A landlord may bring an action to recover possession of an apartment unit if the landlord intends to withdraw all apartment units in a building or structure on a parcel of land from the rental market, subject to the following conditions and requirements:
A. This section shall only apply to and shall only be exercised for the concurrent withdrawal of all apartment units in all buildings or structures on a parcel of land from the rental market, except where there is more than one building on a parcel and all buildings contain four (4) or more apartment units, in which case the landlord may withdraw all of the units in one or more of the buildings.
B. Not less than one hundred twenty (120) days from the date the landlord intends to withdraw the apartment units in a building or structure from the rental market, the landlord shall:
1. Provide written notice under penalty of perjury to the city of such intent, which notice shall contain the following information: address and legal description of the subject property, number of rental units being removed, the names of all tenants residing in the units being removed, the year the tenant(s) moved into the unit, the base rent for the unit and the current lawful rent applicable to each such unit.
2. Record with the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder a written notice prepared by and containing such information as is prescribed by the city summarizing the landlord's notice of intent and certifying that evictions have been commenced or will commence in accordance with applicable law.
3. Provide to the city's rent stabilization office copies of the notice recorded with the county and the notice(s) which were provided to the affected tenants.
4. If the tenant or lessee is at least sixty two (62) years of age or is disabled, and has lived in his or her apartment unit for at least one year prior to the date of delivery to the city of the notice required by subsection B1 of this section, then the date of withdrawal of that apartment unit shall be extended to one year from the date of delivery of the notice to the city, provided that the tenant or lessee has given the landlord written notice of his or her entitlement to the extension within sixty (60) days of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw the apartment unit from the rental market. In this situation, the following provisions shall apply:
a. The tenancy shall be continued on the same terms and conditions as existed on the date of delivery to the city of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to any adjustments otherwise available under this title;
b. No party shall be relieved of the duty to perform any obligation under the lease or rental agreement;
c. The landlord may elect to extend the date of withdrawal on any other accommodation within the same building up to one year after the date of delivery to the city of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to subsections B4a and B4b of this section;
d. Within thirty (30) days of the notification by the tenant or lessee to the landlord of his or her entitlement to an extension, the landlord shall give written notice to the city of the claim that the tenant or lessee is entitled to stay in his or her apartment unit for one year after the date of delivery to the city of the notice of intent to withdraw;
e. Within ninety (90) days of the date of delivery to the city of the notice of intent to withdraw, the landlord shall give written notice to the city and the affected tenant(s) or lessee(s) of the landlord's election to extend the date of withdrawal and the new date of withdrawal under subsection B4c of this section.
C. The landlord shall provide written notice of termination of tenancy to all affected tenants at least thirty (30) days prior to the service of and recordation of the notices in subsection B of this section which has been approved by the city's rent stabilization office and filed with the city clerk's office and which notice shall contain the following information:
1. That the landlord is evicting the tenant pursuant to this section and will provide the city with written notice required in subsection B of this section;
2. A summary of the specific information to be provided to the city in that notice regarding the tenant's unit;
3. That within thirty (30) days of receipt of notice to terminate, the tenant may notify the landlord in writing that the tenant would be interested in rerenting the unit if it is reoffered for rent at a future time and advising the tenant to notify the landlord and rent stabilization office of all future address changes;
4. A description of the tenant's rights as set forth in subsections E, F and G of this section;
5. That the landlord will provide a relocation fee in accordance with the provisions of article 6 of this chapter and that such fee may not be waived by the tenant, except as specifically provided in section 4-5-607 of this chapter; and
6. That if the tenant or lessee is at least sixty two (62) years of age or is disabled, and has lived in his or her apartment unit for at least one year prior to the date of delivery to the city of the notice required by subsection B1 of this section, then the tenancy shall be extended to one year after the delivery of the notice to the city, provided that the tenant gives written notice of his or her entitlement to the extension to the landlord within sixty (60) days of the date of delivery to the city of the notice of intent to withdraw. The notice shall further state that if these circumstances exist, the extended tenancy shall be continued on the same terms and conditions that existed on the date of delivery of the notice of withdrawal to the city, subject to any rent increases that are allowed by this chapter, and that no party shall be relieved of the duty to perform any obligation under the lease or rental agreement during the extended tenancy.
D. At the time when the tenant(s) vacate the unit, the landlord shall pay a relocation fee in accordance with the provisions of article 6 of this chapter.
E. In the event the withdrawn units are reoffered for rent by the landlord within two (2) years from the effective date of withdrawal, the landlord shall:
1. Provide written notice of such action to the city not less than thirty (30) days prior to rerenting the units;
2. Offer the units at the same rent level as of the date of withdrawal plus any annual rent increases permitted by this chapter that would have applied had the units not been withdrawn;
3. Provide those tenants who provided a notice of interest in rerenting pursuant to subsection C3 of this section the right of first refusal to rerent the unit by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, to the last address provided by the tenant, in which case the tenant shall have no less than thirty (30) days within which to accept the offer, by personal service or certified or registered mail. Copies of these notices and the mail receipts shall be filed with the city's rent stabilization office within one week of mailing;
4. Be liable in a civil action if commenced within three (3) years of displacement to any tenant evicted due to withdrawal of a unit pursuant to this section for actual damages which were the proximate result of the displacement, in accordance with the principles enunciated in sections 7262 and 7264 of the California Government Code, and punitive damages;
5. Be liable in a civil action if commenced within three (3) years of displacement to the City for exemplary damages for displacement of tenants or lessees.
F. In the event the withdrawn units are reoffered for rent by the landlord within five (5) years after any notice of intent to withdraw the apartment unit is filed with the City, or within five (5) years after the effective date of the withdrawal of the apartment unit, whichever is later, the landlord shall provide not less than thirty (30) days' prior written notice of such action to the City prior to rerenting the units and shall offer the units at the same rent level as of the date of withdrawal, plus annual rent increases permitted by this chapter that would have applied had the units not been withdrawn.
G. Moreover, if the units are reoffered for rent within ten (10) years from the effective date of removal, the landlord shall provide those tenants who provided notice of interest in rerenting pursuant to subsection C3 of this section the right of first refusal to rerent the unit, by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, to the last address provided by the tenant, in which case the tenant shall have no less than thirty (30) days within which to accept the offer by personal service or certified or registered mail. Copies of these notices and the mail receipts shall be filed with the City's Rent Stabilization Office within one week of mailing. Failure of the landlord to provide the tenant with this right of first refusal shall render the landlord liable in a civil action to the tenant in punitive damages in an amount not to exceed six (6) months' rent.
H. This section shall in no respect relieve a landlord from complying with the requirements of any applicable State law or of any lease or rental agreement.
I. The remedies provided for in this section shall not be exclusive and shall not preclude a tenant from pursuing any alternative remedy available under law. Failure by any landlord to comply with the requirements of this section shall constitute a defense in any unlawful detainer action brought to evict a tenant under this section.
J. For the purpose of this section, the term "landlord" shall be interpreted to include any and all successors in interest of any landlord, and the term "disabled" shall mean a person with a disability, as defined in section 12955.3 of the California Government Code.
K. The notice to the City provided for in this section shall be accompanied by a processing fee in an amount determined by resolution of the City Council.
L. This section is intended to implement the requirements of sections 7060 through 7060.7 of the California Government Code, and shall be interpreted so as to provide the City with the broadest range of authority permitted under these provisions and to intrude the least into the City's authority in all other applications of its power.
M. This section shall apply to any apartment units that are being removed from the rental market, if the notice of termination of tenancy required by State law or by a lease agreement has not been given at the time of adoption hereof or if such notice has been given, the notice period has not expired at the time of adoption hereof. (1988 Code; amd. Ord. 04-O-2449, eff. 6-18-2004)