Montebello Municipal Code Ch. 2.28 Housing Mediation Board

This chapter shall be known as the "Housing mediation board ordinance."

(Prior code § 2385)

There is created and established a board of the city to be known as the "Housing mediation board" and hereinafter referred to as "board."

(Prior code § 2385.1)

A. The board shall consist of not less than six members and not more than nine appointed by the city council. Insofar as practicable, one-third of the board members shall be tenants residing within the city, one-third owners or managers of rental dwelling units within the city, and one-third neutral parties consisting of residents who are neither tenants nor owners of a rental dwelling unit. Members shall serve at the pleasure of the city council for a three-year term from the time they are appointed and may be appointed for as many consecutive three-year terms as is deemed appropriate by the city council. Appointments shall be made to maintain a balance as to the status as owner, tenant, or neutral party, and expiration date of term, insofar as is practicable.

B. A board member who has served for a period of not less than three years of active service, may request to be appointed by the board to serve as a "reserve board member," with all rights, protection, and privileges of a board member, except that a reserve board member: (a) shall not have the right to serve as an officer of the board or to vote at any board meetings; (b) shall have no obligation to attend monthly board meetings; and, (c) shall have no right to receive a stipend for attending monthly board meetings.

(Ord. 2126 § 1, 1995: Ord. 2106 § 1, 1994: prior code § 2385.2(a))

After completing the mediation training required by Section 2.28.050, the housing mediation board will recommend to the city council the names of candidates who have qualified to be mediators. The housing mediation board shall determine such qualification on the candidate's objectivity, lack of bias, ability to deal tactfully in appropriate circumstances and such other qualities as may be appropriate to the board's duties.

(Prior code § 2385.2(b))

All candidates for board membership shall receive mediation training as established by the housing mediation board in its rules of procedures.

(Prior code § 2385.3)

A vacancy in the board shall exist whenever a person appointed thereto fails to qualify within ninety days after notice of appointment, dies or resigns. Any vacancy shall be filled by city council appointment.

(Prior code § 2385.4)

The city shall indemnify and defend the board for conduct arising out of their responsibilities as set forth in this chapter, unless such conduct consists of any fraudulent or criminal act as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Prior code § 3285.5)

The powers and duties of the housing mediation board shall be as follows:

A. To establish rules of procedure for mediation conducted by the board, notices and services, hearings, meetings of the board and order of business. Such rules and all changes or additions thereto shall be submitted to and subject to approval by the city council and thereafter filed with the city clerk before becoming effective;

B. To mediate housing disputes between rental property owners and tenants as provided herein;

C. To conduct training sessions or workshops for owners, managers, and tenants of rental property, concerning effective property management and tenant rights and responsibilities.

(Ord. 2179 § 1, 1998; prior code § 2385.6)

A quorum shall consist of one-half the board's members, excluding vacant positions. All meetings of the board shall be held in publicly accessible buildings located in the city, and shall be open to the public. The time and place of meetings shall be provided for in the rules of procedure.

(Prior code § 2385.7)

A. The board shall organize and elect a chairperson, vice chairperson, and any other executive officers as needed from its membership in July of each year. In the absence or disability of the chairperson, vice chairperson and executive officer, the board may designate a temporary chairperson.

B. The duties of the chairperson, vice chairperson or other executive officer shall be specified in the board's rules. The assistant city manager/community services and development or his designee shall serve as secretary to the board.

(Prior code § 2385.8)

A. Initiation of Mediation. Upon receipt of a completed petition for mediation by either a rental property owner or tenant, a time and place for hearing the petition shall be set.

B. Initial Step Mediation. An initial mediation hearing shall be heard by one or more board members, as designated by the board chairperson. If the parties reach agreement at such initial hearing, the terms of the agreement shall be stated in writing and be signed by the parties as an agreement terminating the dispute, and the mediation process shall terminate.

C. Second Step Mediation. In cases where initial mediation does not result in agreement, a second step mediation hearing may be held upon the request of either party, or upon recommendation of the mediator, or where the chairperson, in his or her discretion, determines that it would be in the best interest of the parties. A second step mediation hearing shall be held with a group of at least two board members selected by the chairperson. If the parties reach agreement at such hearing, the mediation shall be terminated and the terms of such agreement shall be stated in writing and be signed by the parties as an agreement terminating dispute. If no agreement is reached in a second step mediation hearing, the mediation process shall terminate and the mediators shall, within seven days after termination of the hearing, file with the board a brief report summarizing the mediation hearing.

D. Enforceable Agreements. Agreements reached as a result of mediation and signed by the parties thereto shall be enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(Prior code § 2385.9)

All records and reports of board meetings shall be public records. All petitions for mediations, agreements reached as a result of a mediation hearing, and all reports and records of mediation hearings shall be confidential unless otherwise agreed by the parties to the mediation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the board is authorized at any time to provide copies of petitions for mediation, agreements reached as a result of the mediation hearing, certificates of nonparticipation, and certificates of participation to any party to the mediation. In no event shall this section be construed as forbidding either party to any litigation from introducing any petition for mediation, agreement reached as a result of mediation, certificate of nonparticipation, or certificate of participation which shall be relevant.

(Prior code § 2385.10)

It is hereby declared that the right to institute mediation as provided herein is a protected right contemplated by California Civil Code Section 1942(c) and the provisions of the Civil Code Section 1942.5 forbidding the eviction of tenants exercising the rights described therein, and providing remedies for such wrongful evictions, shall apply to the right of a tenant to request mediation. This chapter however, creates no new or different cause of action for retaliatory eviction.

(Prior code § 2385.11)

The board shall submit to the city council a report at least annually reviewing the board's activities and evaluating the effectiveness of the mediation process. The report may include recommendations for changes in the mediation process which are necessary or proper to increase the board's effectiveness.

(Prior code 2385.12)

A. No attorney shall take part in any mediation hearing, unless:

1. The attorney is the owner, manager or tenant of the dwelling unit which is involved in the mediation; or

2. The owner, manager or tenant for the dwelling unit involved in the mediation is a partnership in which the attorney is a general partner, and in which all partners are attorneys; or

3. The owner, manager or tenant of the dwelling unit involved in the mediation is a corporation, and the attorney is an officer or director of the corporation, and all of the officers and directors of the corporation are attorneys.

B. Nothing herein shall prevent an attorney from rendering advice to a party participating in a mediation hearing, either before or after commencing the mediation process; nor shall anything herein prevent an attorney from testifying to facts of which he has personal knowledge and about which he is competent to testify. Nothing herein shall prevent the city attorney or any deputy city attorney from advising the board, its members and alternates as to any matter relating to the performance of their duties.

C. Any person may be represented by an agent other than an attorney in mediation hearings, provided such agent is granted authority to do so in writing, and the authorization includes authority to enter into a binding settlement of the dispute being mediated.

D. Attorneys may be appointed as board members and may participate in hearings as mediators.

(Prior code 2385.13)

A. Any breach of a lease or rental agreement for a dwelling unit, or other act, for which a rental property owner could issue a three-day notice as provided in Code of Civil Procedure Section 1161, Subsections (2), (3) and (4), shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. Such three-day notice shall not be invalid or subject to the terms of Section 2.29.190 for failure to mediate with such tenant receiving the notice; provided, that any failure to pay a rent increase shall be subject to the terms of subsection A of Section 2.28.180.

B. The failure of a tenant to quit after giving notice as provided in Code Civil Procedure Section 1161, subsection (5), shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter.

C. All claims that the physical condition of the dwelling unit, or the building or premises within which it is located, is unsatisfactory regardless of whether such condition is a violation of law or not shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. Whenever possible, the assistant city manager/community services and development director or his designee shall assist a tenant complaining about such conditions by referring the tenant to the city department, or an appropriate county or state agency, having responsibility in such matters.

(Ord. 2179 § 2, 1998; prior code § 2385.14)

Any matter relating to the use or occupancy of a rental dwelling unit, other than those set forth in Section 2.28.160, may be mediated at a hearing as provided herein. Such matters include, but are not limited to, all of the following: claims that rent increases are excessive or unjustified; disputes over deposits; clarification of responsibilities for property maintenance; disputes over the rights and responsibilities of rental property owners and tenants; claims that a notice to quit, other than those specified in Section 2.28.160 are retaliatory, wrongful, improper, or should otherwise be subject to discussion and mediation between the rental property owner and tenant; and property related disputes and/or concerns among neighboring residents.

(Ord. 2179 § 3, 1998: prior code § 2385.15)

A. If within ten working days of the receipt of a notice an increase in rent, a petition for mediation is filed with the city planning department by a tenant of a dwelling unit subject to a rent increase, and served by the city, then a mediation hearing shall be set prior to the effective date of rent increase, if reasonably possible, otherwise a hearing shall be set within a reasonable time after the effective date. The term "effective date" means that date on which tenant would have begun increased rent payment, but for the filing of a mediation petition. The rent increase shall not be effective unless or until the rental property owner or manager of the premises, or the rental property owner's duly authorized agent, meets with the tenant requesting mediation at the hearing.

B. The board, in its rules, may require the rental property owner to provide specific documentation and information regarding costs of operating the building in which the dwelling unit is located at the mediation hearing, in order for the rental property owner to be considered as having appeared at the mediation hearing with the tenant.

C. No rent increase shall be invalid or otherwise questioned for failure to reach agreement regarding the increase at a mediation hearing.

D. Nothing herein shall relieve a tenant of the obligation to pay the rent in effect prior to the receipt of the notice of an increase whether or not the rental property owner meets with the tenant at the mediation hearing.

E. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any rent increase established by a written lease which takes effect without the service of a notice.

(Ord. 2059 § 1, 1991: prior code § 2385.16)

A. Policy. It is the intent and purpose of this chapter to provide a process in which trained mediators may assist disputants in reaching voluntary agreement. Accordingly, except as provided herein, there shall be no penalty or disability, either civil or criminal, for failure to participate in the mediation process and there shall be no penalty, either civil or criminal for failure to reach agreement with a disputant in the mediation process. However, it is the intent and purpose of this chapter that its provisions shall be enforced by courts of competent jurisdiction and for that purpose, petitions for mediation, agreements reached as a result of mediation, certificates of participation and certificates of nonparticipation shall be admissible evidence in any proceedings in which they are relevant.

B. Failure of Rental Property Owner to Participate After Service of Notice to Quit. If, within ten days after the receipt a notice terminating a tenancy, other than a three-day notice as described in Section 2.28.160. the tenant of the dwelling unit subject to the notice files and serves a petition for the mediation upon a rental property owner, the petition shall be set for hearing prior to the date specified in the notice. The notice shall not be effective and the tenancy shall not be terminated, unless and until the rental property owner or the manager or duly authorized agent attends the mediation hearing with the tenant as provided herein. The failure to reach agreement at the hearing, shall not affect the validity of such notice in any way.

C. Failure of Rental Property Owner to Participate After Service of Notice of Rent Increase. The failure to mediate rent increases shall be subject to the provisions of Section 2.28.180.

D. Tenant's Failure to Appear at Hearing. If a tenant files a petition under this chapter and then fails to appear at a duly scheduled mediation hearing, he or she shall forfeit the right to file a second petition pertaining to the same matter unless he or she proves that the failure to appear was due to an illness for which he or she was hospitalized.

E. Certificates of Participation and Nonparticipation. Following a mediation hearing in which both the parties participate as provided herein, the mediator shall provide both parties with a certificate indicting such participation. In the event that a party fails to participate in a mediation hearing as provided herein, the other party shall be provided by the mediator with a certificate indicating such nonparticipation.

(Prior code § 2385.17)

A. A petition for mediation shall be filed with the secretary to the board or with designated city staff assigned to assist the board, or with such person as shall be designated by the board's rules. A petition shall state the name and address of the party seeking mediation, the name, address and telephone number, if known, of all parties with whom mediation is sought, and a brief statement of the facts giving rise to the dispute. Copies of any written notices and other relevant documents shall be submitted with a petition. If mediation is requested because of a dispute resulting from the service of a notice of a rent increase or a thirty-day or longer notice terminating a tenancy, then the request shall include the date the notice was served, and the date the notice will terminate the tenancy or the rent increase will take effect.

B. The board, in its rules, may specify such other information as may be appropriate to be included in a petition for mediation.

C. The board, in its rules, shall specify that petitions for mediation of rent increases or other monetary issues or disputes shall have priority over nonmonetary issues or disputes in terms of scheduling of mediation hearings.

(Prior code § 2385.18)

A. A notice by first-class mail setting the time and place of the mediation hearing shall be prepared and served upon all parties named in the petition. Service shall be by mail to the addresses provided in the petition not less than ten days prior to the hearing. Notice may be provided by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the option of the chairperson or mediators to insure that the parties are properly notified.

B. Service of the notice upon resident manager on the premises or upon the persons named in notices posted pursuant to Section 1962 of the Civil Code shall be deemed to be service upon the rental property owner.

(Prior code § 2385.19)

A. Whenever more than one request for mediation has been filed with respect to rental units which are under common ownership or management and which are operated as a single-housing complex, and which relate to common subject matter, such requests may, on order of the chairperson, be consolidated for hearing.

B. Two or more persons may join in a petition for mediation or be named in a petition for mediation, whenever the dispute relates to all parties named.

C. All named parties must be present at mediation hearings in order to have their petition considered by the mediator.

(Prior code § 2385.20)

The city council may, by resolution, establish a fee schedule to reimburse the city for its administrative expenses. In establishing a fee schedule, the city council may require fees of both rental property owners and tenants, and shall give due consideration to rates which will encourage participation in the mediation process by persons of all income levels. The failure to pay a required fee shall, in the case of a tenant, be grounds for terminating the mediation process, or, in the case of a rental property owner, be grounds for finding that the rental property owner has failed to participate in the mediation process.

(Prior code § 2385.21)