Message from the desk of Daniel Bornstein
Monthly assessment of the legal issues impacting the Bay Area rental property industry.
It’s been March Madness here at Bornstein Law, with many items on our radar that we wanted to share with our valued clients, friends and referral partners throughout the Bay Area in this digest.
On the legislative front, it’s been a mixed bag of news for the rental housing industry. Tenant advocates have not been disheartened by the defeat of a bill designed to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act – it seems all but certain that the issue will be taken directly to voters on the November ballot, with the California Secretary of State's office reporting over a quarter of the requisite signatures amassed.
Under the dome of the Capitol, efforts to erode landlord rights have morphed into different names, shapes and sizes and in this edition, we outline three bills being incubated by tenant advocates and give our take on their legislative agenda.
In better news, several bills have been introduced that are more favorable to housing providers, most notably Senator Scott Wiener’s initiative to spur denser housing near transit hubs. Interestingly, Wiener embodies the new face of YIMBYism, as a growing throng of forward-thinking, progressive urbanists and a new generation of environmentalists are calling for more construction. We profile these unlikely bedfellows here.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have put a microscope on the California Environmental Quality Act, a landmark land-use law that was intended to protect the environment but has become the darling of no-growth advocates, who often spawn frivolous litigation to impede housing projects. We offer a glimpse into the efforts to modernize this 1970s-era environmental law.
Although it is important to keep a pulse on statewide legislation, it is local municipalities that have a more intimate impact on landlords. Of recent concern to us is Oakland. On the heels of newly minted tenant relocation payments that have been mandated for properties that fall under Measure EE, the City is now considering regulations on tenant buyout agreements, moving the needle of progress in the resurging city in the wrong direction, in our view.
More than ever, landlords are cautioned not to rush tenant screening, as there are laws both on the books and being floated, that stand to conceal eviction histories and checkered pasts. We chime in on this and a culture of forgiveness that obscures rental risks, as well as the legal obligations owners and property managers need to fulfill when accessing credit reports.
In an “only in San Francisco” moment, the city is poised to be the first in California to afford evictees the right to an attorney, and we dispense some thoughts on this misplaced extension of the Sixth Amendment.
In solving the housing shortage, we have seen some ingenuous forms of housing, and the 3D printing of houses is an intriguing concept we examine in this off-beat article. One structure that was intended to increase the affordable housing inventory is Accessory Dwelling Units, but with exorbitant costs and red tape, this has been a colossal failure in San Francisco.
Affordable housing cannot come soon enough for educators. A teacher’s salary makes it difficult to live in San Francisco and so recognizing the vital role of school staff, an appellate court has upheld a ruling that prohibits teacher evictions during the school year, a decision we break down here.
We've seen an alarming uptick in tenant lawsuits, aided by enterprising tenant attorneys and we expound on them here.
We also invite you to download some our PDFs that condense several processes and updated rent control rules, and visit a new section of our website where we profile some trailblazers who are shaping the Bay Area rental housing industry.
As always, I am happy to answer any questions and not only counsel, but play an instrumental role in the success of your real estate business.
Daniel Bornstein, Esq.
415-409-7611
Daniel@Bornstein.law