1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: April 23, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: Simone McFarland, Assistant Community Development Director, Housing and Economic Development
Maribel Leyland, Housing Authority Manager
BY: Shipra Rajesh, Housing Development Manager
SUBJECT: Discussion on Potential Landlord and Tenant Strategies
RECOMMENDATION
Provide direction on next steps on potential landlord and tenant strategies.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this staff report is to provide a synopsis of landlord tenant strategies and associated regulations adopted by eight different jurisdictions under four categories: Cap on Rent Increases, Tenant Protection Measures, Access to Legal /Professional Resources, and Enforcement Mechanisms. Council directed staff to focus on the following eight jurisdictions - the cities of Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Los Angeles County.
At the January 31, 2023, Council meeting, staff presented a first step report on tenant protections and rent caps that included information on Assembly Bill (AB) 1482, also known as the California Tenant Protection Act (effective January 1, 2020). Council direction that evening included a Study Session on AB 1482 and a second step report on tenant protections that includes successful strategies in other cities (including programs, policies, education, outreach , and other programmatic components) . Council also requested a community outreach plan to follow the second step report.
The AB 1482 Study Session was held on August 8, 2023. At the end of the study session, Council provided short-term, medium-term, and long-term direction to staff on next steps.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 Short-term direction included the development of a Tenant Protection Urgency Ordinance to provide further protections beyond what is included in AB 1482. Subsequently, o n September 12, 2023, Council approved Urgency Ordinance No. 23-3999, prohibiting the termination of certain residential tenancies without just c ause in the City of Burbank and increasing the relocation assistance for certain terminations (Attachment 1).
The medium-term direction is this report, which includes options for tenant prot ections through a comparison of local ordinances across different jurisdictions. Furthermore, at the end of the AB 1482 Study Session, Council directed staff to hold an Ad Hoc meeting with landlords and tenants to develop possible solutions for several concerns raised during the study session and gather information that could supplement the second step report. The Landlord Tenant Ad Hoc Roundtable Meeting was held on January 18, 2024, and staff presented a report to Council summarizing the feedback on February 13, 2024, (Attachment 2). After deliberation, Council identified four categories that broadly covered the landlord-tenant strategies discussed during the Landlord Tenant Ad Hoc Roundtable meeting:
1. Cap on Rent Increases;
2. Tenant Protection Measures (including anti-harassment/anti-retaliation);
3. Access to Legal and Professional Resources; and
4. Enforcement Mechanisms.
Council directed staff to research measures and regulations related to these categories with the following jurisdictions: cities of Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Los Angeles County. 1 DISCUSSION
State Law and Current Regulations on Tenant Protections for Burbank AB 1482 provides regulations on rent caps and just cause eviction protections for certain residential tenancies . Senate Bill ( SB) 567, effective April 1, 2024, amends several provisions in AB 1482 by imposing additional parameters to just cause evictions and expressly providing remedies to tenants for any violations of AB 1482’s just cause eviction and rent cap provisions. Specifically, SB 567 authorizes tenants to file civil actions against property owners when seeking injunctive relief2 and/or damages for any violations. It also authorizes local government enforcement mechanisms, implementing injunctive relief for any property owner violations of the tenant protection, and rent cap provisions contained in AB 1482. California Civil Code §1946.2(h) and 1947.12(k) authorize tenants to institute a civil action, seek injunctive relief, as well as seek civil penalty in case of violation of state mandated regulations on just cause eviction and rent cap (Attachment 3).
In addition to the regulations implemented by the State, several jurisdictions have adopted local tenant protection ordinances. Detailed information on these ordinances as they relate to the four categories identified by Council can be found in the following attachments:
1 The long-term direction is to review the purview, limitations, and assistance provided by the Landlord Tenant Commission. This is a separate report.
2 Generally, “injunctive relief” is a remedy which restrains one party from doing certain acts or requires one party to act in a certain way.
3 • Attachment 4: Cap on Rent Increases
• Attachment 5: Tenant Protection Measures
• Attachment 6: Access to Legal and Professional Resources • Attachment 7: Enforcement Mechanisms
Neighboring Community/Local Tenant Protection Research
Table 1 below provides a summary of local ordinances found within other jurisdictions as related to the categories identified above:
Table 1: Local Tenant Protection Ordinance in Different Jurisdictions Local
Jurisdictions Local Ordinances
City of Bell
Gardens
Rent Stabilization Chapter and Tenant Protections Chapter in its Municipal Code, in effect since October 2022.
City of Beverly Hills Adopted revised rent stabilization regulations in February 2017, which affects most rental housing in the city.
City of Claremont
Adopted a “Just Cause Eviction” Ordinance, effective June 2023, providing heightened tenant protections for substantial remodel evictions and higher amounts of relocation assistance in the event of a no-fault eviction, beyond the State law.
Culver City
Adopted a permanent Rent Control Ordinance and a permanent Tenant Protections Ordinance that became effective in October of 2020.
City of Glendale
Established a Rental Rights Program (Ordinance #5922) that took effect in March 2019 and was created to provide housing stability and mitigate the impact of displacement for Glendale residents. The ordinance was updated in March 2024
(Ordinance #6019) to include five components — Just Cause Eviction, Relocation Assistance, Right to Lease, Intentional Disrepair, and Rent Reduction.
City of Long Beach
Adopted the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance in June 2019 that established rent increase limits and eviction protections for certain rental units within the city.
City of Pasadena
Amended its Charter (Measure H) in December 2022, to
establish the Pasadena Rental Housing Board that is
responsible for fulfilling the powers and duties prescribed in the Charter Amendment. Pasadena Rental Housing Board
members are appointed by the City Council and the Board has the authority to establish rent increases, produce written notices and publish forms for noticing to current and prospective 4 tenants, establish and maintain a rental registry, establish rules and regulations related to rent control, and enforce the Charter Amendment.
Los Angeles
County
Adopted Los Angeles County Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance (RSTPO), effective September 2021.
The RSTPO limits annual rent increases, provides tenants protections from evictions without just cause, and provides a process for property owners to seek relief if they believe they are not receiving a fair return on their rental units under the permitted maximum annual rent increase.
After review, staff identified some commonalities in the four categories identified by the Council as follows.
Rent Stabilization Ordinance / Rent Cap
AB 1482 implements a statewide cap on annual rent
increases by limiting the increase each year to 5% plus the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with an overall increase not to exceed 10%. Currently, this is the applicable rent cap for Burbank residents. In addition to the statewide rent cap, the cities o f Bell Gardens,
Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Pasadena as well as Los Angeles County, adopted ordinances implementing local rent caps (Attachment 4) .
However, the cities of Claremont, Glendale, and Long Beach do not codify any local rent cap; instead, they require landlords to comply with the rent cap mandated by AB 1482.
Tenant Protection
In addition to the just cause eviction
protection mandated by AB 1482, many local
jurisdictions have adopted ordinances
and/or regulations on relocation assistance
for no- fault evictions , anti -harassment, and
anti-retaliation, providing an additional layer
of tenant protection within their jurisdiction.
Burbank adopted a Tenant Protection
Urgency Ordinance prohibiting the
termination of certain residential tenancies
without just cause and increasing the
relocation assistance for certain
terminations (Attachment 1).
All eight jurisdictions adopted local regulations on rel ocation assistance for no- fault evictions. Additionally, most of the jurisdictions have adopted either a combination of regulations on anti-retaliation and anti-harassment, or regulations only pertaining to anti- retaliation. For example, the cities of Bell Gardens, Culver City, Pasadena, and Los Angeles County adopted local regulations on both anti -harassment and anti -retaliation.
Alternatively, the cities of Beverly Hills and Glendale adopted local regulations prohibiting In addition to Ordinance no. 23 -3,999 that
requires the owners to provide relocation
assistance equal to the amount of three
month’s rent if termination of tenancy is
based on substantial remodel just cause
eviction,
Burbank is subject to state
mandated re location assistance or rent
waive equal to one month of the tenant’s
rent that was in effect when the owner
issued the notice to terminate th e tenancy
in case of no-fault just cause evictions for
qualifying rental units (California Civil Code
Section 1946.2(d)).
Burbank is subject to a state
mandated rent cap of 5% plus
the % change in C PI, with an
overall increase not to exceed
10%. (California Civil Code
Section 1947.12(a)).
5 anti-retaliation, w hereas the City of Long Beach provides a list of actions that are categorized as “tenant harassment”. The City of Claremont does not provide any additional local regulations on anti -harassment and anti -retaliation. Attachment 5 to the report details local regulations on relocation assistance, anti -harassment, and anti - retaliation eviction adopted by the eight jurisdictions.
Access to Legal/Professional Resources
Certain local jurisdictions, including the City of Long Beach, contracted with third -party community-based organizations to provide landlords and tenants with access to resources, including legal resources. In addition, these organizations educate landlords and tenants on local and state regulations limiting annual rent increases and regulations on tenant protections including relocation assistance and anti -harassment provisions. In Burbank, staff contracts with the Housing Rights Center to conduct regular workshops for landlords and tenants on Fair Housing Laws and rights and responsibilities. In addition, housing staff and the Landlord Tenant Commission provide information and resources to the community. Further, City Attorney’s Office is working on a Fiscal Year 2024/25 Budget Discussion Paper to propose a pilot program to provide tenants with access to legal and professional resources and referrals , coordinate social services , investigate complaints and habitability concerns, and review and initiate civil enforcement actions.
In addition to contracting with third- party organizations, the c ities of Bell Gardens , Pasadena, and Los Angeles County have codified noticing requirements detailing tenant rights when entering into a new lease agreement or renewing an existing lease agreement. Further, the cities of Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Pasadena, and Los Angeles County have hearing officers who mediat e landlord-tenant disputes .
Moreover, Culver City and Los Angeles County have implemented a landlord- tenant mediation board/panel to resolve landlord-tenant disputes. Attachment 6 provides details on access to legal professionals and other resources put in place by the eight jurisdictions.
Enforcement Mechanisms
SB 567 amended AB 1482 and
authorizes tenants to file civil actions
against property owners in seeking
injunctive relief and/or damages for
any violations. It also authorizes local
governments to seek injunctive relief
for any property owner violations of
the tenant protection and rent cap
provisions contained in AB 1482. In
addition to provisions contained in SB
567 (Attachment 3), local jurisdictions implemented local enforcement mechanisms that range from administrative relief to judicial remedies for enforcing the regulations on local rent cap as well as other local regulations on tenant protections including anti-harassment and anti-retaliation. Attachment 7 provides details on local enforcement regulations adopted by the eight jurisdictions.
Burbank is subject to remedies provided by the
state law ( California Civil Code §1946.2(h) and
1947.12(k)), allowing tenants to institute a civil
action, seek injunctive relief, and seek damages in
case of landlord’s failure to comply with the state
law. Moreover, violation of tenant protection
regulations pursuant to Ordinance no. 23 -3,999,
shall render notice of termination of tenancy void
and shall be an affirmative defense to an unlawful
detainer action.
6 COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Per Council’s direction , staff is preparing a robust public outreach process to solicit community feedback from a broad range of stakeholders . Staff will utilize a variety of platforms including social and print media, as well as announcements made during Council meetings, to invite community members to participate in the process.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This report is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under State CEQA Guidelines §15060(c)(2), in that the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and is further and independently exempt from the CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty there is no possibility the activity will have a significant effect on the environment. Th is report to Council analyzing regulations and strategies on rent cap, tenant protection, access to resources, and enforcement mechanisms implemented by the eight jurisdictions in Los Angeles County identified by the Council , is statutorily exempt from review under the CEQA because it is a feasibility or planning study for possible future actions that have not yet been adopted or approved (CEQA Guidelines, §15262).
FISCAL IMPACT
Council direction on possible l andlord tenant strategies will have no fiscal impact to the City’s General Fund.
CONCLUSION
This report provides a synopsis of regulations and strategies adopted by local jurisdictions in the region under four categories: Cap on Rent Increases, Tenant Protection Measures, Access to Legal /Professional Resources, and Enforcement Mechanisms . Per Council direction, research was focused on the cities of Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Claremont, Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Los Angeles County. Staff seeks Council’s direction on next steps on potential landlord and tenant strategies.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Ordinance No. 23-3,999 Tenant Protections Attachment 2 – January 30, 2024 Ad-Hoc Roundtable Meeting Staff Report and Attachments
Attachment 3 – Enforcement Mechanism pursuant to SB 567 Attachment 4 – Summary of Local Rent Cap
Attachment 5 – Summary of Regulations on Tenant Protection Attachment 6 – Summary of Access to Resources/Legal Professional Attachment 7 – Summary of Enforcement Mechanism
Attachment 8 – Snapshot of Landlord-Tenant Strategies in Different Jurisdictions Attachment 9 – Landlord-Tenant Regulations/Strategies in Burbank