1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 11, 2025
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
Iain MacMillan, Senior Assistant City Attorney
BY: Nikki Lotfabadi, Housing Services Assistant
SUBJECT: Introduction of an Ordinance Modifying Residential Tenant Protections within the City of Burbank by A dding a Small Property Owner Exemption from the Obligation to Pay Increased Relocation Assistance, and Adding Anti-Harassment Tenant Protections
RECOMMENDATION
Introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING CHAPTER 4 (“RESIDENTIAL TENANT PROTECTIONS”) OF TITLE 5 (“POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY”) OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE, BY ADDING
A SMALL PROPERTY OWNER EXEMPTION FROM THE INCREASED RELOCATION
ASSISTANCE PAYMENT OBLIGATION AND ADDING ANTI -HARASSMENT TENANT PROTECTIONS (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this staff report is to amend the City of Burbank’s current Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO), adopted July 30, 2024, and effective August 30, 2024. The current TPO provides the following:
• H eightened regulations relating to demolition and substantial remodels in state law further described in the next section;
• I nc reased tenant relocation assistance payment to three months’ rent for all “no- fault just cause” evictions under California Civil Code § 1946.2(b)(2); and • I m posed anti -retaliation measures.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 The proposed o rdinance amendment includes (1) an exemption for small , non - commercial property owners from the obligation to pay increased relocation assistance for no-fault just cause evictions, and (2) anti-harassment tenant protections, as authorized by California Civil Code § 1946.2(i).
DISCUSSION
California Tenant Protection Act (Tenant Protection Act) The Tenant Protection Act provides a statewide rent cap and regulates certain owners of real residential properties to require just cause statement s to tenant s who have continuously and lawfully occupied a unit for 12 months or more. The State law requires relocation assistance or a rent waiver equal to one month of the tenant’s rent in effect when the owner issued a notice to terminate tenancy for all no-fault just cause evictions.
Further, the State law establishes a statewide rent cap of 5% plus the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or 10%, whichever is lower. The Tenant Protection Act does not include any exemptions from paying the applicable relocation assistance based on the number of rental units on the property or the property owner’s economic interests.
Current Local Regulations on Tenant Protections for Burbank On July 30, 2024, the City of Burbank adopted the current TPO, Ordinance No. 24-4,014, to align the Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) with the heightened regulations relating to demolition and substantial remodels in the Tenant Protection Act, increase the tenant relocation assistance payment to three months’ rent for all “no-fault just cause” evictions under California Civil Code § 1946.2(b)(2) , and impose anti -retaliation measures to protect tenants from eviction for any lawful exercise of their rights.
Proposed Ordinance Amendment to Strengthen Local Tenant Protection Regulations The proposed update to the TPO broadly includes the following:
1. An e xemption for small property owners from the increased tenant relocation assistance payment of three months’ rent for all “no-fault just cause” evictions, as the City is concerned that such an increase may disproportionately burden small property owners (Note: Landlords must still provide one month rent for “no-fault just cause” evictions as prescribed in the Tenant Protection Act);
2. Imposes anti-harassment measures to protect tenants from harassment for any lawful exercise of their rights; and
3. E nforcement of the anti-retaliation and anti-harassment provisions that authorizes an aggrieved tenant to institute a civil action for actual damages, punitive damages, and/or injunctive relief, and any violation of these tenant protections shall be an affirmative defense to any action by a property owner to recover possession of the rental unit. Such remedies are not exclusive and do not preclude any tenant from seeking other remedies or penalties provided by applicable law.
3 More detailed information about the proposed changes is provided below.
Small Property Owner Exemption Provision
Information regarding landlord tenant protections in nine local jurisdictions was presented to the Council in 2024 during multiple Council meetings. The summary below includes data from those jurisdictions of the nine surveyed that have increased-relocation-payment exemptions relating to “mom and pop” landlords for no-fault just cause evictions.
Table 1: Increased Relocation Payment Exemptions relating to the Property’s Rental Units/Property Owner’s Economic Interests
Jurisdiction Exemption
Glendale Under § 9.30.035(A) of the Glendale Municipal Code, a landlord of a property with fewer than five (5) rental units is exempt from having to pay locally increased relocation assistance to tenants for a demolition or substantial remodel no-fault eviction.
This exemption solely considers the number of rental units on the specific property subject to the eviction and does not apply to other no-fault just cause eviction categories beyond a demolition/substantial remodel.
Claremont Under § 8.34.010(B) of the Claremont Municipal Code, r esidential tenancies in a building or in a complex of commonly owned buildings with nine (9) or fewer rental units are exempt from locally increased relocation payment assistance requirements for no -fault just cause evictions.
This exemption solely considers the number of rental units on the specific property subject to the eviction.
Culver City Under § 15.09.325(A) of the Culver City Municipal Code, the locally increased relocation payment is reduced by 50% for “small landlords”, as defined, but only for the no- fault just cause eviction category relating to a landlord or landlord’s relative move-in.
- “Small Landlord” is defined as “A landlord who has no direct or indirect economic interest in more than three rental units located within or outside of Culver City. Small landlord shall not include any of the following: (i) a real estate investment trust, as defined in § 856 of the Internal Revenue Code; (ii) a corporation; (iii) a limited liability company in which at least one member is, or is controlled by, a corporation; or (iv) a partnership in which at least one partner is, or is controlled by, a corporation.”
4 This exemption considers all the real property economic interests of the property owner, and does not apply to other no- fault just cause eviction categories beyond a property owner or their relative’s m ove- in.
City of Los
Angeles
Reduces locally increased relocation assistance payment for no-fault just cause eviction due to owner, owner’s relatives, or property manager occupying a real residential unit as provided in the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 151.09(A)(8) if the following four conditions exist [LAMC § 151.30(E)]:
i. the building containing the rental unit contains four or fewer rental units;
ii. within the previous three years the landlord has not paid the fee authorized by LAMC Subsection 151.30(E) to any tenant who resided in the building;
iii. the landlord owns, in the City of Los Angeles, no more than four units of residential property and a single- family home on a separate lot; and
iv. any eligible relative for whom the landlord is recovering possession of the rental unit does not own any residential property in the City of Los Angeles.
This exemption considers several factors, and does not apply to other no-fault just cause eviction categories beyond a property owner , property owner’s relatives, or property manager move-in.
As indicated in Table 1, four of the nine jurisdictions researched have exempted property owners from requirements of increased relocation fees based on the amount of rental units on the subject property or on the amount of the owner’s economic interests.
Burbank’s proposed ordinance amendment includes an exemption from higher relocation fees (three months’ rent for all no-fault just cause evictions) to residential tenancies on a land parcel with four or fewer rental units , in order to ensure effective monitoring and enforcement using objective and verifiable data. However, the exemption can’t be utilized by a property owner that is any of the following: 1 ) a real estate investment trust, as defined in § 856 of the Internal Revenue Code, 2) a corporation, or 3 ) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation. A property owner that qualifies for the exemption would still need to pay the one month’s current rent as required by the Tenant Protection Act.
Currently, the City of Burbank’s Building and Safety Division requires business tax registration for rental properties with three or more units and the Community Development 5 Department maintains a record of such properties. In a review of business tax information and city property data, there are 1,69 6 properties with two to four units that could be eligible for an exemption from the TPO’s increase d relocation fee pursuant to the proposed ordinance amendment. Table 2 summarizes the number of properties with two to ten units in the City of Burbank.
Table 2: Rental Complex With 10 or Less Multi-Family Units July 2024
Number of Units Number of Rental Complexes
2 881
3 399
4 416
Subtotal: 4 or Less Units 1,696
5 145
6 126
7 48
8 113
9 51
Subtotal: 9 or Less Units 2,179
10 86
Total: 10 or Less Unis 2,265
Anti-Harassment Provision
The proposed ordinance amendment includes a list of twenty anti -harassment tenant protections, which largely mirror pre scribed remedies in the California Civil Code, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and the federal Fair Housing Act . These protections against certain owner actions include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Acting in bad faith, interrupt, terminate, or fail to provide housing services required by the rental agreement or by federal, State, county, or local housing, health, or safety laws.
2. Acting in bad faith, fail to perform repairs and maintenance required by the rental agreement or by federal, State, county or local housing, health, or safety laws;
3. Abuse the owner's right of access into a rental unit as established and restricted by State law.
4. Repeatedly mistreat an occupant of the rental unit during in- person conversations, through social media postings or messages, or other 6 communications, with language that a reasonable person would consider likely to cause fear or provoke violence.
5. Knowingly and intentionally violate any law which prohibits discrimination against the tenant based on race, gender, sexual preference, sexual orientation, ethnic background, nationality, religion, age, parenthood, marriage, pregnancy, disability, human im munodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), occupancy by a minor child, or source of income.
6. Take action to terminate any tenancy, including serving any notice of termination or bringing any action to recover possession of a rental unit, based upon facts which the owner has no reasonable cause to believe to be true or upon a legal theory which the owner knows is untenable under the facts known to the owner.
7. Attempt to coerce a tenant to vacate with offers of payment to vacate, including offers of a buyout agreement, which are accompanied with threats or intimidation.
This shall not include settlement offers made in good faith and not accompanied with threats or intimidation in pending unlawful detainer actions.
8. Refuse to acknowledge receipt of a tenant's rent payment made during the term of the tenancy and in accordance with the rental agreement.
9. Interfere with the right of a tenant to organize as tenants and engage in concerted activities with other tenants for the purpose of mutual aid and protection.
The full list of anti-harassment protections is stated in § 5-4-105(B) of the draft ordinance amendment.
Anti-Retaliation and Anti-Harassment Enforcement Provision If any property owner or owner’s agent violates any of the anti -retaliation or anti - harassment provisions , then an aggrieved tenant may seek a civil action for actual damages, punitive damages, and/or injunctive relief. Such violation by the owner shall also be an affirmative defense to an action by an owner to recover possession of the rental unit. These remedies are not exclusive and do not preclude a tenant from seeking other remedies or penalties provided by applicable law. No administrative remedy is available for any violations of the anti -retaliation and anti -harassment provisions , and therefore, no exhaustion of administrative remedies is required to invoke aggrieved tenant’s rights under the proposed ordinance amendment . In other words, the City Attorney’s Office does not enforce these anti-retaliation and anti-harassment protections in court. Rather, a tenant may utilize the anti-retaliation and anti-harassment protections in the proposed ordinance amendment by filing a c ivil lawsuit in court against their landlord or responding in court to an unlawful detainer lawsuit filed by their landlord. 7 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The adoption of this ordinance amendment is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines § 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 CEQA Guidelines § 15061(b)(3), in that it can be seen with certainty there is no possibility the adoption of this ordinance amendment 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 ordinance amendment. Staffing has been approved in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Adopted Budget for Housing Enforcement Unit staffing to facilitate implementation and enforcement of the current TPO and proposed amendment(s).
CONCLUSION
The proposed ordinance amendment modifies the current TPO by providing the following:
1) an exemption from the increased relocation assistance requirement for no -fault just cause evictions , to certain small property owners ; 2) a specific list of anti -retaliation protections; and 3) an affirmative defense to an owner’s action to recover possession of the rental unit, along with authority for an aggrieved tenant to seek civil damages and/or injunctive relief, for an owner’s violation of the City’s anti -retaliation or anti -harassment protections.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Proposed Ordinance
Attachment 2 – Redlined Ordinance