Half Moon Bay Municipal Code Ch. 6.02 Housing Definitions

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure precision in the interpretation and implementation of housing related regulations through clear and concise definitions of terms. The meaning and construction of words and phrases defined in this chapter shall apply throughout this title, except as may be otherwise and more specifically defined in this title or where the context clearly indicates a different meaning or construction.

(Ord. C-2024-02 § 3 (Att. A), 2024; Ord. C-2024-04 § 2 (Att. A), 2024)

A. "Accessory dwelling unit" ("ADU") shall have the same meaning as set forth in Title 18.

B. "Administrator" refers to the city manager or their designee.

C. "City" means the city of Half Moon Bay.

D. "Housing services" means those services provided and associated with the use or occupancy of a residential rental unit including, but not limited to, insurance, repairs, replacement, maintenance, effective waterproofing and weather protection, painting, providing light, heat, hot and cold water, elevator service, window shades and screens, laundry facilities and privileges, janitorial services, utilities that are paid by the landlord, refuse removal, allowing pets, telephone, parking, storage, the right to have a specified number of tenants or occupants, computer technologies, entertainment technologies, including cable or satellite television services, and any other benefits, privileges or facilities connected with the use or occupancy of such rental unit including a proportionate share of the services provided to common facilities of the building in which such residential rental unit is located and/or of the property on which such residential rental unit is located.

E. "Landlord" means an owner, lessor, or sublessor who receives or is entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any residential rental unit or portion thereof, and includes any legal entity or other individuals, employees, agents, contractors, and subcontractors that comprise or represent the landlord.

F. "Lease" means a written contract or oral agreement used to make a legal agreement governing the occupancy of the rental unit between landlord and tenant.

G. "Owner" means any owner of record, corporation, limited liability company, or other corporate or business entity, or separate entities in which any shareholder, partner, member, or family member of an investor in the entity owns 10% or more of the interest in the rental unit.

H. "Primary or principal residence" means the residence which is the individual's usual place of residence which is held in the name of the natural person claiming primary residence and cannot be held by a limited liability corporation, limited partnership or other corporate structure. Indicia of primary residence include:

1. The individual carries on basic living activities at the subject premises for extended periods;

2. The subject premises are listed with other public agencies, including federal, state and local taxing authorities as the individual's primary residence;

3. Utilities are billed to and paid by the individual at the subject premises;

4. A homeowner's tax exemption for the individual has not been filed for a different property;

5. The occupant is not registered to vote at any other location;

6. All or most of the individual's personal possessions have been moved into the subject premises;

7. The subject premises are the place the individual normally returns to as their home, exclusive of military service, hospitalization, vacation, family emergency, travel necessitated by employment or education, incarceration, or other reasonable temporary periods of absence;

8. Other relevant factors demonstrating a residence is the person's primary residence.

I. "Rent" means compensation paid by a tenant at fixed intervals to a landlord for the possession and use of a residential rental unit or portion thereof as defined by the rental agreement between the landlord and the tenant. Rent excludes pass-through costs and ancillary costs paid separately to the landlord for parking, storage, utilities, water, garbage, or any other fee or charge associated with the residential rental unit.

J. "Rent increase" means any additional rent demanded of or paid by a tenant for a rental unit, including any reduction in housing services without a corresponding reduction in the amount demanded or paid for rent; or a pro rata increase in costs of housing services apportioned to a rental unit.

K. "Residential rental real property" means the residential rental unit along with associated common areas including parking lots, parks, offices, community rooms and laundry facilities.

L. "Residential rental unit" means a habitable structure or portion thereof (as defined in Title 18), offered for rent and used as a place of permanent or customary and usual abode of a tenant. Residential rental units include a single-family residence, an accessory dwelling unit, a mobile or manufactured home, a building, a group of buildings, or a portion of a building including a specific room used and/or designed as dwellings. A residential rental unit shall not include:

1. A building, structure or unit not intended for human habitation or lacking appropriate permits and improvements required for human habitation. This includes unpermitted conversions of garages, sheds, or other accessory structures for human habitation.

2. Transient housing accommodations including hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns, recreational vehicles within or outside a park, and short-term vacation rentals as found in Title 18.

3. Group residential, supportive housing, transitional housing, and similar congregate uses as may be defined in Title 18.

4. Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades one to 12, inclusive, school.

M. "Tenancy" means the right or entitlement of a tenant to use or occupy a rental unit, including a mobilehome or mobilehome space in a mobilehome park.

N. "Tenant" means any renter, tenant, subtenant, lessee or sublessee of a residential rental unit, or any group of renters, tenants, subtenants, lessees, or sublessees of a residential rental unit, or any other person entitled to the use of occupancy of all or a portion of such residential rental unit, or any successor of any of the foregoing.

(Ord. C-2024-02 § 3 (Att. A), 2024; Ord. C-2024-04 § 2 (Att. A), 2024; Ord. 2026-02, 5/5/2026)