1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: September 12, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: Simone McFarland, Assistant Community Development Director, Housing and Economic Development
BY: Maribel Leyland, Housing Authority Manager
SUBJECT: Introduction of an Ordinance Imposing Heightened Tenant Protections for Just Cause Evictions for Certain Residential Tenancies in the City of Burbank; Requiring Permits for Demolition/Substantial Remodel and Increasing the Relocation Assistance Payment to Three Months’ Rent
RECOMMENDATION
Introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CHAPTER 4 (“RESIDENTIAL TENANT PROTECTIONS”) TO TITLE 5 (“POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY ”) OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE,
PROHIBITING THE TERMINATION OF CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES WITHOUT “JUST CAUSE” IN THE CITY OF BURBANK (ATTACHMENT 1).
BACKGROUND
At the City Council Meeting o n January 31, 2023, staff presented a first step report on prior reports and information related to tenant protections and rent control; including Measure RC, the Burbank Just Cause Eviction and Regulation Measure on the November 2020 ballot that failed with 63.79% of voters voting “no.” Staff also presented current tenant protections in place through Assembly Bill 1482 ,the California Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), that went into effect on January 1, 2020. Council direction that evenin g included a Study Session on AB 1482, and a second step report on tenant protection options. As part of the second step report, Council requested objective options for rent stabilization and tenant projections that includes data on: vacancy rates; incre asing the reach of the Landlord Tenant Commission; a comparison of local ordinances, and a community meeting plan following the second step report.
2 As staff prepared for the study session, and during the Fiscal Year 2023 -2024 budget process, the City Counc il approved a budget appropriation for a Renter Relocation Program (program) to provide financial assistance to eligible households who had received a no-fault notice to vacate as of April 1, 2023. The program has limited funds of $500,000 and is available to extremely-low to moderate-income households. A summary of program parameters and eligibility requirements include:
✓ Burbank resident for one-year;
✓ Received a no-fault eviction notice (i.e., owner move in, substantial rehabilitation); ✓ Funds can be used for security deposits, payment of fees, moving expense s, and rental assistance; and
✓ Assistance limited to:
➢ Two Times the median rent for Moderate Income Households ➢ Three times the median rent for extremely low, very low - and low -income households.
The program started on July 10, 2023 , and is being administered through Home Again L.A. (HALA). Complete program parameters and eligibility requirements can be found on the City’s website at https://www.burbankca.gov/renterrelocation for this temporary program.
The AB 1482 Study Session was held on August 8, 2023. The presentation was given by Karen M. Tiedemann, a partner with Goldfarb Lipman Attorneys, an experienced firm with an emphasis of practice in community economic development, real estate transactions, affordable housing, nonprofit organization , and environment law. Ms. Tiedemann provided an overview of AB 1482 and policy options to Council to begin the discussion on a possible local tenant protection ordinance that could promote tenant stability and increase rental market stability. Options were presented by Ms. Tiedemann that build upon AB 1482, and additional supplemental measures such as anti -discrimination and retaliation provisions that were discussed by Council.
At the end of the study session and discussion, Council provided short -term, medium- term, and long-term direction to staff on the next steps. The short -term direction is to develop a Tenant Protection Ordinance to provide further protections beyond what is included in AB 1482 for two areas: 1) address just cause evictions for “substantial renovations;” and, 2) additional relocation assistance beyond the one month required by state law as the Renter Relocation Program approved by Council during the budget process is a temporary program that will end when funds are expended.
The mid-term direction is to return with a second step report that addresses the direction provided on January 31, 2023 , including options for rent stabilization and tenant projections through a comparison of local ordinances. The long-term direction is to return with a proposal on the reach and purview of the Landlord Tenant Commission.
DISCUSSION
The Los Angeles County COVID -19 Tenant Protection Resolution expired March 31, 2023. This means most evictions for residential tenants have resumed under allowabl e and applicable laws – including AB 1482. Beginning in April 2023, members of the 3 community reached out to Council requesting assistance with no-fault evictions specific to renovations. As presented during the study session, AB 1482 allows just cause eviction for the intent to complete demolition or substantial remodel. There is pending legislation, Senate Bill 567 ( Termination of tenancy: no -fault just causes: gross rental rate increases), that closes this “loophole”, would require permits, and gives the tenant a right to re-occupy in specific circumstances. However, if approved this legislative cycle, the law would not be effective until January 1, 2024. Therefore, more protective local eviction control provisions and tenant protections are needed to mitigate tenant displacements from “substantial remodel” evictions.
Additional Requirements for Demolition/Substantial Remodel The proposed Tenant Protection O rdinance includes additional requirements for evictions based on intent to demolish o r substantially remodel a property. An owner shall not terminate a tenancy based on the owner’s intent to “demolish or to substantially remodel” the residential real property unless and until all the following additional requirements have been met:
1. Building permits (for a substantial remodel), demolition permits (for a demolition) , and/or any required abatement permits (for abatement of hazardous materials) have been issued by the City of Burbank or other applicable public agency;1
2. The tenant has been provided with copies of the building , demolition, and/or hazardous material abatement permit(s); and
3. The tenant has been provided with a written detailed account of the scope of work, why the work cannot be reasonably accomplished in a safe manner with the tenant in place, and why the work cannot be completed within thirty (30) days.
Furthermore, the Tenant Protection Ordinance includes a failure to comply provision. This provision states that the notice of termination of a tenancy is void and such failure shall be an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action in civil court.
Enhanced Relocation Assistance
If an owner of residential real property issues a termination notice based on a “no-fault just cause” the owner shall provide relocation assistance as required by AB 1482. However, the amount of relocation assistance shall be increased to three (3) months of the tenant's rent that was in effect when the owner issued the notice to terminate the tenancy. An owner’s failure to comply with th is requirement of the Tenant Protection ordinance shall also render the notice of termination void and such failure shall be an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action in civil court.
Renter Relocation Assistance Interim Program
On June 13, 2023, the City Council approved the Renter Relocation Assistance Interim Program (Interim Program), as summarized in the Background section of this staff report and presented as a Budget Discussion Paper (Attachment 2). As of the writing of this report, nine applications have been approved, and $63,445 has been paid on behalf of eligible households. An add itional 13 applications are in process with an estimated payment of $100,000 if those applications are approved.2
1 Building permits for substantial remodel could also require a plan check submittal. 2 Based on average payment per eligible household to date. 4 If the Tenant Protection Ordinance is approved, staff will discontinue the existing Interim Program administered by HALA to qualified tenants for any no -fault notice to vacate received on or after the effective date of the Tenant Protection Ordinance , unless otherwise directed by the Council . In summary, no-fault notices to vacate from April 1, 2023 to September 11, 2023 fall under the City’s Renter Relocation Program. No -fault notices to vacate given September 12, 2023 and later, fall under the proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance. Staff will keep the contract with HALA open to reimburse HALA for applications in process, and to assist eligible households that receive a no-fault notice to vacate through September 11, 2023. Staff will reevaluate the contract in mid-November (60 days from the proposed ordinance effectiveness date) to confirm all eligible tenants have been approved and payments have been made for the Renter Relocation Program period.
Once effective, the enhanced relocation assistance of three months implemented by the ordinance would go directly to the tenant as outlined in AB 1482. There are no income or distribution requirements for those funds. There will be no staff monitoring of the three - month relocation assistance as outlined in the Tenant Protection Ordinance. As mentioned earlier in the report, a tenant would utilize their landlord’s failure to comply with the ordinance as a legal defense i n court if the appropriate relocation payment is not made.
Smaller “Mom and Pop” Landlord Considerations
In a review of local tenant protection ordinances, only the City of Claremont includes a “mom-and-pop landlord” exemption from their increased renov ation eviction protections and increased tenant relocation assistance based on the amount of residential units in a building or complex of commonly owned buildings, which they impose for properties with less than ten (10) units. Culver City imposes a reduced payment (50%) on their otherwise increased tenant relocation assistance requirement for certain landlords who do not have any ownership interest in more than three rental units in Culver City, but only as applied to no-fault just case evictions for purposes of a landlord or relative’s occupancy. Similarly, the City of Los Angeles has a tenant protection ordinance with a reduced relocation payment requirement from their otherwise increased relocation payment requirements for smaller landlords, but only for a landlord or relative’s occupancy.
Council could proceed with adding an exemption from the renovation eviction requirements and the increased relocation assistance in the proposed Ordinance for a property with less than five units, less than 10 units (or any amount of units desired by the Council), or reduce the relocation payment requirement for those smaller properties.
Should the Council wish to proceed with an exemption for smaller landlords for both the renovation eviction requirements and the inc reased relocation assistance, below is proposed language to be added in the adopted Ordinance:
Exceptions. This chapter shall not apply to the types of residential real properties or residential circumstances that are exempt from AB 1482’s just cause ev iction provisions set forth in subsection (e) of Section 1946.2 of the California Civil Code, as amended from time to time or replaced by a successor statute. In addition, this chapter shall not apply to residential tenancies in a building or in a complex of commonly-owned buildings with four (4) or fewer rental units. 5 In a review of records from business tax information and city property data, 3 there are 1,695 properties with two to four units. In addition, there are a total of 2,176 properties with two to nine units that may fall under the “Mom and Pop” landlord category. Finally, there are 85 properties in Burbank with 10 units. The following table summarizes the number of properties with two to ten units in the city.
PROPERTIES WITH 10 OR LESS MULTI-
FAMILY UNITS
NUMBER OF UNITS NUMBER OF PROPERTIES
2 881
3 399
4 415
Subtotal: Less than
5 Units 1,695
5 145
6 126
7 48
8 111
9 51
Subtotal: Less than
10 Units 2,176
10 85
Total: 10 or Less Unis 2,261
Community Outreach and Education
Since April 2023, staff has worked with members of the public who have come to Council meetings, called, or visited the Housing Division office, and attended Landlord Tenant Commission meetings. Staff has continued posting information on the City’s website and sharing resources at the monthly Landlord Tenant Commission meetings held the first Monday of the month with the goal of educating and assisting landlords and tenants with resources and information during this time. This information includes the Interim Program approved for the current fiscal year and administered by HALA. If approved, s taff will include the information and the requirements of the proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance on the city website and will work with the City’s Public Information Office to educate the community including landlords, property managers , and tenants via social media and printed material. Staff is currently working with Neighborhood Legal Services to schedule a Tenant and Landlord Rights Workshop in earl y October of 2023 , and ordinance information will be included in the presentation.
3 Source: Burbank Business License - Properties with three or more units pay a business tax. Data for properties with two units was pulled from Information Technology sources.
6 Tenant Protection Ordinance Enforcement
As outlined in the proposed ordinance and summarized in this report, the Tenant Protection Ordinance states the notice of termination of a tenancy is void and such failure shall be an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action in civil court if an owner fails to follow the additional requirements related to: 1) building permits (for a substantial remodel), demolition permits (for a demolition) , and/or any required abatement permits (for abatement of hazardous materials) have been secured from the City of Burbank or other applicable public agency; 2) providing the tenant copies of the building, demolition, and/or hazardous material abatement permit(s); a nd 3) providing t he tenant a written detailed account of the scope of work . Including why the work cannot be reasonably accomplished in a safe manner with the tenant in place, and why the work cannot be completed within thirty (30) days.
Furthermore, an owner’s failure to comply with the relocation payment requirement of three (3) months of the tenant’s rent that was in effect when the owner issued the notice to terminate the tenancy for “no-fault just cause,” shall also render the notice of termination void and such failure shall be an affirmative defense to an unlawful detainer action in civil court. In summary, for both provisions in the proposed ordinance, the courts would provide enforcement.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The adoption of this Tenant Protection Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2), in that the adoption of this ordinance will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and is further and independently exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty there is no possibility the adoption of this ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the City’s General Fund by adopting the proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance. However, there will be additional staff time necessary to educate and conduct outreach to the community.
CONCLUSION
Council has been discussing tenant protections since the beginning of the year and has given staff direction for the development of a local tenant protection ordi nance for the Burbank community. Furthermore, with the expiration of the Los Angeles County COVID- 19 Tenant Protection Resolution on March 31, 2023 , members of the community have reached out to the Council requesting assistance with no -fault evictions spe cific to renovations. In response to the concerns by some residents who received a no -fault eviction for renovations, Council approved the Interim Program in June that provides financial assistance to tenants that have been issued a no -fault notice to vaca te as of April 1, 2023 for Burbank residents who have lived in the City for at least a one-year and are income eligible. HALA has been administering the temporary program that also includes housing navigation for approved households who also need assistance with finding a new unit.
7 Council’s direction included a Study Session on AB 1482 to better understand state law and to guide a future, local tenant protection o rdinance for Burbank. The Study Session was held on August 8, 2023 and Council heard from 95 members of the public who spoke on the topic of tenant protections and rent control. Council also received several emails with suggestions and feedback on the pros and cons of rent control and tenant protections, including the effects of such ordinances on “Mom and Pop ” landlords. The short-term direction of Council was to return with a Tenant Projection Ordinance that addressed the substantial rehabilitation loopho le of AB 1482 and increased the one - month relocation assistance required by state law.
The proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance requires permits from applicable agencies for demolition, substantial remodeling, and/or abatement of hazardous materials; and states the tenant must be provided with copies of the permits. Furthermore, the tenant must be provided with a written detailed account of the scope of work, why the work cannot be reasonably accomplished in a safe manner with the tenant in place, and why the work cannot be completed within thirty (30) days. Finally, the ordinance increases the relocation amount to three (3) months of the tenant's rent that was in effect when the owner issued the notice to terminate the tenancy . These enhanced parameters in the proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance will help mitigate the potential adverse impacts to public health, safety, welfare, and convenience that the community would be susceptible to from the ongoing no-fault eviction notices.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Ordinance
Attachment 2 – Budget Discussion Paper dated June 13, 2023