Citrus Heights Municipal Code Art. IV Private Relocation Assistance for Mass Evictions

The city council finds and determines that:

(1) There is a continuing shortage of rental housing in the city, as demonstrated by vacancy rates of approximately four percent and rapidly rising rents. For households who are low income, the housing shortage is especially acute. As recently determined by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), an additional 455 low-income residential units will be needed in the city by 2007.

(2) The withdrawal of a significant number of residential rental units from the rental market over a short period of time necessarily increases the existing shortage of residential rental units, making it more difficult for tenants displaced by the withdrawal to find other housing, as well as making it more difficult for other persons seeking housing to obtain it. A decision by a single owner of a large number of residential rental properties within the city to simultaneously withdraw such properties from rent or lease, resulting in the mass eviction of tenants upon the minimum notice required by law, inflicts a severe burden on those tenants' ability to find available replacement housing, as well as the ability of other persons seeking housing to obtain it. That burden constitutes a threat to the health, welfare and safety of persons seeking such housing.

(3) The financial hardships created by mass evictions in an already tight rental housing market are especially severe for low-income households, many of whom are on a fixed income or are hourly wage employees. For example, low-income households are less likely to have ready access to the funds necessary to pay rental application fees, security deposits, and other moving-related expenses, especially when they are given no more than 30 days' notice to vacate. The inability of some low-income households to meet this heavy financial burden could result in homelessness and a corresponding increase in the need for publicly and privately funded social services and other city services.

(4) Because of the overall shortage of housing for low-income households, the low vacancy rates, and the particularly heavy financial burden that mass evictions pose for low-income households, it is appropriate that property owners who greatly exacerbate these problems by engaging in the mass withdrawal of residential rental properties provide relocation assistance to the low-income households displaced by such mass evictions.

(5) The relocation benefits provided by this article reflect actual relocation costs likely to be incurred by low-income households displaced by mass evictions.

(6) The obligations imposed on property owners by this article will partially mitigate the financial hardships to low-income tenants resulting from the mass withdrawal of residential rental properties and will also encourage property owners to avoid the withdrawal from the rental market of large numbers of residential rental units over short periods of time.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.010), 2-21-2002)

(a) The city hereby acts pursuant to its general police powers under the state constitution and, consistent with its authority under Government Code § 7060 et seq. (referred to as the "act"), to establish certain requirements and procedures designed to mitigate the financial impact to low-income households of the mass withdrawal of residential rental accommodations from rent or lease. In adopting this article, it is the intent of the city to provide its low-income citizens with rights and protections necessary to deal with the housing shortage in the city.

(b) Nothing in this article shall otherwise diminish any power which exists or which may exist in the city to grant or deny any entitlement to the use of, or physical modifications to, real property, including but not limited to building, planning, zoning and subdivision map approvals. Nothing in this article shall entitle an owner of property which has been withdrawn from rent or lease to any special consideration in the granting of any entitlement to the use of the property, nor shall the fact that the property may be vacant be considered as a basis for granting any requested change in use.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.020), 2-21-2002)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accommodations means either of the following:

(1) The residential rental units in any detached physical structure containing four or more residential units.

(2) With respect to a detached physical structure containing three or fewer residential rental units, the residential rental units in that structure and in any other structure located on the same parcel of land, including any detached physical structure specified in subsection (1) of this definition.

Affiliate means, with respect to an owner, any natural person who or business entity that is controlled by or controls the owner. For purposes of this definition, "control" of a natural person or business entity means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of its management or policies, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.

Good cause means:

(1) Failure to pay rent, except when the court concludes that the tenant acted within his or her legal rights in withholding rent;

(2) Performance of a dangerous or illegal act in the accommodation;

(3) Material breach of the rental agreement and failure to correct the breach within 30 days of notice; or

(4) Maintenance of a nuisance and failure to abate within a reasonable time following notice.

Low-income tenants means persons and families whose income does not exceed the qualifying limits for lower-income families as established and amended from time to time pursuant to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, or as otherwise defined in Health and Safety Code § 50079.5. The city shall maintain and provide to owners and tenants information concerning current income levels which qualify tenants as "low income" under this definition.

Mass eviction means the eviction by an owner of multiple tenants residing on one or more parcels within the city, where the notices of termination provided to the tenants require that 25 or more of the accommodations be vacated within any 30-day period. For purposes of determining whether or not this numeric threshold is satisfied, all evictions by an owner or any affiliate of the owner shall be counted in the aggregate.

Notice of termination means the written notice by which an owner terminates a tenant's right to occupancy in an accommodation. For purposes of this article, a "notice of termination" will be considered valid if it complies with all applicable sections of state law and the terms of the agreement governing the tenant's occupancy of the accommodation.

Owner means the record holder of fee title to the property, or the successor in interest thereto. It does not include the lessor, sublessor, agent or representative of the owner.

Residential rental units includes both single-family detached dwellings and multifamily dwellings.

Tenant means any renter, tenant, subtenant, lessee, or sublessee of a residential rental property, or the successor to a tenant's interest, or any group of tenants, subtenants, lessees, or sublessees of residential rental property, or any other person entitled to the use or occupancy of such residential rental property and includes a former tenant displaced by the withdrawal of an accommodation from rent or lease.

Withdrawal means the eviction of all tenants from accommodations in connection with the removal of the accommodations from the residential rental market. To the extent that owners of withdrawn accommodations desire to convert such accommodations to other uses, including but not limited to condominiums, community apartments, stock cooperatives, other forms of owner occupancy, or other change in use, or to permanently remove them from the rental housing market by demolition, or otherwise remove them by means other than withdrawal, such owners must also obtain all required permits and approvals from the city in addition to complying with this article.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.030), 2-21-2002)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1-2.

(a) The rights and responsibilities set forth in this article shall apply only to owners and tenants involved in a mass eviction.

(b) This article shall not apply to a mass eviction if all tenants affected by the mass eviction are notified by the owner in writing that they will be permitted to remain in their accommodations for a period not less than the greater of:

(1) The period otherwise provided under state law or the applicable lease; or

(2) Ninety days.

(c) An owner shall not be required to make the relocation payment provided for in section 66-101 if a court of competent jurisdiction determines either that:

(1) The low-income tenant was evicted for good cause; or

(2) The low-income tenant was responsible for damages to the accommodations in excess of the tenant's security deposit, if any. In such a case the owner may reduce the relocation payment otherwise owed to the low-income tenant by the amount the court determines the damages exceed the tenant's security deposit.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.040), 2-21-2002)

(a) An owner who intends to withdraw an accommodation pursuant to this article shall provide the following notices, which notices shall be provided prior to the date by which the tenant is required to vacate his or her accommodation:

(1) Written notice to each tenant on the parcel of the owner's intent to withdraw the accommodation, in accordance with the following:

a. The notice shall contain:

1. A statement that the accommodation is withdrawn;

2. The date upon which the accommodation is to be withdrawn; and

3. A statement that low-income tenants are entitled to receive a relocation payment from the owner, and the amount thereof pursuant to section 66-101.

The notice shall include a table clearly showing the low-income range for each household size up to eight people.

b. The owner shall determine whether a member of the household of each unit can speak English and seek appropriate assistance in communicating the contents and the importance of the notice to any household whose members cannot speak English.

c. The notice shall be served on each tenant by either personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested. A copy of this notice shall be filed with the city.

d. The notice shall be accompanied by stamped envelopes addressed to the owner and the city, together with two copies of a form by which the tenant can affirm, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a low-income tenant. The form of the notice and the tenant's form shall be approved in advance by the city.

(2) Written notice to the city of the owner's intention to withdraw those accommodations from rent or lease, in accordance with the following:

a. The notice shall be on a form approved by the city and shall contain statements, under penalty of perjury, providing the following:

1. Information on the number of accommodations being withdrawn by the owner or any affiliate;

2. The address or location of those accommodations;

3. The name of the tenant occupying the accommodations; and

4. The rent applicable to each accommodation.

b. The notice shall state that relocation payments have been paid to the tenants pursuant to section 66-101.

(b) At the time notice is given to the city as required in subsection (a)(2) of this section, the owner shall notify any tenant to be displaced that the city has been notified pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, that the owner's notice specified the name of the tenant and the amount of rent paid by the tenant as an occupant of the accommodation and the amount of rent the owner specified in the notice to the city. A copy of the notice shall be filed with the city with proof of service upon each tenant.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.050), 2-21-2002)

(a) The low-income tenant of any accommodation required to move as a result of the owner's withdrawal of the accommodation from rent or lease shall be entitled to a relocation payment from the owner in the amount of $4,000.00 per accommodation. The payment shall be divided equally among all low-income tenants occupying the rental unit at the time of service on the tenants of the notice of intent to withdraw the unit from rent or lease. Only those persons who have a written or oral agreement with the owner for possession of the rental unit or who have paid rent to the owner shall be deemed low-income tenants for purposes of this section.

(b) In order to claim entitlement to relocation assistance under this article, a tenant must execute and mail the forms provided under section 66-100(a)(1) within seven days of the date the notice required by that section is received by the tenant. The owner shall promptly thereafter, but in no event later than two business days prior to the date by which the tenant is required to vacate the accommodation, pay to the tenant any relocation payment to which the tenant is entitled under this section.

(c) The owner may rescind the notice of intent to withdraw the accommodation from rent or lease and the notice of termination prior to any release of relocation payment to the low-income tenants by serving written notice stating such rescission on the tenants, with a copy to the city showing service upon the tenants. Subsequent to the payment of any relocation payment to the low-income tenants, the owner may rescind the notice of intent to withdraw the accommodation from rent or lease and the notice of termination only upon the written agreement of the tenants to remain in possession of the rental unit. If the low-income tenants remain in possession of the rental units after service of an owner's written notice of rescission of the eviction, the low-income tenants shall provide an accounting to the owner of the amount of the relocation payment expended for costs incurred in connection with the anticipated move from the accommodation, return to the owner that portion of the relocation payment not expended for such costs, and assign to the owner all rights to recover the amount of relocation payment paid to third parties.

(d) The fact that a tenant has been served or otherwise received a notice of termination of tenancy prior to the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived shall not relieve the owner from the obligation to provide the relocation payment required by this section.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.060), 2-21-2002)

In any action to recover possession of an accommodation subject to the terms of this article, it shall be a defense if the owner has not fully satisfied all of the requirements of this article, including but not limited to compliance with all notice requirements and payment of relocation benefits to displaced tenants. In addition, if the low-income tenants of an accommodation have vacated the unit as a result of a notice of termination, and the owner fails to make the relocation payment required under section 66-101, the owner shall be liable to the low-income tenants for three times the amount of the relocation payment as well as reasonable attorney's fees.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.070), 2-21-2002)

Any person violating any section or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this article shall, upon conviction, be deemed guilty of an infraction. In any action brought by the city to enforce this article, the court shall also award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the prevailing party.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.080), 2-21-2002)

Any tenant or other interested person who or organization which believes that this article has been violated by an owner shall have the right to file an action against such owner for injunctive relief and/or damages. Any owner found to have violated this article shall be subject to appropriate injunctive relief and shall be liable for damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Treble damages shall be awarded for any owner's failure to comply with the payment obligations established by this article.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.090), 2-21-2002)