The California Apartment Association has published a form to help Mountain View landlords comply with the city’s upcoming “right to a lease” ordinance.
The Mountain View City Council approved its new law Dec. 1, modeling it closely after a requirement in Palo Alto that rental owners offer residents the option of a 12-month lease.
Mountain View officials believe that guaranteeing tenants the right to a fixed-term lease will provide stability for both renters and rental owners.
To comply with the new law, which takes effect Thursday, Jan. 7, owners and managers should use CAA’s new lease addendum, available to members here. Under the ordinance, landlords who rent out three or more units in a single structure must offer tenants a written lease with a minimum term of either six months or one year.
It’s then up to the tenant to choose one of these leases or enter a month-to-month tenancy. Moreover, the landlord and the tenant can agree to a mutually acceptable term different from the six month and one-year term options.
If the tenant rejects a lease, the landlord must get that rejection in writing.
In addition to providing tenants with a minimum six-month or one-year written lease, landlords must notify their tenants of this ordinance. Landlords must provide this notice in writing, or electronically if the application and/or lease are processed electronically.
A copy of the notification required by the city is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian and can be accessed by clicking here.
Further, the city is requiring landlords who have tenants on existing month-to-month agreements to offer them a six-month or 12-month lease no later than March 1, 2016.
The proposal to require leases resulted from a council hearing in October during which community groups pushed for rent control and just-cause eviction. The City Council, however, indicated that these measures are not proper remedies for the city’s housing challenges and will study programs such as mediation and arbitration in the coming months as possible ways to address disputes between renters and property owners.