The latest happenings and informed advice from the firm built for rental housing providers and the professionals who serve them.



San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley prohibit Owner and Relative Move-In evictions during the school year, but get out your calendar. School is about to be dismissed. 


With school out, educators and minor children are stripped of their protected status. Owners and their relatives have a limited window of time to recover possession of a rental unit by way of an OMI/RMI. 


When owners are cast into the unenviable position of informing tenants that the status quo of the property has changed and bear the news that the household will need to find new surroundings through no fault of their own, it is always an uneasy conversation. It can especially tug at the heartstrings when there are educators and children involved. 


The law has attempted to weigh this against the rights of property owners. 


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Damages, unpaid rent, and what can be recovered in civil courts 


Sadly, many owners have had their properties atrophy because of a tenant’s neglect or disregard.


Despite politicians paying lip service to the idea of making landlords whole, the landlording community is still dealing with the residue of the pandemic with a mountain of rent debt owed. 


A new bill (SB 71) increases the jurisdictional limit in small claims court from $10,000 to $12,500 and in limited civil cases from $25,000 to $35,000. In light of these updated figures, we felt obligated to revisit this topic. 


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Savvy owners, property managers, and real estate practitioners are always in the know. 



We are heavy consumers of news germane to the landlording community and from time to time, we get injected into the stories we read.



Berkeley becomes a pioneer by embracing a law that will allow residents to sell accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as condos separate from their primary homes.


If the Ellis Act cannot be repealed or watered down in the state legislature, it can be chipped away in the courts as one trial in Los Angeles illustrates.


Antioch begins drafting new “just cause” eviction protections. A ballot measure could defeat San Francisco’s onerous vacancy tax, and more.

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Owner and relative move-in evictions have long been the bane of tenants’ advocates after a few bad apples spoiled the bunch by acting in bad faith and with ulterior motives. The distrust of these types of evictions is reflected in an abundance of oversight and a host of procedural requirements for owners to follow. 


In fact, most of the cases we handle are for new homeowners who have achieved success in life and want to purchase a tenant-occupied property to realize their dreams of home ownership. Or an owner who recently gave birth and wants to move in their retired parent to help raise a child. 


The public policy behind these regulations is to keep people housed, especially those who are vulnerable or those persons tethered in some way to a school district. With school about to go on summer recess, owners now have a window of opportunity to use their property as they see fit, with many caveats and hefty relocation payments to soften the landing of outgoing residents.


We pay homage to all dedicated school employees doing an outstanding job in the important role they serve. As parents, we also recognize that transitioning children out of their surroundings may require a bit of hand-holding.


Informing the household that there is a chapter change in the status of the building may be a difficult conversion to broach but one that can be made easier with proper counsel. 


Should you have any questions about a legal matter, I’m always accessible via email at daniel@bornstein.law. Thank you for your continued engagement as together, we make sense of a complicated regulatory regime and power through your real estate challenges. 


Onward,


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