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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – RENTAL REGISTRY
City of Santa Ana - Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance I ow
n and live in my house, but I rent a room. Do I need to register the bedroom with the City’s Rental Registry portal?
Ye
s. A "Rental Unit" means any building, structure, or part thereof. All property owners must register all of their rental units in the Rental Registry.
Ar
e there properties that are exempt from the Rent Stabilization Provisions of the Ordinance? Ye
s. The following properties are exempt from the Rent Stabilization provisions of the Ordinance. Refer to Section 8-3147 for the specific requirements for each exemption. • A
ny residential real property that has a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995 (California Civil Code section 1954.52(a)(1)); and, any other provisions of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act addressing exemptions, as applicable.
• A
ny mobilehome space subject to a long term (more than one year) rental agreement (California Civil Code section 798.17); any newly constructed mobilehome space first offered for rent on or after January 1, 1990 (California Civil Code section 798.45); mobilehomes not being used as a person’s primary residence that are not being leased to someone else (California Civil Code section 798.21); and, any other provisions of the Mobilehome Residency Law addressing exemptions, as applicable. • H
ousing restricted by deed, regulatory restriction contained in an agreement with a government agency, or other recorded document as affordable housing for persons and families of very low, low, or moderate income.
• H
ousing that is subject to an agreement that provides housing subsidies for affordable housing for persons and families of very low, low, or moderate income. • Do
rmitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, school.
• H
ousing that has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the previous 15 years.
• R
esidential real property that is alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit, provided that both of the following apply:
A. The owner is not any of the following:
i.
A real estate investment trust, as defined in section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code,
ii. A corporation, or
iii. A limited liability company in which at least one member is a EXHIBIT 2
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corporation.
B. The following conditions have been met:
i. The tenants have been provided written notice that the residential property is exempt from this section using the following statement:
“This property is not subject to the Rent limits imposed by Santa Ana Municipal Code section 8- 3140 and the Owner is not any of the following: (1) a real estate investment trust, as defined by section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a corporation; or (3) a limited liability company in which at least one member is a corporation.”
ii. For a Tenancy existing before the effective date of this ordinance the notice required under clause (i) may, but is not required to, be provided in the rental agreement.
iii. For a Tenancy commenced or renewed on or after the effective date of this ordinance, the notice required under clause (i) must be provided in the rental agreement.
• A property containing two separate dwelling units within a single structure in which the Owner occupied one of the units as the Owner’s principal place of residence at the beginning of the Tenancy so long as the Owner continues in occupancy, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit or a junior accessory dwelling unit
Any Landlord that claims an exemption from the Ordinance must file a claim of exemption with the City. The claim of exemption must be filed annually, or the Rental Unit will not be exempt from the Ordinance.
Any time a Rental Unit that has been exempted loses its exempt status due to termination of the conditions qualifying it for exemption, the Landlord of such Rental Unit is required to file a Registration Form for said Rental Unit within thirty (30) days of the change in status.
What is the purpose of the information being collected?
The City’s Rental Registry gathers key data on rent-stabilized units through the submission of a Registration Form.
Some of the information required in the Registration Form is detailed in Section 8-3160(g) of the Ordinance. However, the Ordinance also provides that the Program Administrator, at his/her/their discretion, may require additional information to be collected and recorded in the Registration Form in furtherance of the objectives of the Ordinance.
It is important to note that lease agreements, Social Security Numbers, Employer Identification Numbers or any other confidential information unrelated to compliance with the Ordinance is not collected in the Rental Registry.
The City has determined that the information collected in the Registration Form, which is all directly related to Rental Units, is necessary to collect in furtherance of the objectives of the Ordinance.
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Why is tenant contact information required?
Obtaining accurate contact information in the Rental Registry allows the City to communicate effectively to both landlords and tenants as needed.
The Registration Form requests the name, contact information and preferred language for only the Head of Household or Co-Head of Household such that staff can assist the tenant in their respective language, if it is known by the landlord.
If a landlord does not know the preferred language of the tenant, they have the option to select “Unknown”.
It is important to note that the City is not asking for the names, phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information for every tenant or occupant in the rental unit, rather only the Head of Household or Co-Head of Household.
Information about the tenant’s race, ethnicity or nationality is also not requested in the City’s Rental Registry.
Is the Rental Registry secure?
The City’s Rental Registry is maintained by the City’s software provider, 3Di Systems (“3Di”). 3Di’s platform is Service Organization Control Type 2 compliant, ensuring security, confidentiality, and privacy of all information submitted.
The cloud-based SaaS platform is supported by Amazon Web Services, which offers the ability to encrypt data at rest and in transit, furthering the reliability, security, and technical capabilities of the system.
Information entered in the Rental Registry is restricted to authorized users with role- based permissions and is not publicly accessible.
3Di has over 20 years of experience in creating similar platforms for government and community organizations. 3Di manages the rental registries for multiple cities throughout California, including the cities of Oakland and Los Angeles, and there has never been a breach of their data.
Who can I contact for questions about the Rental Registry?
Please e-mail us at [email protected] or
call (714) 667- 2209 to speak with one of our
representatives.
Staff and computers ar e also available by appointment at our WORK Center at 801 W Civic Center Drive, Suite 200, Santa Ana, CA 92701.
The City of Santa Ana has also created a comprehensive webpage with information about the Rental Registry including helpful resources such as a User Guide, FAQs, recorded demonstrations, and a PowerPoint presentation.
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