Part 4.5 — INTERIM REGULATION OF RENT INCREASES UPON IN-PLACE TRANSFERS OF

Upon an in-place transfer of a mobilehome, the landlord may increase the rent by an amount which does not exceed eight percent of the then current base rent without being subject to further provisions of this part.

(Ord. 23914.)

If a landlord increases the rent upon an in-place transfer of a mobilehome by an amount in excess of eight percent of the then current base rent, then the entirety of such increase shall be deemed to be an "excessive interim rent increase" and shall be subject to the following provisions of this part.

(Ord. 23914.)

A.

No later than thirty days after the landlord enters into a rental agreement which includes a rent increase subject to Section 17.22.610, the landlord shall file a notice of transfer with the rental rights and referrals program and shall mail a copy to the new owner. In addition, the landlord shall include a blank notice of correction form with the copy of the notice of transfer. The notice of transfer shall be in the format available from the rental rights and referrals program and shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the person filing the notice of transfer. The notice shall contain the following information:

The name and address of the mobilehome park owner;

The name of the mobilehome park;

The number of the lot or space on which the mobilehome is located;

The name and address of the transferor of the mobilehome;

The name and address of the transferee of the mobilehome;

The date of transfer;

The rent charged prior to transfer;

The rent charged following the transfer;

The name and address of the person who signed the notice;

The anniversary date for rent increases; and

A statement that, if the mobilehome owner disagrees with any of the information contained in the notice, the mobilehome owner has thirty days within which to fill out a notice of correction and file it with the rental rights and referrals program.

B.

No later than thirty days after the landlord mails a copy of the notice of transfer to the mobilehome owner, the mobilehome owner may file a notice of correction with the rental rights and referrals program and shall mail a copy to the landlord. The notice of correction shall be in the format available from the rental rights and referrals program and shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the person filing the notice of correction. The notice shall contain the following information:

The name and address of the mobilehome park owner;

The name of the mobilehome park;

The number of the lot or space on which the mobilehome is located;

The name and address of the transferor of the mobilehome;

The name and address of the transferee of the mobilehome;

The date of transfer;

The rent charged prior to transfer;

The rent charged following the transfer;

The name and address of the person who signed the notice; and

A copy of the notice of transfer to which the notice of correction refers.

(Ords. 23914, 26792.)

A.

Following the adoption of a resolution by the city council terminating the suspension of Section 17.22.381, the rent charged for each mobilehome lot which has been subject to an excessive interim rent increase shall be adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subsection B. The adjusted amount shall be referred to as the "adjusted base rent."

B.

The adjusted base rent shall be the amount equal to the sum of the following:

The pretransfer base rent, which shall be the base rent in effect on the date immediately prior to the date of first rent increase subject to the provisions of Section 17.22.610; plus

Any anniversary date increases actually imposed thereafter, calculated by applying any such percentage increase to the pretransfer base rent as if there had been no increases subject to Section 17.22.610.

(Ord. 23914.)

A.

The excessive rent rebate shall be equal to the difference between the total amount of rent actually paid subsequent to the first in-place transfer subject to Section 17.22.610, and the maximum amount of rent that would have been permitted under this chapter had Section 17.22.381 been in effect at the time of the in-place transfer.

B.

The monthly installments shall be determined by dividing such excessive rent rebate by the number of months that an excessive interim rent was in effect.

(Ord. 23914.)

The adjusted base rent shall be reduced by a credit in the amount of the monthly installment of the excessive rent rebate. This amount shall be known as the "adjusted monthly rent."

(Ord. 23914.)

A.

Unless the landlord has filed a petition for fair return hearing in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.22.617, the landlord shall provide written notice of rent adjustment to the mobilehome owner and file a copy of the notice with the rental rights and referrals program within thirty days of the adoption of a resolution by the city council terminating the suspension of Section 17.22.381.

B.

The notice shall be in the format available from the rental rights and referrals program and shall contain the following:

The dollar amount of the adjusted base rent;

The dollar amount of the monthly rebate of excessive rent increase;

The dollar amount of the adjusted monthly rent;

The number of months the rebate will be in effect;

The effective date of all anniversary date increases imposed since the transfer and the percentage increase and amount of each such increase;

A demonstration of the calculation of each of the amounts specified in the notice;

A statement of the date on which the adjusted base rent and rebate will be effective as that date is set forth on the resolution terminating the suspension of Section 17.22.381, unless a request for administrative calculation is made;

The address and telephone number of the rental rights and referrals program and a statement that information concerning the law regarding rent increases is available from the rental rights and referrals program; and

A statement that the mobilehome owner has ten days from the receipt of the notice within which to contest the amount of the adjusted base rent, excessive rent rebate, rebate period, or adjusted monthly rent by filing a request for an administrative calculation with the rental rights and referrals program.

(Ords. 23914, 26792.)

A.

Within ten days following the receipt of the notice of rent adjustment, the mobilehome owner may file a written request for an administrative calculation with the rental rights and referrals program.

B.

In the event the mobilehome owner does not receive a timely notice of rent adjustment, the mobilehome owner may file a written request for an administrative calculation with the rental rights and referrals program within one year of the date of adoption of the resolution by the city council pursuant to Section 17.22.630.

C.

Following receipt of a request for an administrative calculation, an administrative hearing officer shall make a determination in accordance with the following provisions:

In the event the landlord has filed a notice of transfer with the rental rights and referrals program and the mobilehome owner did not file a notice of correction within the time provided for in Section 17.22.611, the administrative hearing officer shall, without a hearing, make an order of administrative calculation of rent based upon the information contained in the notice of transfer on file with the rental rights and referrals program.

In the event the mobilehome owner filed a notice of correction in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.22.611, the landlord shall file copies of records demonstrating the amount of rent immediately prior to and following the in-place transfer and the mobilehome owner may present evidence of the amount of the pretransfer rent. The administrative hearing officer, following a hearing on such evidence, shall make an order of administrative calculation of rent based upon the evidence presented.

In the event no notice of transfer was filed, the administrative hearing officer shall conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine the adjusted base rent.

D.

The administrative hearing officer shall issue a written order of administrative calculation of rent setting forth the following determinations:

The dollar amount of the adjusted base rent;

The dollar amount of the monthly rebate of excessive rent increase;

The number of months that the rebate is to be in effect;

The date of the order;

A statement that the adjusted base rent and the rebate will be effective on the thirty-fifth day following the date of the order; and

Where applicable pursuant to the provisions of Section 17.22.618, the cost of the hearing.

E.

The administrative hearing officer shall mail each party a copy of the order in the manner set forth in Section 17.22.618.

(Ords. 23914, 26792.)

A.

If the landlord contends that the implementation of the adjusted base rent or the rebate, or both, results in the landlord's receiving less than a fair and reasonable return, the landlord may file a petition with the rental rights and referrals program for a hearing to determine a fair and reasonable return.

B.

A petition for a determination of a fair and reasonable return shall be filed in writing in the format available at the rental rights and referrals program not less than thirty days after the adoption of a resolution by the city council pursuant to Section 17.22.620.A. The petition shall contain the facts upon which the landlord relies to claim that a fair and reasonable return will not be received and shall contain the following additional information:

The name and address of the mobilehome park owner;

The name of the mobilehome park;

For each mobilehome with an increase subject to the provisions of Section 17.22.610:

a.

The number of the lot or space on which the mobilehome is located;

b.

The name and address of the transferor of the mobilehome;

c.

The name and address of the transferee of the mobilehome;

d.

The date of transfer;

e.

The rent charged prior to transfer; and

f.

The rent charged following the transfer;

g.

The dollar amount of the adjusted base rent;

h.

The dollar amount of the monthly rebate of excessive rent increase;

i.

The number of months that the rebate is to be in effect; and

The name and address of the person who signed the notice.

C.

The landlord shall mail a copy of the petition to all mobilehome owners whose rents are the subject of the petition. The petition shall contain a proof of service that a copy of the petition was mailed to all such mobilehome owners.

D.

The landlord shall bear the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence at the hearing that because of the rent adjustment or the rebate, or both, the landlord is unable to obtain a fair and reasonable return.

E.

If the administrative hearing officer finds that the rent adjustment or the rebate, or both, would deprive the landlord of a fair and reasonable return, the administrative hearing officer shall make one or both of the following orders:

That the effective date of rent adjustment be deferred until the next anniversary date;

That the excessive rent increase be rebated in lower monthly installments and over a longer period of time than that provided for in Section 17.22.613.

(Ords. 23914, 26792.)

In addition to the administrative fees imposed pursuant to Section 17.22.900:

A.

If the administrative hearing officer determines that the information on the notice of transfer filed by the landlord is inaccurate or that the landlord failed to file a notice of transfer, the administrative hearing officer shall further order that the landlord pay to the city the amount necessary to reimburse the city for the full cost of the administrative hearing, including all charges of the administrative hearing officer.

B.

If the landlord requests a hearing pursuant to Section 17.22.617, the administrative hearing officer shall further order that the landlord pay to the city the amount necessary to reimburse the city for the full cost of the administrative hearing, including all charges of the administrative hearing officer. The landlord shall accompany any petition for a fair return hearing pursuant to section 17.22.617 with a deposit as set forth in the schedule of fees adopted by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. 23914.)

A.

If no request for administrative calculation or petition for a fair return hearing has been filed in accordance with the provisions of this part, the adjusted monthly rent shall be effective on the sixtieth day following the adoption of a resolution terminating the suspension of Section 17.22.381.

B.

In the event a request for an administrative calculation or a petition for a fair return hearing has been filed in accordance with the provisions of this part, the adjusted monthly base rent shall become effective on the thirty-fifth day following the mailing by first class mail, postage prepaid, of the order of the administrative hearing officer unless the administrative hearing officer determines in the order that another date shall be the effective date.

C.

After the adjusted monthly rent becomes effective pursuant to this section, unless the effectiveness of any adjustment in rent is stayed by a court of competent jurisdiction, no mobilehome owner shall be required to

pay any rent greater than the adjusted base rent as reduced by the credit of any applicable monthly installment of excessive rent rebate and as further adjusted by any anniversary date increases.

(Ord. 23914.)

A.

Increases which are imposed upon transfer of a mobilehome by the mobilehome owner where the mobilehome remains on the mobilehome lot shall be subject to review exclusively under this part and shall not be subject to review under the administrative hearing process set forth in Part 7 of this chapter.

B.

Except as provided in subsection C. below, anniversary date rent increases which occur during the effectiveness of this part are not subject to the limitations in this part but remain subject to the other provisions of this chapter.

C.

In hearings to determine an allowable rent increase pursuant to Part 4 of this chapter, the administrative hearing officer shall:

During any period in which an excessive interim rent increase is charged: include the excessive interim rent in the calculation of the landlord's gross income and apply the same dollar amount rent increase to all affected mobilehome spaces.

During the rebate period: deduct the amount of the rebate from the calculation of the landlord's gross income and apply the same dollar amount of increase to all affected spaces without reference to the amount of any rebate.

D.

In the event a landlord files a petition pursuant to Part 6 of this chapter, all hearings pursuant to this part shall be consolidated with any Part 6 hearing regarding the same mobilehome park.

(Ord. 23914.)

The provisions of this part shall apply only to in-place transfers of mobilehomes which were completed between October 25, 1991, and April 7, 1992.

(Ords. 23914, 24257.)