Sacramento Municipal Code Art. XIII Relocation Benefits for Displaced Tenants

The council of the city finds and determines that:

A. Some rental units in Sacramento are found to have severe code violations which threaten the life and safety of occupants and require the units or rooms to be vacated to allow for extensive repairs.

B. Such code violations are often caused by deferred maintenance, may breach the landlord's implied warranty of habitability and sometimes constitute constructive eviction of the tenant household from its residence.

C. Tenants of substandard residential units or structures suffer financial and other hardship when required to vacate their housing because the owner fails to correct the substandard conditions.

D. It is appropriate to require the owner to mitigate partially the tenant's hardship, since the hardship arises from the owner's failure to comply with the law and fulfill a landlord's obligations to the landlord's tenants.

E. Financial hardship arises because the tenant generally needs a large sum of money to relocate, often including first and last month's rent, deposits, moving expenses and utility deposits for a new residence. Low-income tenants are generally unable to obtain such sums and, as a result, are at great risk of becoming homeless.

F. The level of payments provided in this chapter is reflective of actual relocation costs likely to be incurred by displaced household.

G. Delayed payment of relocation benefits may impose extreme hardship upon tenants who then must themselves obtain the large sums necessary to relocate. Delayed payment may also require the city to expend city general funds to provide tenants with financial assistance for relocation. Any requirement to pay relocation benefits should contain disincentives for delayed payment in the form of appropriate penalties. (Prior code § 49.13.1301)

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

Displaced. A tenant is displaced, within the meaning of this article, if the tenant is ordered to move out of a residential unit or structure by an order to vacate.

"Order to vacate" means the first written notice sent by an authorized city official to the owner and posted on the affected property declaring that, due to failure to repair or maintain, the unit or structure shall be vacated.

"Owner" means the owner of the property at the time the order to vacate is issued, as shown on the last equalized assessment roll, and any successor in interest.

"Residential unit or structure" means any dwelling, apartment, room or place which is the place of permanent or customary and usual abode of any person or household.

"Tenant" means any resident of the affected property who is a tenant as that term is used in Chapter 2 of Title 5 of part 4 of the California Civil Code (Section 1940, et seq.).

"Vacation date" means the date by which a tenant is required to vacate a unit or structure, pursuant to an order by an authorized city official. (Prior code § 49.13.1302)

Any tenant who is displaced from any unit or structure which is leased, rented or occupied for habitable dwelling purposes as a result of an order issued by an authorized city official under this chapter or Chapter 8.96 of this title, or any other applicable provision that the structure is to be vacated due to unsafe or hazardous living conditions shall be entitled to receive relocation benefits from the owner as specified in this article. (Prior code § 49.13.1303)

A. The relocation benefits required hereunder shall be payable within ten (10) days after the date the order to vacate is first mailed to the owner or posted on the premises, or at least twenty (20) days prior to the vacation date set forth in the order to vacate, whichever occurs later.

B. If there are fewer than ten (10) days between the first posting or mailing of the order to vacate and the vacation date, the relocation benefits shall be payable within twenty-four (24) hours after the notice is posted or mailed. The building official shall attempt to provide telephonic or written notice to the owner to notify the owner that benefits are payable immediately. Failure to provide the notice as specified herein shall not relieve the owner of any obligations imposed by this article.

C. Relocation benefits may be payable immediately in cases in which the conditions on the premises require the building official to order the premises vacated immediately. In such cases the building official shall attempt to provide telephonic or written notice to the owner to notify the owner that benefits are payable immediately. Failure to provide the notice as specified herein shall not relieve the owner of any obligations imposed by this article. (Prior code § 49.13.1304)

The relocation benefits shall be a sum equal to twice the established monthly rental rate for the unit being vacated by the displaced tenant. The relocation benefits shall be paid in addition to the return, as required by law, of any deposit held by the owner. (Prior code § 49.13.1305)

A. Any owner who does not make timely payment as specified in Section 8.100.950 of this chapter shall be liable to the tenant for an amount equal to one and one-half times the relocation benefits payable pursuant to Section 8.100.960 of this chapter.

B. Subsection A of this section shall not apply when relocation benefits are payable pursuant to Sections 8.100.950(B) or (C) of this chapter if the owner makes the payments within ten (10) days after it is first mailed or posted, or if the city has paid relocation benefits and the owner reimburses the city for all its expenditures within thirty (30) days of receipt of a bill or notice of benefits paid. (Prior code § 49.13.1306)

A. No relocation benefits shall be payable by the owner to any tenant who has caused or substantially contributed to the condition giving rise to the order to vacate as determined by the building official.

B. No relocation benefits shall be payable by the owner if the unit or structure became unsafe or hazardous during the tenancy (and no more than six months prior to the order to vacate) as a result of earthquake, flood, fire, act of the public enemy or other disaster not proximately caused by building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical or fire code violations. (Prior code § 49.13.1307)

A. In the event the owner fails, neglects or refuses to pay a displaced tenant relocation benefits due pursuant to Sections 8.100.940 through 8.100.960 of this chapter, the city may, within budgetary limitations, make payment of such relocation benefits as the building official determines is necessary to assist the displaced tenant to relocate, up to the amount payable by the owner under Section 8.100.960 of this chapter, including, without limitation, the following costs:

• 1. Transportation of the tenant's personal property to the new location;
• 2. Packing, crating, unpacking and uncrating the tenant's personal property;
• 3. Insurance of the tenant's property while in transit;

4. The reasonable replacement value of property lost, stolen, or damaged (not through the fault or negligence of the displaced person, his or her agent or employee) in the process of moving, where insurance covering such loss, theft or damage is not reasonable available;

5. The cost of disconnecting, dismantling, removing, reassembling, reconnecting and reinstalling machinery, equipment or other personal property of the tenant, including connection charges imposed by utility companies for starting utility service;

6. Any other sums needed by the tenant to obtain substitute housing, such as deposits or prepaid rent;

7. Temporary housing and living costs incurred while tenant locates a replacement dwelling. Such costs may include food and hotel/motel expenses. The amount of benefits payable under this section are to be determined by the building official depending on the facts of the situation presented.

B. Any displaced tenant who needs relocation benefits because an owner fails to pay benefits due hereunder shall apply to the building official for benefits no later than fifteen (15) days after the vacation date. Building official shall grant benefits only if he or she determines that the tenant is eligible for benefits from the owner and shall take into consideration the amount needed by the tenant to secure alternative housing and the amount of the tenant's income. Any applicant who objects to the decision of the building official, to grant or not grant benefits, or as to the amount granted, may appeal the decision to the relocation benefits committee, which committee shall consist of three members of the housing code advisory and appeals board appointed by the board chair. The appeal shall consist of a written notice containing a brief statement of the grounds for appeal to the building official within ten (10) days from the date of the building official's decision. The committee shall hold an informal hearing on the appeal within fifteen (15) days after the notice of appeal is received by the building official, and shall issue written findings within five days after the hearing. Such findings shall be final.

C. Any displaced tenant who has vacated his or her premises based on the building official's order to immediately vacate the premises due to conditions rendering it immediately dangerous to the life, limb, property or safety of the public or the tenants may request temporary housing and living expenses as provided in subsection (A)(7) of this section. Temporary benefits may be paid to the tenant in the sole discretion of the building official and only in cases in which he or she believes a tenant is substantially likely to be entitled to receive other relocation benefits. The building official shall have sole discretion to determine the amount, type and duration of the temporary benefits. The building official's decision is final. Notwithstanding the finality of the building official's decision, any displaced tenant or his or her representative who has been denied temporary relocation benefits shall be entitled to meet with the building official to present facts demonstrating that temporary relocation benefits should be paid. There is no right to appeal the building official's decision.

D. The city may recover from the owner any amount paid to a tenant pursuant to this article. This city shall also be entitled to recover from the owner an additional amount equal to one-half the amount so paid as a penalty for failure to make timely payment to the displaced tenant and city's actual costs (including direct and indirect costs) of administering the provision of benefits to the displaced tenant.

E. Any amounts paid by the city and any applicable penalties and administrative costs may also be made a personal obligation of the owner and placed as a lien against the property.

F. The city may recover relocation costs, administrative penalties and costs in the manner set forth in Article IX of Chapter 8.96 of this title.

G. Nothing contained in this article shall require the city to pay any relocation benefits to any tenant.

H. The damages which a displaced tenant may receive under Section 8.100.970 of this chapter shall be reduced by the amount of any benefits received from the city. (Prior code § 49.13.1308)

Notwithstanding Sections 8.100.950(B) and 8.100.990(D) of this chapter, if there are fewer than ten (10) days between the first posting or mailing of the order to vacate and the vacation date, and if the city advances relocation benefits to any tenants, no penalty shall be payable by the owner if reimbursement is made to the city within thirty (30) days after an itemized accounting from the city is mailed as set forth in Section 8.100.990(E) of this chapter or, if an appeal from the accounting is taken pursuant to Section 8.100.900(E) of this chapter within thirty (30) days after the decision of the housing advisory and appeals board is mailed to the owner. (Prior code § 49.13.1309)

The remedies hereunder are cumulative and in addition to any other remedies available under law. (Prior code § 49.13.1310)

In any action brought by a tenant or the city to recover benefits payable hereunder, the court shall also award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party whether or not the matter proceeds to judgment. (Prior code § 49.13.1311)

Any order to vacate issued to an owner or tenant shall be accompanied by a summary of the provisions of this article. Failure to provide a summary shall not relieve any person of the obligations imposed by this article. (Prior code § 49.13.1312)

The city shall establish a relocation benefits expenditure account and provide appropriations through city council action. A relocation revenue account will be established to account for revenue generated by this program. The building official shall make periodic reports to the city council on the activity and status of these accounts. (Prior code § 49.13.1313)

The provisions of this article shall not apply to property owned by the city, the Sacramento redevelopment agency, the Sacramento housing authority, the county, the state or any other governmental agency. (Prior code § 49.13.1314)