed 10-21-20; Am. Ord. 1501, passed 4-5-23)