TITLE 5. HIRING
CHAPTER 2.7. RESIDENTIAL RENT CONTROL
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. Title 5, Chap. 2.7, §1954.50
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Comparable units" means rental units that have
approximately the same living space, have the same number of
bedrooms, are located in the same or similar neighborhoods, and
feature the same, similar, or equal amenities and housing services.
(b) "Owner" includes any person, acting as
principal or through an agent, having the right to offer residential
real property for rent, and includes a predecessor in interest to
the owner, except that this term does not include the owner or
operator of a mobilehome park, or the owner of a mobilehome or his
or her agent.
(c) "Prevailing market rent" means the rental rate
that would be authorized pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. 1437 (f), as
calculated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development pursuant to Part 888 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
(d) "Public entity" has the same meaning as set
forth in Section 811.2 of the Government Code.
(e) "Residential real property" includes any
dwelling or unit that is intended for human habitation.
(f) "Tenancy" includes the lawful occupation of
property and includes a lease or sublease. Title 5, Chap. 2.7,
§1954.51
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner of
residential real property may establish the initial and all
subsequent rental rates for a dwelling or a unit about which any of
the following is true:
(1) It has a certificate of occupancy issued after February
1, 1995.
(2) It has already been exempt from the residential rent
control ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995,
pursuant to a local exemption for newly constructed units.
(3) It is alienable separate from the title to any other
dwelling unit or is a subdivided interest in a subdivision as
specified in subdivision (b), (d), or (f) of Section 11004.5 of the
Business and Professions Code. This paragraph shall not apply to a
dwelling or unit where the preceding tenancy has been terminated by
the owner by notice pursuant to Section 1946 or has been terminated
upon a change in the terms of the tenancy noticed pursuant to
Section 827. Where a dwelling or unit whose initial or subsequent
rental rates are controlled by an ordinance or charter provision in
effect on January 1, 1995, the following shall apply:
(A) An owner of real property as described in this paragraph
may establish the initial and all subsequent rental rates for all
existing and new tenancies in effect on or after January 1, 1999, if
the tenancy in effect on or after January 1, 1999, was created
between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 1998.
(B) Commencing on January 1, 1999, an owner of real property
as described in this paragraph may establish the initial and all
subsequent rental rates for all new tenancies if the previous
tenancy was in effect on December 31, 1995.
(C) The initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit as
described in this paragraph whose initial rental rate is controlled
by an ordinance or charter provision in effect on January 1, 1995
shall not, until January 1, 1999, exceed the amount calculated
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1954.53. An owner of
residential real property as described in this paragraph may until
January 1, 1999, establish the initial rental rate for a dwelling or
unit only where the tenant has voluntarily vacated, abandoned, or
been evicted pursuant to paragraph (2) of Section 1161 of the Code
of Civil Procedure.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply where the owner has
otherwise agreed by contract with a public entity in consideration
for a direct financial contribution or any other forms of assistance
specified in Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 65915) of Division
1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any
authority of a public entity that may otherwise exist to regulate or
monitor the basis for eviction.
(d) This section shall not apply to any dwelling or unit
which contains serious health, safety, fire, or building
code violations, excluding those caused by disasters, for which a
citation has been issued by the appropriate governmental agency and
which has remained unabated for six months or longer preceding the
vacancy. Title 5, Chap. 2.7, §1954.52
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner of
residential real property may establish the initial rental rate for
a dwelling or unit, except where any of the following applies:
(1) The previous tenancy has been terminated by the owner by
notice pursuant to Section 1946 or has been terminated upon a change
in the terms of the tenancy noticed pursuant to Section 827, except
a change permitted by law in the amount of rent or fees. For
the purpose of this paragraph, the owner's termination or nonrenewal
of a contract or recorded agreement with a governmental agency that
provides for a rent limitation to a qualified tenant, shall be
construed as a change in the terms of the tenancy pursuant to
Section 827.
(A) In a jurisdiction that controls by ordinance or charter
provision the rental rate for a dwelling or unit, an owner who
terminates or fails to renew a contract or recorded agreement with a
governmental agency that provides for a rent limitation to a
qualified tenant shall not be eligible to set an initial rent for
three years following the date of the termination or nonrenewal of
the contract or agreement. For any new tenancy established
during the three-year period, the rental rate for a new tenancy
established in that vacated dwelling or unit shall be at the same
rate as the rent under the terminated or nonrenewed contract or
recorded agreement with a governmental agency that provided for a
rent limitation to a qualified tenant, plus any increases authorized
after the termination or cancellation of the contract or recorded
agreement.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any new tenancy of 12
months or more duration established after January 1, 2000, pursuant
to the owner's contract or recorded agreement with a governmental
agency that provides for a rent limitation to a qualified tenant
unless the prior vacancy in that dwelling or unit was pursuant to a
nonrenewed or canceled contract or recorded agreement with a
governmental agency that provides for a rent limitation to a
qualified tenant as set forth in that subparagraph.
(2) The owner has otherwise agreed by contract with a public
entity in consideration for a direct financial contribution or any
other forms of assistance specified in Chapter 4.3 (commencing with
Section 65915) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
(3) The initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit whose
initial rental rate is controlled by an ordinance or charter
provision in effect on January 1, 1995, shall not until January 1,
1999, exceed the amount calculated pursuant to subdivision (c).
(b) Subdivision (a) applies to, and includes, renewal of the
initial hiring by the same tenant, lessee, authorized subtenant, or
authorized sublessee for the entire period of his or her occupancy
at the rental rate established for the initial hiring.
(c) The rental rate of a dwelling or unit whose initial
rental rate is controlled by ordinance or charter provision in
effect on January 1, 1995, shall, until January 1, 1999, be
established in accordance with this subdivision. Where the
previous tenant has voluntarily vacated, abandoned, or been evicted
pursuant to paragraph (2) of Section 1161 of Code of Civil
Procedure, an owner of residential real property may, no more than
twice, establish the initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit in
an amount that is no greater than 15 percent more than the rental
rate in effect for the immediately preceding tenancy or in an amount
that is 70 percent of the prevailing market rent for comparable
units, whichever amount is greater. The initial rental rate
established pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to
substitute for or replace increases in rental rates otherwise
authorized pursuant to law.
(d)
(1) Nothing in this section or any other provision of law
shall be construed to preclude express establishment in a lease or
rental agreement of the rental rates to be applicable in the event
the rental unit subject thereto is sublet, and nothing in this
section shall be construed to impair the obligations of contracts
entered into prior to January 1, 1996.
(2) Where the original occupant or occupants who took
possession of the dwelling or unit pursuant to the rental agreement
with the owner no longer permanently reside there, an owner may
increase the rent by any amount allowed by this section to a lawful
sublessee or assignee who did not reside at the dwelling or unit
prior to January 1, 1996.
(3) This subdivision shall not apply to partial changes in
occupancy of a dwelling or unit where one or more of the occupants
of the premises, pursuant to the agreement with the owner provided
for above, remains an occupant in lawful possession of the dwelling
or unit, or where a lawful sublessee or assignee who resided at the
dwelling or unit prior to January 1, 1996, remains in possession of
the dwelling or unit. Nothing contained in this section shall
be construed to enlarge or diminish an owner's right to withhold
consent to a sublease or assignment.
(4) Acceptance of rent by the owner shall not operate as a
waiver or otherwise prevent enforcement of a covenant prohibiting
sublease or assignment or as a waiver of an owner's rights to
establish the initial rental rate unless the owner has received
written notice from the tenant that is party to the agreement and
thereafter accepted rent.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any
authority of a public entity that may otherwise exist to regulate or
monitor the grounds for eviction.
(f) This section shall not apply to any dwelling or unit if
all the following conditions are met:
(1) The dwelling or unit has been cited in an inspection
report by the appropriate governmental agency as containing serious
health, safety, fire, or building code violations, as defined by
Section 17920.3 of the Health and Safety Code, excluding any
violation caused by a disaster.
(2) The citation was issued at least 60 days prior to the
date of the vacancy.
(3) The cited violation had not been abated when the prior
tenant vacated and had remained unabated for 60 days or for a longer
period of time. However, the 60-day time period may be
extended by the appropriate governmental agency that issued the
citation. Title 5, Chap. 2.7, §1954.53
Where an owner terminates or fails to
renew a contract or recorded agreement with a governmental agency
that provides for rent limitations to a qualified tenant, the tenant
or tenants who were the beneficiaries of the contract or recorded
agreement shall be given at least 90 days' written notice of the
effective date of the
termination and shall not be obligated to pay more than the
tenant's portion of the rent, as calculated under the contract or
recorded agreement to be terminated, for 90 days following receipt
of the notice of termination of nonrenewal of the contract. Title 5,
Chap. 2.7, §1954.535
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