Irrespective of rent trends, landlords can enter into a legal agreement whereby the tenants vacate the premises for monetary compensation, hence the term "tenant buyout".

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Under this arrangement, the owner offers cash to the tenants in exchange for the tenants vacating the premises. Yet San Francisco legislation has outlined several obligations of landlords when discussing and drafting tenant buy-out agreements, also known in legalese terms as “tenant surrender of possession” agreements.

 

The relevant law is designed to prevent tenants from feeling coerced into signing agreements and make it easier for them to figure out the going price for buyouts. These agreements are subject to disclosure, recordation, and may even impact condo-conversion rights.

 

No buyout is the same, and must take into account the unique circumstances that include length of tenancy, history of evictions, tenant protections, desirability of neighborhood, building and unit size, bad/good faith of the landlord, and the landlord’s investment strategy.

 

At Bornstein Law, we have had an imprint in hundreds of successful tenant buyouts in rent-controlled cities such as San Francisco, Berkeley, Fremont and Oakland and we can help you negotiate a prudent, proper and ethical buyout agreement for you to be in compliance with the maddening regulations.