Berkeley Rent Control/Rent Board Issue

[MarkJacobs]

California


A four unit building is in escrow in Berkeley and the Buyer wants to move into one of the units of the property. The current owner exercised an owner move in over 10 years ago and has since moved out of the property and rented the unit to a tenant. The new buyer wants to move into another unit, but the city of Berkeley says that according to the Measure Y Ordinance, the new buyer must move into the SAME unit as the owner did over 10 years ago.

This seems troubling since, according to Berkeley, a new owner is handcuffed into not having a choice to choose the unit he wishes to move into. Is this correct? I’d assume they could be wrong here since it seems as though they are violating a person’s right to property.

 

[Zigner]

California


A four unit building is in escrow in Berkeley and the Buyer wants to move into one of the units of the property. The current owner exercised an owner move in over 10 years ago and has since moved out of the property and rented the unit to a tenant. The new buyer wants to move into another unit, but the city of Berkeley says that according to the Measure Y Ordinance, the new buyer must move into the SAME unit as the owner did over 10 years ago.

This seems troubling since, according to Berkeley, a new owner is handcuffed into not having a choice to choose the unit he wishes to move into. Is this correct? I’d assume they could be wrong here since it seems as though they are violating a person’s right to property.

Sounds to me like the new owner-to-be wants to displace one of the other tenants. Apparently, Berkeley's rent-control ordinance(s) won't allow this.

 

[sandyclaus]

California


A four unit building is in escrow in Berkeley and the Buyer wants to move into one of the units of the property. The current owner exercised an owner move in over 10 years ago and has since moved out of the property and rented the unit to a tenant. The new buyer wants to move into another unit, but the city of Berkeley says that according to the Measure Y Ordinance, the new buyer must move into the SAME unit as the owner did over 10 years ago.

This seems troubling since, according to Berkeley, a new owner is handcuffed into not having a choice to choose the unit he wishes to move into. Is this correct? I’d assume they could be wrong here since it seems as though they are violating a person’s right to property.

It's possible that the fact that the owner previously occupied a particular unit has nothing to do with that being the first unit the new owner will be able to occupy. More likely, it's the fact that that specific unit was or will be vacant at the time that the new owner wishes to move in. You see, it's a matter of displacing a settled tenant vs one who has already given notice or that has already left. The owner has to take the first unit available - and if it happens to be the former owner's unit, then displacing another tenant in another unit is out of the question - and in violation of the ordinance.

An owner doesn't just get to pick and choose which unit he wants.

 

[LdiJ]

It's possible that the fact that the owner previously occupied a particular unit has nothing to do with that being the first unit the new owner will be able to occupy. More likely, it's the fact that that specific unit was or will be vacant at the time that the new owner wishes to move in. You see, it's a matter of displacing a settled tenant vs one who has already given notice or that has already left. The owner has to take the first unit available - and if it happens to be the former owner's unit, then displacing another tenant in another unit is out of the question - and in violation of the ordinance.

An owner doesn't just get to pick and choose which unit he wants.

While that makes sense in a "rent controlled" situation I certainly wouldn't buy property where I couldn't elect which unit I would occupy. However I would also expect to be required to honor any and all leases in a situation such as this one.

 

[DeenaCA]

Here is a link to the information on Measure Y: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=9232#Owner_Move_in

Owner move-in (Measure Y). The Ordinance prohibits evictions for owner or relative occupancy where either: (1) the tenant has lived on the property for 5 or more years and the landlord has a 10% or greater ownership interest in 5 or more residential units in Berkeley, or (2) the tenant is at least 60 years old or disabled, has lived on the property for 5 or more years, and the landlord has a 10% or greater ownership interest in 4 residential units in Berkeley. If all the landlord’s units are limited by the above, an eviction for the owner or relative to move in is permitted where: the landlord has owned the property for 5 years and is at least 60 years old or disabled, or the landlord’s relative is at least 60 years old or disabled.

The landlord must include, in the notice of termination, information about all Berkeley residential properties in which he or she has a 10% or greater ownership interest, and must always offer the tenant any unit that he or she owns in Berkeley that becomes available before the tenant vacates his or her unit.

The landlord must provide a $4,500 relocation assistance payment to any low-income household with at least one tenant who has resided in the unit for one year or more, if the tenant notifies the landlord and the Rent Board in writing, within 30 days of receiving the notice of termination of the tenancy, that he or she is claiming low-income tenant status for the household.

The landlord must give the terminated tenant the right to re-occupy the unit when the landlord or his or her relative moves out. Also, when the landlord or his or her relative moves out, the rent for the next tenant will be limited to the prior rent ceiling and intervening AGAs.

Finally, if a landlord rescinds a notice of termination or stops eviction proceedings for owner or relative move-in, and the tenant vacates within one year of the notice date, it is presumed that the tenancy terminated as a result of the notice, and the rent for the next tenancy will be limited to the prior rent ceiling and intervening AGAs. (Regulation 1016 .)

Here's the reasoning: in Berkeley, a landlord can raise the rent to market rate when a tenant moves out, but can only evict for cause. Without the Measure Y restrictions, an unscrupulous landlord could evict for "owner move-in", live in the unit briefly and raise the rent more than otherwise allowed. Under Measure Y, the previous rent limits come back into play when/if the owner moves out of the unit and rent cannot be raised to market rate.

A Berkeley tenant can also recover treble damages after an eviction for owner move-in if the owner does not move in within 3 months or does not use the unit as his/her principal residence for at least 3 years (see page linked above).

 

[sandyclaus]

Here is a link to the information on Measure Y: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=9232#Owner_Move_in


Here's the reasoning: in Berkeley, a landlord can raise the rent to market rate when a tenant moves out, but can only evict for cause. Without the Measure Y restrictions, an unscrupulous landlord could evict for "owner move-in", live in the unit briefly and raise the rent more than otherwise allowed. Under Measure Y, the previous rent limits come back into play when/if the owner moves out of the unit and rent cannot be raised to market rate.

A Berkeley tenant can also recover treble damages after an eviction for owner move-in if the owner does not move in within 3 months or does not use the unit as his/her principal residence for at least 3 years (see page linked above).

That makes sense. However, I believe OP's issue is that the owner wants to move in and take over the unit of his choice, rather than having to take a particular unit. As far as a response to that, it would be based upon basic real estate contract law. A lease is a legally binding contract between the LL and the tenant to allow that tenant to possess and occupy that particular rental unit for the duration of the lease term.

In the case of the owner who wishes to move into the rental unit himself, the rent control ordinance balances the legal obligations of both LL and tenant in a basic lease with the need of the LL to occupy a rental unit. While the rent control ordinance gives the owner the ability to break the lease, it limits his choice in which unit he gets to take so as to lessen the impact to the existing tenants who would be displaced by the owner's decision to take their rental unit from them prior to the end of that lease. It makes sense to take the unit away from the person who has not established a long-term tenancy first over someone who may have been a resident for much longer.