Chapter 17.23 — RENTAL DISPUTE MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION FOR DWELLING UNITS EXCLUDING

MOBILEHOMES AND MOBILEHOME PARKS[21]

Editor's note— Ord. 30032, § 1, adopted Nov. 28, 2017, amended Pts. 1 - 8 of Ch. 17.23 in their entirety to read as herein set out. Former Pts. 1 - 8 pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from Ords. 19696, 19892, 20200, 20605, 20606, 20607, 20608, 20609, 21131, 21132, 21133, 21134, 21162, 21183, 21509, 21575, 21735, 21970, 21999, 22019, 22675, 23028, 23340, 26559, 26649, 26767, 26792, 29730, 29913 and 30020. See the Code Comparative Table for a detailed analysis.   Subsequently, § 2 of Ord. 30032 added new Pt. 9, § 17.23.900, as set out herein.

Part 1 - GENERAL

Parts 1 through 9 of this Chapter 17.23 shall be known as the "Apartment Rent Ordinance."

(Ord. 30032.)

The purposes of the Apartment Rent Ordinance are to promote stability and fairness within the residential rental market in the City, thereby serving the public peace, health, safety, and public welfare. The Apartment Rent Ordinance recognizes the value of residential rental units as a critical resource amid the continuing shortage of and persistent demand for housing in the City of San José. In July 1979, the City enacted a rent control ordinance to alleviate some of the more immediate needs created by San José's housing situation: including but not limited to the prevention of excessive and unreasonable rent increases, the alleviation of undue hardship upon individual tenants, and the opportunity for landlords to earn a fair return. To further protect tenants from excessive and unreasonable rent increases, the Apartment Rent Ordinance generally limits annual rent increases, requires notices be provided to the City, regulates how much and what types of costs may be passed through to tenants, provides for monitoring of rents, and provides for an administrative review process for housing-related disputes. The rights and obligations created by the Apartment Rent Ordinance for landlords and tenants are created pursuant to the City's general police powers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residents and are in addition to any rights and obligations under state and federal law.

(Ord. 30032.)

Parts 1 through 9 of the Apartment Rent Ordinance apply to each Rent Stabilized Unit, as defined in Section 17.23.167 and, as applicable, to each Covered Property as defined in Section 17.23.123.

(Ord. 30032.)

The City Manager may adopt or amend regulations for the administration and implementation of the Apartment Rent Ordinance. The Director, with the approval of the City Attorney, may adopt forms and notices to facilitate the administration and implementation of the Apartment Rent Ordinance. All forms and notices called for in this Chapter and the Regulations shall be adopted by the Director unless otherwise indicated.

(Ord. 30032.)

A.

Each Landlord shall post a written notice and maintain such posting, on a form approved by the Director, of the applicability of the Apartment Rent Ordinance in a conspicuous location within each building containing one (1) or more Rent Stabilized Units. The Landlord shall have complied with this requirement by posting a Notice of the Apartment Rent Ordinance in the same location as a notice to tenants posted in accordance with subsections (1) or (2) of California Civil Code Section 1962.5(a) or immediately adjacent to the posting of the Residential Occupancy Permit in compliance with Section 17.20.630.

B.

Each Landlord shall notify the Tenant Household of the applicability of the Apartment Rent Ordinance prior to entering an oral or written rental agreement for a Rent Stabilized Unit. The Landlord shall have complied with the affirmative obligation to notify a Tenant under this Section by providing (1) written notice that the Rent Stabilized Unit is subject to this Chapter and, (2) a copy of the current City informational notice or handbook for Tenants of Rent Stabilized Units ("Informational Notice"), if such notice is available from the City of San José, to the Tenant upon entering an oral or written rental agreement for the Rent Stabilized Unit.

(Ord. 30032.)

It shall be unlawful for any Landlord to demand or require either cash or an electronic funds transfer or online internet payment as the exclusive method of payment of Rent or Security Deposits, except that cash may be required for a limited period of time under the conditions allowed by California Civil Code Section 1947.3(a)(2), as amended.

(Ord. 30032.)

A.

Nothing in this Chapter is intended to authorize a Landlord to deny a request for reasonable accommodation required under state or federal law, or to impose a charge for that accommodation where no charge is allowed by law.

B.

Nothing in this Chapter is intended to authorize a Landlord to avoid obligations imposed by federal, state or local fair housing law.

(Ord. 30032.)

Part 2 - DEFINITIONS

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set forth in this Part govern the construction of the Apartment Rent Ordinance.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Administrative Decision" means a Petition Examiner's final written determination on a Landlord or Tenant Petition.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Affordable Rental Unit" means each Rental Unit that is owned or operated by any government agency, or any individual Rental Unit for which the Rent is limited to no more than affordable rent, as such term is defined in California Health & Safety Code Section 50053, for lower income households pursuant to legally binding restrictions recorded for the benefit of a government agency. However, if the ownership or operation, or the Rent limitation ceases, then the Rental Unit will no longer be considered an Affordable Rental Unit. The presence of one (1) or more Affordable Rental Units in a Multiple Dwelling shall not exempt any other Rental Unit in the same building that does not also meet the definition of Affordable Rental Unit.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Annual General Increase" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.310.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Base Year" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.810.B.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Buyout Agreement" shall have the meaning provided in Section 2.01.3 of the Regulations.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Buyout Offer" shall have the meaning provided in Section 2.01.4 of the Regulations.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Capital Improvements" means building, unit or property additions or modifications that replace or enhance an existing physical feature of a Rent Stabilized Unit or of a building containing a Rent Stabilized Unit or that provides new Housing Services to the Tenants as compared to the level of services as previously provided.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Commission" means the Housing and Community Development Committee or successor.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco- Oakland-San José all items index (1982-84 equals 100), as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. In the event a successor index to the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for all items for the San Francisco-Oakland-San José area or comparable area is established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this definition may be updated accordingly in the Regulations.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Covered Property" means an individual building or complex of buildings containing one (1) or more Rent Stabilized Units, together with any common areas.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Current Year" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.810.C.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Director" means the City's Director of the Department of Housing or the Director's designee.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Ellis Act Ordinance" means the ordinance codified in Part 11 of Chapter 17.23.

(Ord. 30032.)

"For-Cause Termination" is the termination of a tenancy based on a reason for eviction that would legally entitle a Landlord to evict a Tenant Household on three (3) days' notice under California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1161(2) (for Tenant's nonpayment of Rent), 1161(3) (for Tenant's failure to perform a material term of rental agreement), or 1161(4) (for Tenant allowing a nuisance or other unlawful activity).

(Ord. 30032.)

"Gross Income" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.820.A.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Guest Room" shall have the meaning provided in Section 20.200.460.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Guesthouse" shall have the meaning provided in Sections 20.200.470 and 20.200.480.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Hearing Officer" shall have the meaning provided in Section 2.01.11 of the Regulations.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Housing Services" means those services provided and associated with the use or occupancy of a Rental Unit, including but not limited to repairs, replacement, maintenance, painting, light, heat, water, elevator

service, pest control, laundry facilities and privileges, janitorial service, refuse removal, furnishings, telephone, parking, storage, and any other benefits, privileges, or facilities.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Initial Rental Rate" means the actual amount paid by the Tenant for the use and occupancy of the Rent Stabilized Unit at the commencement of the tenancy, or in the case of a Rental Voucher Unit, the sum of the rent paid by the Tenant and government agency.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Landlord" means an owner, lessor, or sublessor who receives or is entitled to receive Rent for the use and occupancy of any Rental Unit or portion thereof, and the agent, representative, or successor of any of the foregoing. For purposes of this Chapter, Landlord does not include an individual who is a member of the Tenant Household whose primary residence is the same Rental Unit as the Tenant.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Multiple Dwelling" means a multiple dwelling as that term is defined and used in Title 20 of this Code and includes all units subject to Part 8 of Chapter 17.20.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Municipal Code" means the San José Municipal Code.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Net Operating Income" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.810.A.

(Ord. 30032.)

The following notices are defined terms for purposes of this Chapter with the following meanings.

A.

"Informational Notice" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.050.B.

B.

Notice of the Apartment Rent Ordinance" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.050A.

C.

"Notice of Re-Rental" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.600.

D.

"Notice of Termination" means the notice informing a Tenant of the termination of its tenancy including but not limited to a notice to quit or vacate, a notice in accordance with California Civil Code Section 1946.1 or California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1162, as amended.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Operating Expenses" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.820.C.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Petition" shall have the meaning provided in Section 2.01.14 of the Regulations.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Petition Examiner" shall have the meaning provided in Section 6.06.05 of the Regulations.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Regulations" means the regulations adopted by the City Council or pursuant to Section 17.23.040.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Rent" means the consideration, including any funds, labor, bonus, benefit, or gratuity, demanded or received by a Landlord for or in connection with the use or occupancy of a Rental Unit, including Housing Services, or for the assignment of a lease or rental agreement for a Rental Unit, including subletting.

(Ord. 30032.)

A.

"Rent Stabilized Unit" means a Rental Unit in any Guesthouse or in any Multiple Dwelling building for which a certificate of occupancy was issued on or prior to September 7, 1979 or that was offered or available for

rent on or before this date.

B.

The following shall not be considered Rent Stabilized Units:

Rooms or accommodations in hotels, motels, or Guesthouses which are legally rented to transient guests for a period of less than thirty (30) days consistent with the Municipal Code, except those rooms or accommodations subject to Part 2.5 of Chapter 20.80;

Housing accommodations in any hospital, convent, monastery, extended care facility, emergency residential shelter, residential care facility, residential service facility, nonprofit home for Senior Citizens (as defined in the Unruh Act, as may be amended), fraternity house or sorority house, or in dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education, a high school or elementary school;

Affordable Rental Units; and

Rental Units in a building containing only one (1) or two (2) dwelling units.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Rental Unit" means a structure or part of a structure (including but not limited to a Guest Room in a Guesthouse) offered or available for rent as a home, residence, or sleeping place, whether or not the residential use is a conforming use permitted under the San José Municipal Code, together with the land and appurtenant buildings thereto, and all Housing Services, privileges, and facilities supplied in connection with the use or occupancy thereof. A Rental Unit shall not include a Mobilehome or Mobilehome Lot as defined in Section 17.22.160 and 17.22.170.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Rental Voucher Unit" means a Rental Unit that is restricted to occupancy by lower income households by a contract where the Tenant pays no more than 35% of their income towards the Rent, the remainder being paid with a government agency or a nonprofit administering government agency's funds, and where the rent is not increased on an annual basis, but only where allowed under the rules of the government agency.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Section" means a numbered section in Municipal Code Chapter 17.23 unless otherwise indicated.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Security Deposit" shall have the meaning provided in California Civil Code Section 1950.5, as amended.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Specified Capital Improvements" shall have the meaning provided in Section 17.23.330.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Tenant" means a person or persons entitled by written or oral agreement, or by sufferance, to the use or occupancy of a Rental Unit.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Tenant Household" means all Tenant(s) who occupy any individual Rental Unit, and each minor child of any Tenant whose primary residence is the Rental Unit.

(Ord. 30032.)

"Tenant Protection Ordinance" means the ordinance codified in Part 12 of Chapter 17.23.

(Ord. 30032.)