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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/03/1994, C-2 - RESOLUTION REGARDING LOCAL MOBILEHOME RENT CONTROL MEEn AT Z Clty or .7011 1 I s oBi5po RBA NUMBER: COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT 'z FROM: Diane R. Gladwell, City Clerk/,J SUBJECT: Resolution Regarding Local TV come Rent Control RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a Resolution Opposing the Proposed"Rental Assistance" Initiative DISCUSSION: At its February 11th meeting, Council requested a resolution opposing the proposed initiative to eliminate mobilehome rent control entitled "Rental Assistance Initiative." The proponents have until June 27th to collect the necessary 350,000 signatures. If this initiative passes, the City's mobile home rent control ordinance would be eliminated, subjecting tenants to unlimited rent increases. AT Draft Resolution Proposed Initiative I RESOLUTION NO. (1994 Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO OPPOSING THE "RENTAL ASSISTANCE" INITIATIVE WHEREAS, mobilehome owners in San Luis Obsipo are overwhelmingly senior citizens and low-income families living on fixed retirement or severely-limited incomes; and, WHEREAS, nearly 100 California counties, cities and towns have passed some form of mobilehome rent protection ordinance to safeguard these vulnerable elderly and low- income families from excessive rent increases; and, WHEREAS mobilehome owners are somewhat captive due to the shortage of available mobilehome park rental spaces; WHEREAS the City Council opposes any statewide pre-emption of local control to make policy responding to the crisis in mobilehome park space rents and availability; and, WHEREAS mobilehome owners often forfeit their only asset,their homes,when they cannot pay excessive rents; and, WHEREAS an initiative now in circulation,misleadingly titled the"Rental Assistance" initiative would void the meaningful protection in those 100 ordinances; and, WHEREAS that initiative is being misrepresented as one which would assist mobilehome owners in meeting their rents, rather than one which would allow mobilehome park landlords to raise rents without restriction, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the City Council opposes the "Rental Assistance" initiative currently in circulation, and directs that such opposition be communicated to the Legislature and the Governor and those advocacy organization to which we belong. C-z-z On motion of , seconded by , and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: The foregoing Resolution was passed and adopted this day of , 1994. Mayor Peg Pinard ATTEST: City Clerk Diane R. Gladwell APPROVED AS TO FORM: POtorr ey Date: January 27, 1994 File No: SA93RFOO42 The Attorney General of California has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure: MOBILEHOME RENT ASSISTANCE MOBII.EHOME RENT CONTROL RESTRICTIONS. INITIATIVE STA'T'UTE. Requires mobilehome park management to administer and provide rent subsidy equal to ten percent discount on monthly rent to tenants meeting residency and income requirements, when ten percent or less of occupied spaces are covered by rent control or rent subsidy. Establishes priorities for, and conditions for losing, rent subsidy. Invalidates existing, and prohibits new, state mobilehome rent control laws: Limits existing, and prohibits new, local mobilehome rent control laws. Prohibits such laws from requiring reductions in rent and limiting increases in rent to less than specified cost of living index. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: No impact on state costs or revenues. In the near term, cities and counties may experience increased costs which are unknown, but are not likely to total more than millions of dollars annually. In the long term, local agencies would experience savings in the range of millions to tens of millions of dollars annually. s,4 93 Rr 00Iva Amor-;01 AN INITIATIVE MEASURE TO BE SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO THE VOTERS The Attorney General of California has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure: (Here set forth the title and summary prepared by the Attorney General. This title and summary must also be printed across the top of each page of the petition whereon signatures are to appear.) To the Honorable Secretary of State of California: We, the undersigned, registered, qualified voters of California, residents of County (or City and County), hereby propose amendments to the California Civil Code, relating to establishment of a rental assistance subsidy for qualified poor and needy mobilehome park tenants, limitations on mobilehome park rent control in lieu thereof, and prohibitions of enactment of mobilehome rent control measures by the State and by local charter and general law cities and counties, and petition the Secretary of State to submit the same to the voters of California for their adoption or rejection at the next succeeding general election. The proposed statutory amendments (full title and text of the measure) read as follows: SECTION 1: TITLE This Measure shall be known and may be cited as The Mobilehome_Faimess and Rental Assistance Act SECTION 2: FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS OF PURPOSE (a) The People of the State of California find and declare as follows: (1) Some tenants of mobilehome spaces in mobilehome parks in California are poor and needy and are urgently in need of rental assistance, without delays, expense or red tape which state and local government usually requires for the administration of rental assistance programs; and (2) Over 80 local governments are spending millions of dollars annually administering and enforcing mobilehome park rent controls for the exclusive benefit of owners of mobilehomes which comprise approximately only 5-percent of California's housing units with unrestricted controls that are generally not means tested to the poor, so that mobilehome owners in mobilehomes with an average value of $40,000 to $50,000 obtain unfair price controls in rent controlled areas at the expense of small business-parkowners and all the citizens of California; and (3) These unrestricted controls jeopardize the existence of affordable mobilehome park housing for all Californians and jeopardize continued employment and small business-parkowners' existence in California; and (4) Requiring the provision of direct rental assistance subsidies by requiring mobilehome park owners to provide specified reduced rents for the poor, together with the limitations on most restrictive features of rent limitations which have adversely affected ��s the availability and supply or such affordable mobile home housing, is necessary to assure the continued availability of affordable mobile home housing to the poor; and (5) The limitation of the rental assistance subsidy provided in this Measure to not more than ten-percent of the spaces in a single mobilehome park will provide a reasonable amount of assistance to needy mobilehome park tenants, without unduly burdening the property interests of the mobilehome park owner. (b) It is therefore the intent of the People of the State of California in enacting this Measure to do all of the following as a matter of statewide concern: (1) Require owners of mobilehome parks to grant directly, without governmental administration, rental assistance subsidies to not more than ten-percent of their mobilehome space tenants. (2) Require local governments to minimize their mobilehome park rent control measures by allowing annual rent increases equal to the cost of living and require local governments to phase out rent control administration, on a space by space basis, upon the sale, transfer or sublease of any mobilehome. (3) Prohibit enactment of any new mobilehome park rent control or rent stabilization law by any local government or by the State of California. (c) This Measure is not intended, nor shall it be construed, to deprive any mobilehome owner, tenant or mobilehome park owner of any constitutional rights. SECTION 3: ' AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 1 OF DIVISION 2 OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE: DEFINITIONS Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the California Civil Code is hereby amended as follows by adding new Section 798.13, as follows: 798.13 As used in this part, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Tenant" means a homeowner as defined in Section 798.9 of this Chapter. (b) "Qualified Tenant* means any tenant who, as of the date of application, and during any period while receiving a rental assistance subsidy, satisfies all of the following requirements: (1) The tenant resides in a mobilehome park in the State of California; and (2) The tenant is a very low income household, as defined in section 50105 of the California Health and Safety Code; and (3) The tenant is not delinquent with any rental payments, has established a legal residency in a mobilehome, and owns and occupies such mobilehome as the tenant's principal place of residence: and 2 (4) The tenant, including all other residents regularly residing in the mobilehome, is in compliance with all rules and regulations of the mobilehome park and the tenant's rental agreement; and (5) The tenant is not receiving any Federal, State or local housing assistance, including but not limited to assistance under Chapter 8 (commencing with section 1404a) of Title 42, United States Code; The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383); Chapter 45 (commencing with section 3601) of Title 42, United State Code; or any other governmental housing assistance program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or as provided by other state or federal laws or programs. (c) "Rental assistance subsidy" as used in Article 4.4 of this part means a ten- percent discount from the monthly rent charged for the mobilehome space occupied by one or more qualified tenants, as established by mobilehome park management (the pre-subsidy monthly rent level). The pre-subsidy monthly rent level of a qualified tenant who is receiving or is entitled to receive, a rental assistance subsidy, may be increased and shall be decreased, as appropriate, from time to time, so that the pre-subsidy monthly rent level shall not, at any time, exceed the average monthly rent level charged for all spaces in the mobilehome park then occupied with mobilehomes. Only one rental assistance subsidy shall apply to any mobilehome space regardless of how many qualified tenants who reside in a mobilehome space, so that no mobilehome space shall be entitled to more than one ten-percent discount from the pre-subsidy monthly rent level. (d) "Exempt space" as used in Article 4.5 of this part means (i) any space in a mobilehome park which is not occupied by a mobilehome as of the effective date of this Measure, or (ii) any space which is, as of the effective date of this Measure, exempt from a mobilehome park rent control law as a result of any lease or rental agreement covering such space including, without limitation, a rental agreement described in section 798.17 of this Chapter. (e) "Mobilehome park rent control" as used in Articles 4.4 and 4.5 of this part means any ordinance, rule, regulation, or initiative measure, adopted by any city, county or city and county, which establishes a maximum amount that the management of a mobilehome park may charge any tenant or resident for rent. (f) "Decontrolling event" as used in Article 4.5 of this part means, with respect to any space in a mobilehome park covered by a mobilehome park rent control law as of the effective date of this Measure, the occurrence of any of the following events after the effective date of this Measure: (i) Any sale, transfer (by foreclosure, operation of law or otherwise), or other change in ownership of the mobilehome (as defined in Section 798.3 of this Chapter); W) Any termination of the tenancy of the persons who are tenants in such space by eviction, voluntary vacancy or otherwise; or (iii) Any sub-lease by the tenant to a third party of the mobilehome or space after the effective date of this Measurer, provided nothing contained herein is intended to authorize any such sub-lease of the mobilehome or space. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (i), (ii), and (iii) herein, no decontrolling event shall be deemed to have occurred upon any transfer of ownership of a mobilehome to the conservator, guardian or trustee of a homeowner or to a homeowner's 3 trust (provided that the beneficiaries entitled to ownership of the mobilehome are members of the homeowner's immediate family), or to a surviving spouse upon the death of the other spouse, or to a spouse or the parent(s) or children of a homeowner. (g) 'Subsidized rental charge' means the amount of rent chargeable to the qualified tenant under this Measure, after deducting the rental assistance subsidy from the rent otherwise lawfully chargeable to the tenant. SECTION 4: AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 2.5 OF DIVISION 2 OF THE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE Chapter 2.5 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the California Civil Code is hereby amended as follows by adding a new Article 4.4, as follows: Article 4.4 Tenant Rental Assistance 798.44.1 Any qualified tenant may apply for and if accepted, shall receive. di,rectly from the management of a mobilehome park in which such tenant resides, a rental assistance subsidy subject to the terms and conditions provided for in this Article. 798.44.2 The provision of the rental assistance subsidy shall be the sole responsibility and obligation of each management of a mobilehome park and neither the State of California nor any governmental agency shall have any responsibility therefor or exercise any authority in connection therewith, except as provided in Section 798.44.6 of this Article. 798.44.3 (a) Each tenant seeking to obtain a rental assistance subsidy shall provide the management with an application, together with competent evidence of facts, to prove the tenant is a qualified tenant. This application and evidence may be submitted at any time during any calendar year up to December 15 for consideration of the rental assistance subsidy for the ensuing calendar year commencing January 1. The evidence accompanying the application shall consist of ownership and residency in the mobilehome and such income and other information as is customarily required by the governmental agency administering the housing assistance benefits for Very Low Income persons under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. sec. 1437) and such other evidence as is reasonably required. However, no mobilehome park management shall make this application process more burdensome to the tenant than would be the case if the tenant were applying for housing assistance benefits for Very Low Income persons under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. sec. 1437). (b) Each mobilehome park management shall, promptly upon receipt of such application and evidence specified in paragraph (a), evaluate the same and reply to such tenant with notice within 10 working days. The reply shall-indicate either (1) acceptance, in which case the amount of the rental assistance subsidy and the pre-subsidy monthly rent level shall then be stated; or (2) rejection, in which case the basis for such rejection shall also be stated. Once a qualified tenant has received a rental assistance subsidy during any part of a calendar year, the rental assistance subsidy shall continue until December 31 of that year, subject to early termination as provided in this Article. 4 798.44.4 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article to the contrary: (a) (1) In any jurisdiction in which mobilehome park rent control is in effect, the management of a mobilehome park shall be exempt from the rental assistance subsidy provisions of this Article if, and as long as, more than ten-percent of the spaces occupied by mobilehomes in such mobilehome park are covered by any form of mobilehome park rent control. (2) In any jurisdiction in which mobilehome park rent control is in effect, if at any time fewer than ten-percent of the spaces occupied by mobilehomes in a mobilehome park are covered by any form of mobilehome park rent control, the management of a mobilehome park shall be subject to the provisions of this Article and shall be required to provide rental assistance subsidy to a qualified tenant; provided, however, that the management of the mobilehome park shall not be required to provide such rental assistance subsidy if granting the subsidy would result in more than ten-percent of the spaces in the mobilehome park being covered either by any form of mobilehome park rent control or by the rental assistance subsidy provided by this Article. The priority for granting rental assistance subsidy shall be governed by subdivision (c) of this section 798.44.4. (b) In any jurisdiction in which there is no form of mobilehome park rent control in effect, the management of a mobilehome park shall be required to provide the rental assistance subsidy provided by this Article to qualified tenants representing not more than ten-percent of the spaces then occupied by mobilehomes in such mobilehome park. The priority for granting rental assistance subsidy shall be governed by subdivision (c) of this section 798.44.4. (c) (1) In circumstances in which subdivision (a)(2) or subdivision (b) of this section apply, the management of a mobilehome park shall be required to grant the rental assistance subsidy provided for in this Article to those qualified tenants who are first in time to have been granted a rental assistance subsidy by the management of the mobilehome park. (2) In determining the number of qualified tenants to which the management of a mobilehome park shall be required to provide rental assistance under subdivision (a)(2), the management of the mobilehome park shall determine the number of qualified tenants which represent spaces entitled to the rental subsidy, by subtracting the number of spaces then subject to some form of mobilehome park rent control from the number representing ten-percent of the total number of spaces then occupied by mobilehomes in the mobilehome park. 798.44.5 (a) Any qualified tenant receiving a rental assistance subsidy shall lose the right to such rental assistance subsidy upon the occurrence of any of the following events: (1) The tenant fails to pay the monthly rent in accordance with the rental agreement (as reduced by the rental assistance subsidy) within five days of its due date; or (2) The tenant no longer meets the criteria for a qualified tenant for any reason. 5 (b) The mobilehome park management may, upon 10 days' written notice to the tenant, terminate the tenant's rental assistance subsidy for a reason specified in paragraphs (1) or (2) of subdivision (a). (c) A tenant whose rental assistance subsidy has been terminated pursuant to subdivision (b) may not reapply for rental assistance subsidy for a period of 12 months thereafter. (d) For purposes of the ten-percent limitation set forth in section 798.44.4, a rental assistance subsidy terminated pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be deemed to have been terminated on the last day of the calendar year. 798.44.6. Any qualified tenant aggrieved or damaged by any substantial violation of this Article may petition the municipal court of the judicial district in which the mobilehome park is located for a judicial determination of his or her rights under this Article. An aggrieved tenant prevailing in such an action shall be entitled to (a) actual damages consisting of the amount of rental assistance subsidy lost due to the violation and (b) reasonable attorneys fees and costs. A tenant aggrieved by a violation of this Article shall also be entitled to seek injunctive relief, and any other equitable remedies available under section 526 of the Code of Civil Procedure. A judgment of the municipal court shall be reviewable by the appellate department of the superior court of the county in which the action arose. 798.44.7. (a) A mobilehome park's management shall not terminate the tenancy of any tenant, or attempt to do so, or retaliate against any tenant, or attempt to do so, as a proximate result of a request by that tenant for a rental assistance subsidy or the exercise of any rights relating thereto as provided in this Article. (b) Any demand by a mobilehome park's management for rent in excess of the subsidized rental charge from any qualified tenant whose application for a rental assistance subsidy is approved for the calendar year or whose application was denied or rejected in violation of this Article shall constitute a defense to any action brought by the mobilehome park management for (1) the excess rent over the subsidized rental charge or (2) eviction of the qualified tenant from the mobilehome park for non-payment of that excess rent. However, this subdivision does not apply if enforcement of the subsidized rental charge would violate any constitutional right of the owner of the mobilehome park to a fair rate of retum. SECTION 5: AMENDMENT OF ARTICLE 4.5 OF PART 2 OF DIVISION 2 OF THE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE Article 4.5 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the California Civil Code is amended to add the following new Sections 798.46.1, 798.46.2, and 798.46.3 as follows: 798.46.1 On or after the effective date of this Measure, no city, county, or city and county, shall, (a) enact any new mobilehome park rent control law or (b) amend or modify any existing mobilehome park rent control law to apply its restriction on maximum rents to any space in a mobilehome park which is not, on the effective date of this Measure, by 6 reason of a long term lease or otherwise, subject to rent restrictions under the mobilehome park rent control law. 798.46.2 Every mobilehome park rent control law in effect as of the effective date of this Measure shall be subject to the following provisions: (a) On or after January 1 of the year following the effective date of this Measure, no mobilehome park rent cqntrol law may, with respect to the rent which a mobilehome park management may charge for a space within such park, either (i) require that the rent for such space ever be reduced from that lawfully charged before the effective date of this Measure or as of any subsequent date, or (ii) limit any annual rent increase to an amount which is less than the full annual cost of living increase, as measured by the change in such cost of living from the 12-month period ending in the calendar month preceding the date in which a notice of rent increase is given by the mobilehome park management at any time, and from time to time, after the effective date of this Measure. For purposes of this paragraph, the cost of living shall be determined using the California Consumer Price Index ('CCPI'), as published by the Department of Industrial Relations for all items and all urban consumers, and this index for the 1982-1984 period shall be computed as 100. (b) No jurisdiction administering any mobilehome park rent control law shall require the management of a mobilehome park to attend any hearing or submit any information to such jurisdiction so long as management limits the rental increases for any space affected by such mobilehome park rent control law to the full annual CCPI increase as provided in subdivision (a) of this section. (c) On or after the effective date of this Measure, no mobilehome park rent control law shall impose any restriction whatsoever on the amount of rent that the management of a mobilehome park may charge for a mobilehome space within such park upon or after a decontrolling event, as defined in Section 798.13 (f). (d) On or after the effective date of this Measure, no mobilehome park rent control law shall impose any restriction whatsoever on the amount of rent that the management of a mobilehome park may charge for a space within such park which is an exempt space, as defined in Section 798.13 (d). All exempt spaces shall be, for all purposes on or after the effective date of this Measure, exempt from any and all mobilehome park rent control laws. 798.46.3 The State of California shall enact no statute restricting, or authorizing the restriction of, the maximum amount of rent that the management of a mobilehome park may charge for a space in a mobilehome park. Any statute having that effect and enacted before or after the effective date of this Measure shall be void"and unenforceable. SECTION 6: AMENDMENT OR REPEAL OF MEASURE The provisions of this Measure may be amended or repealed by the procedures set forth in this section. If any portion of subdivision (a) is declared invalid, then subdivision (b) shall be the exclusive means of amending or repealing this title. 7 (a) The provisions of this Measure may be amended to further its purposes by statute, passed in each house by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring and signed by the Governor. (b) The provisions of this Measure may be amended or repealed by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors. SECTION 7: EFFECTIVE DATE The effective date of this Measure shall be the day after the election at which it is approved by the voters. SECTION 8: CONSTRUCTION OF MEASURE The Measure shall be liberally construed to achieve the purposes of this Measure and to preserve its validity. SECTION 9: SEVERABILITY If any provision of this Measure, or the application to any person or circumstances is held invalid or void, such invalidity or voidness shall not affect other provisions or applications which can be given effect without the invalid or void provision or application, and to this end, all of the provisions of this Measure are declared to be severable. SECTION 10: ELECTORS' INTENTION IN THE EVENT OF PASSAGE OF POSSIBLE CONFLICTING-MEASURES In the event another Measure to be voted on by the voters at the same election as this Measure, and which constitutes a comprehensive regulatory scheme, receives more affirmative votes than this Measure, the electors intend that any provision or provisions of this Measure not in direct and apparent conflict with any provision or provisions of another Measure, shall not be deemed to be in conflict therewith, and shall be severed from any other provision or provisions of this Measure which are in direct and apparent conflict with the provision(s) of another Measure. In such event, the provisions shall be severed according to the provisions of Section 9 of this Measure upon application to any court of competent jurisdiction. 8