Title
Report regarding an Ordinance amending and restating Chapter 8.70 Property Owner Obligations with Respect to Tenants Displaced from Unsafe or Substandard Units of the South San Francisco Municipal Code, and a Resolution establishing relocation assistance amounts and related fees associated with tenant displacement pursuant to Chapter 8.70. (Elia Moreno, Housing Management Analyst I)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council introduce an ordinance amending and restating Chapter 8.70 Property Owner Obligations with Respect to Tenants Displaced from Unsafe or Substandard Units of the South San Francisco Municipal Code and adopt a Resolution establishing relocation assistance amounts and related administrative fees associated with tenant displacement pursuant to Chapter 8.70.
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BACKGROUND
In 2019, City Council adopted Ordinance 1584-2019, adding Chapter 8.70 “Property Owners Obligations with Respect to Tenants Displaced from Unsafe or Substandard Units” to the South San Francisco Municipal Code (Municipal Code). The ordinance created a protocol for tenant relocation assistance when a tenant is displaced due to unsafe or substandard living conditions. The ordinance also describes the City’s role in overseeing compliance, including coordination among the Building Division, Code Enforcement, and Housing staff to determine displacement status, monitor corrective actions, and ensure relocation assistance is provided to displaced tenants promptly.
Relocation assistance is triggered when a code violation is issued by the City and the tenant household is required to vacate the unit, whether temporarily or permanently. Once displacement is required, the City issues a written notice to the property owner outlining required corrective actions and applicable obligations under Chapter 8.70, including relocation assistance requirements. Concurrently, affected tenants receive written notice informing them of the displacement determination, their rights under the ordinance, and potential eligibility for relocation assistance. This ensures that both property owners and tenants understand their respective responsibilities and rights under Chapter 8.70. Throughout the code violation and noticing process, staff often provide added guidance to the parties involved. This is especially true for vulnerable populations of tenants who are unfamiliar with navigating legal actions.
If the landlord is unable to pay or refuses to pay the relocation assistance at the time it is required, the City, in its sole discretion, can remit the relocation assistance directly to the tenant household and bill the landlord for the amount of payment, plus any administrative and other direct and/or indirect costs as a result of the landlord’s failure to make the required payment. The landlord is then required to reimburse the City. If the landlord does not make the full and timely payment to the City, the City is entitled to recover an additional amount, as specified, as a penalty for failure to make timely payment. The City may also place a lien and/or special assessment against the property to recoup the funds.
Under the ordinance, property owners have the right to contest a decision or determination regarding relocation payments by submitting a written appeal to the Director of the Economic and Community Development Department within 10 days of the determination. Upon receipt of an appeal, the City has 30 days to schedule a hearing with the appeals panel, a three-member subcommittee of the Planning Commission
Chapter 8.70 has served as an important tenant protection tool, ensuring households that are displaced receive relocation assistance and support when health and safety conditions require tenants to vacate their units. Most relocation assistance cases fit into the following categories:
• Temporary Displacement - A tenant household’s required vacating of a dwelling unit or room due to code enforcement activities, where the unit is expected to be brought into compliance and made available for re-occupancy within ninety (90) days.
• Permanent Displacement - A tenant household’s required vacating of a dwelling unit or room due to code enforcement activities, where enforcement officers determine that the unit cannot reasonably be brought into code compliance or made available for re-occupancy within ninety (90) days.
• Prevented Displacement - A tenant household that was able to avoid the required vacating of a dwelling unit or room due to timely City action or intervention.
Over the past two years, the City has administered relocation assistance in the following cases:
|
Total Number of Cases |
11 |
|
Temporary Displacement Cases |
5 |
|
Permanent Displacement Cases |
4 |
|
Prevented Displacement |
2 |
|
Households Assisted* |
18 |
*Multiple households may be involved in a single case; therefore, the total number of households assisted exceeds the total number of cases.
The breakdown of assisted households by Council District is as follows:
|
District 1 |
0 |
|
District 2 |
0 |
|
District 3 |
3 |
|
District 4 |
1 |
|
District 5 |
7 |
Among these cases, the most common cause for units to be deemed unsafe or uninhabitable, causing tenant displacement, has been unpermitted construction or alterations. Examples include the improper use of basements or garages for habitation, unsafe electrical wiring, fire damage caused by the property owner’s failure to maintain the property, and the construction of additional units within properties, such as unpermitted accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
DISCUSSION
The City’s Anti-Displacement Roadmap was developed as an effort to strengthen and expand policies addressing the many causes of tenant displacement. The Anti-Displacement Community Advocacy Committee (CAC) played an important role, serving as a core source of community input and identifying challenges affecting tenants in South San Francisco. Among these challenges are older housing units with unresolved health and safety issues that, when left unaddressed, can result in units becoming uninhabitable and tenants being displaced with little notice.
Concerns raised during CAC meetings, in addition to staff experience carrying out provisions of Chapter 8.70, have brought into relief deficiencies in process and definitions of the existing ordinance. Although the existing ordinance has helped stabilize a number of residents in their homes, the CAC recommendations to strengthen protections demonstrated an added need to reevaluate the existing policy and identify opportunities for improvement, streamline processes, and strengthen protections for displaced tenants.
The proposed repeal and replacement of Chapter 8.70 will improve current practices, address implementation challenges, and more effectively carry out its original intent to ensure timely relocation assistance to tenants who are displaced. A replacement of the existing ordinance will provide increased clarity and a more digestible ordinance for all parties moving forward. The following sections highlight areas staff focused on for the proposed replacement of Chapter 8.70.
Expanding Definitions
The existing provisions of Chapter 8.70 establish thresholds for tenant displacement resulting from City Code Enforcement activities. The proposed ordinance expands the definition of a “displaced tenant” to include additional circumstances where tenants are required to vacate their rental units. A tenants shall be deemed displaced when the tenant is required to vacate under any of the following circumstances: (1) the landlord is required to temporarily recover possession of the rental housing unit in order to comply with applicable housing, health, building, or safety laws or regulations; (2) when a unit is rendered uninhabitable; (3) the tenant is ordered to vacate unit pursuant to an order issued by any governmental agency; or (4) the City determines the rental housing unit to be illegal or incapable of being permitted for residential use. At the same time, the proposed ordinance also clarifies circumstances where relocation assistance is not required, such as displacement caused by natural disasters or tenant-caused conditions. These clarifications provide a better understanding to both tenants and landlords on the circumstances under which the relocation assistance will be applied.
The proposed replacement of Chapter 8.70 expands the definition of a “residential housing unit.” Residential housing units are more clearly recognized as any structure that is used as a place of permanent or customary abode within the South San Francisco city limits and rented for residential purposes. Examples include, but are not limited to, a single-family dwelling, a unit in multifamily or multipurpose dwelling, a unit of a condominium or a cooperative housing project, a mobile home, a garage or shed, and a hotel/motel where the tenant has lived for 30 consecutive days or more in the same unit, or any other unit or property that is considered to be real property under State law.
The addition of a hotel/motel is specifically intended to strengthen protections for de facto tenants in substandard living conditions. This approach is mindful of the unintended displacement that proactive enforcement could cause; however, this type of occupancy in lodging is hard to assess. By including this provision, a hotel/motel owner who is not following standard occupancy requirements and is found to be at-fault under the definitions of the ordinance when a life safety issue arises, will be responsible for any occupants who meet the definitions of the ordinance, and those occupants will receive support.
Relocation Payments and Applicable Fees
Under the existing ordinance, relocation assistance is based on reimbursement of relocation costs tied to HUD Fair Market Rent. Additionally, the current process has created a delay in assistance to tenants, causing financial hardship. The proposed ordinance replaces this approach with temporary relocation, per diem payments, a permanent relocation fee, and all related fees set by City Council resolution.
Under current practice, displaced tenants often would need to front the costs of hotel stays, meals, and other emergency expenses when displaced from their residential units while landlords fulfill their relocation assistance obligations only after City action and notice. Under the proposed ordinance, a landlord must provide the tenant at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of displacement. If the landlord fails to provide the advanced notice, the landlord shall pay the tenant household an immediate relocation payment of one thousand dollars ($1,000). Such payment shall be made within twenty-four (24) hours of the tenant household’s displacement. This would help cover costs associated with rapid rehousing and prevent further delays of tenants receiving assistance that could result in homelessness.
Furthermore, in the event of a temporary displacement, the landlord shall provide the displaced tenant with temporary relocation assistance within twenty-four (24) hours of the displacement event, or twenty (20) days prior to the vacation date. Per diem assistance will be determined by the current U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) per diem rates for South San Francisco. GSA per diem rates include lodging costs, and if the temporary accommodation lacks cooking facilities, meals. The landlord shall also compensate the displaced tenant for reasonable incident expenses incurred as a direct result of the displacement. All applicable GSA rates will be calculated by the number of bedrooms. A maximum limit for temporary relocation assistance will be placed where total temporary assistance cannot exceed fifty percent (50%) of the permanent relocation assistance for a comparable unit size. An example of calculations for a two-bedroom, fourteen (14) day temporary relocation assistance is included as Attachment 1.
In the event of permanent displacement, if an anticipated notice is provided to the tenant, assistance must be provided no later than ten (10) days before the expected vacation date. If advanced notice is not provided, then the payment by the landlord to the displaced tenant must be made within twenty-four (24) hours after the notice to vacate is posted and mailed. The permanent relocation assistance amount shall be determined by four (4) times the monthly rental rate of the rental housing unit, or the HUD Fair Market Rate rent to a comparable sized unit, whichever is higher. In addition, in a permanent displacement, the displaced household is eligible to receive five hundred dollars ($500) of moving expenses per the number of bedrooms of the vacated rental housing unit. An example of calculations for a two-bedroom, permanent relocation assistance is included as Attachment 2.
In lieu of monetary relocation payments, the proposed ordinance allows landlords to provide comparable replacement housing, if the tenant accepts, for both temporary and permanent displacements. This allows flexibility to small property owners and avoids financial burden, while protecting tenants.
In any event of displacement, the landlord will pay a counseling fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to the City. The fee will be used to fund counseling or other assistance required by the displaced household as a result of displacement, including case management services and administrative implementation of this ordinance.
Notice Obligations
The proposed ordinance expands notice obligations for both the City and landlords. The City would be required to estimate the duration of displacement and notify landlords and tenants whether displacement is temporary or permanent. Landlords would be required to provide written notice to tenants within the indicated timeframe (20 days prior to vacated date or within 24 hours if unanticipated), include information regarding relocation assistance, and re-occupancy rights on a template provided by the City (Attachment 3).
While the existing ordinance reserves the right for tenants to return, the proposed ordinance adds further protections, including: advance notice of unit availability, minimum vacancy holding periods, and provisions addressing security deposits. When it is not possible for tenants to reoccupy the same unit(s), tenants are entitled to comparable units owned by the landlord under the same terms and conditions to minimize displacement.
Roles and Responsibilities Clarified
The proposed ordinance further formalizes the tenant, landlord, and City’s roles in situations of displacement. Tenant responsibilities now include the obligation to provide current contact information to the landlord, to notify the landlord in writing if the tenant intends to reoccupy the unit, and to repay any overpaid temporary relocation per diem amounts if the actual displacement period is shorter than anticipated.
The City’s role is further highlighted in the administration of tenant relocation by clarifying responsibilities related to displacement determinations, estimating the duration of vacancy, providing required notices, monitoring compliance, administering appeals, and enforcing the ordinance. Where necessary, the City may advance relocation assistance payments to displaced tenants and recover associated costs through available enforcement mechanisms, including administrative citations, liens, and enhanced penalties for unpermitted work resulting in tenant displacement.
Implementation Practices
Tenants displaced due to uninhabitable or unsafe conditions are often required to vacate their homes immediately, resulting in significant financial strain. Without timely assistance, these households face an increased risk of housing instability or homelessness, particularly in cases where they must secure short-term accommodation on short notice.
Research from Urban Institute indicates that, even with support from rapid rehousing programs, displaced households typically require between 60 and 120 days to secure replacement housing, with some searches extending up to an additional 120 days, particularly for households facing barriers such as low credit history, limited income, or larger household size. This timeline reflects the realities of navigating displacement through high rental markets, securing sufficient funds for deposits, and identifying available units that meet the household’s needs.
In South San Francisco, these challenges are further intensified by high housing costs and limited rental availability. Local analysis conducted through HR&A, the City’s Anti-Displacement Roadmap consultant, indicates that there is insufficient supply of affordable units for households earning less than $150,000 annually, while renters, amongst other burdened populations, represent over half of the City’s population. These conditions underscore the need for timely and adequate relocation assistance. The proposed ordinance responds to these challenges by establishing a more immediate and reliable process for tenant support. The current process can delay assistance and requires tenants to front significant costs. The revised ordinance addresses these issues by aligning assistance timelines and relocation payments with current housing conditions and realities, supporting faster housing stabilization for displaced tenants.
The updates to the ordinance incorporate lessons learned since its adoption in 2019, addressing implementation challenges encountered and strengthening the City’s ability to administer relocation assistance in an efficient manner. By repealing and replacing Chapter 8.70 with a more transparent and streamlined framework, the City improves clarity for both tenants and property owners while enhancing accountability for all parties throughout the relocation process. Collectively, these updates reinforce the City’s commitment to housing stability and align with its Anti-Displacement efforts by reducing the risk of homelessness, promoting stability during emergency displacement, and protecting vulnerable households from financial hardship caused by unsafe or uninhabitable conditions.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adopting this ordinance will not impact the General Fund. If a property owner cannot or will not pay the relocation assistance required by Municipal Code Chapter 8.70, the City could use Affordable Housing Fund 205 to advance relocation payments to displaced households. If an owner is unresponsive, staff can seek to recover the relocation costs and any related administrative costs by placing a lien on the property.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce an ordinance amending and restating Chapter 8.70 Property Owner Obligations with Respect to Tenants Displaced From Unsafe or Substandard Units of the South San Francisco Municipal Code and adopt a Resolution establishing relocation assistance amounts and related fees associated with tenant displacement pursuant to Chapter 8.70.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Proposed Temporary Relocation Assistance Calculations
2. Proposed Permanent Relocation Assistance Calculations
3. Draft - Landlord Notice of Displacement to Tenants