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The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday urged voters to reject Proposition 21, the extreme rent control measure on California’s Nov. 3 ballot.
With the Chronicle’s editorial, nearly every major newspaper in the state has now opposed the measure.
The editorial notes that “the case for rent control, overwhelmingly rejected by experts and refuted by research, might have seemed unlikely to grow weaker. And yet it has.”
The San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board points to the overwhelming defeat of Proposition 10, the nearly identical measure overwhelmingly rebuffed by voters in 2018.
“In the two years since Californians rejected the last attempt… Read More
Tagged: ElectionsProposition 21
San Francisco landlords who use the Ellis Act to exit the rental housing business should not have to pay tens of thousands of dollars in additional tenant-relocation fees, an appellate court has ruled.
In 2015, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance requiring landlords to pay up to $50,000 to cover any rent increases tenants evicted under the Ellis Act incur over a two-year period.
An appellate court Monday upheld important rights of San Francisco rental property owners under the state’s Ellis Act, a state law that allows property owners to leave the rental housing business.
The Ellis Act ensures a property owner’s ability to take a building off the rental market and convert the units to condominiums or single-family homes.
The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco affirmed Monday that a 2014 ordinance passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors would have violated the Ellis Act.
In the 3-0 ruling, Justice Martin Jenkins said that the ordinance “prevents landowners from exercising… Read More
After signing the state budget, Gov. Jerry Brown continues to seek legislation that would streamline the approval process for residential housing in California.
On Monday, Brown signed a $122 billion state budget for 2016-17, including $400 million for affordable housing programs sought by Assembly Democrats.
The governor, however, has set aside that $400 million until he and the Legislature work out a deal to more quickly approve local housing projects. The details must be worked out before the legislative session ends in August.
The governor’s proposal, supported by the California Apartment Association, would exempt certain multifamily housing infill projects from… Read More
For the second straight year, state Sen. Mark Leno has conceded defeat on a bill aimed at weakening the Ellis Act, legislation that protects a landlord’s right to leave the rental housing business.
Acknowledging the collapse of SB 364 this year, Leno said he’ll take it up again in January, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
More than a month ago, SB 364 failed to advance from the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee, where the California Apartment Association mounted fierce opposition.
The bill would undermine a landlord’s right to leave San Francisco’s rental housing business. The proposal would make many rental… Read More
Tagged: Ellis ActLegislationLegislature
San Francisco will legalize short-term rentals like those offered online by AirBnB, but that greenlight comes with some stipulations – and lingering concerns among both landlord and tenant groups.
The Board of Supervisors’ approval of vacation rentals came Tuesday, with a second and final vote expected later this month.
“The status quo isn’t working; we have seen an explosion in short-term rentals,” Board President David Chiu said, according to this San Francisco Chronicle article.
The story says the ordinance, which lifts the city’s ban on residential rentals shorter than 30 days, is set to take effect in February and will:… Read More
Sen. Mark Leno has halted his pursuit of state legislation that would undermine a landlord’s right to leave the rental housing industry.
Leno, D-San Francisco, has given up on Senate Bill 1439 after its rejection in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee last week. The bill took aim at the Ellis Act, a landmark 1985 law that bars local governments from making property owners stay in the apartment business.
Leno told the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday that he’ll probably try to resurrect the bill in 2015.
“I’m very committed to this,” he said in the article.
The Housing… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyEllis ActLegislation
UPDATE: Leno quits pushing for anti-Ellis Act bill
Before a room brimming with property-rights advocates, an Assembly committee Wednesday rejected Sen. Mark Leno’s anti-Ellis Act bill.
The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee voted 4-3 on June 18 against Senate Bill 1439, possibly sinking the legislation for good.
Helping derail Leno’s bill today were dozens of San Franciscans, many holding up neon paper signs condemning SB 1439. The committee also heard from the California Apartment Association, as well as a landlord whose rights would be undermined by Leno’s proposal.
Despite being amended after narrowly passing the Senate last month, SB… Read More
The California Apartment Association is continuing its fight against an anti-Ellis Act bill that Senate Democratic leadership resuscitated May 29 after it sank on the Senate floor.
Sen. Mark Leno’s SB 1439 certainly appeared dead Wednesday, May 28, when it received just 18 of the 21 votes needed to reach the Assembly. On Thursday, however, the bill made an astounding comeback amid vigorous political CPR.
In its weekly newsletter, the Civil Justice Association of California dubbed the legislation a “zombie” bill for its surprising resurrection.
“A last-ditch effort by the author offering vague amendments and ‘considerations’ with considerable arm-twisting by… Read More