A. A landlord may bring an action to recover possession of an apartment unit if: 1) the tenant repeatedly or continually disturbs the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of one or more tenants who occupy other rental units in the apartment building where the tenant resides or 2) antagonizes, intimidates or bullies one or more tenants who reside at that apartment building ("disruptive tenant") and the disruptive tenant does not cease the behavior when requested to do so by the other tenant(s) or by the property owner or manager of the premises.
B. The landlord or the landlord's representative may, at the sole option of the landlord, file an application with the City and request that a subcommittee of the City Council make a determination that a tenant is a disruptive tenant, as defined in subsection A of this section. If the subcommittee determines that the tenant is a disruptive tenant, then the landlord or the landlord's representative may serve the tenant with a written notice to terminate the tenancy in accordance with State law.
1. The subcommittee of the City Council shall be composed of two (2) members of the City Council. Council members shall be appointed by the Mayor and serve on the subcommittee for a two (2) month term. At the end of the term the Mayor may reappoint one or both Council members or may appoint new Council members to the subcommittee.
2. If a landlord or the landlord's representative files an application with the City's rent stabilization program for the subcommittee to make a determination whether a tenant is a disruptive tenant whose tenancy can be terminated with notice, the landlord first shall have given the disruptive tenant at least one written notice describing the disruptive conduct and requiring the tenant to discontinue the conduct. The landlord either shall deliver the notice to the tenant personally, send it by certified mail, or shall post it on the door of the tenant's unit. Prior to filing the application with the City's rent stabilization program, the landlord also shall have served the tenant with a copy of the application either by personally delivering the application to the tenant or by posting the application on the door of the tenant's unit. Proof of service of the application on the tenant shall be filed with the City concurrently with the application. The application shall be submitted either on a form supplied by the City or shall substantially comply with the requirements of the City's form.
3. The application shall set forth the name, address and unit number of the tenant and shall describe specifically the tenant's conduct that the landlord contends is disruptive, the dates when the conduct described in the application occurred, and the dates when the landlord requested that the tenant cease the disruptive conduct, including the written notice described in subsection B2 of this section. The application also may include the names of any individuals who observed the tenant's conduct and may include written statements by the witnesses describing the conduct.
4. The City shall schedule a hearing (but need not hold the hearing) within ten (10) days of the filing of a complete application with the City. If one or both members of the subcommittee is/are not available to attend a hearing on an application filed pursuant to this section, the rent stabilization program shall contact other members of the City Council to determine if another Council member is available to attend the hearing. The rent stabilization program shall send written notice of the hearing to the landlord and the affected tenant by certified mail at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the hearing.
5. The subcommittee shall control the conduct of the hearing and rule on procedural requests. The hearing shall be conducted in the manner deemed by the subcommittee to be most suitable to secure the information and documentation that is necessary to render an informed decision, and to result in a fair decision without unnecessary delay.
a. At the hearing, the parties may offer any documents, testimony, written declarations, or other evidence that is relevant to the application. Formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable to such proceedings.
b. There shall be no oral communication outside the hearing between the members of the subcommittee and any party or witness, or the substance of such communication shall be disclosed at the beginning of the hearing. All discussion during the hearing shall be recorded.
c. The hearing shall ordinarily proceed in the following manner, unless the subcommittee determines that some other order of proceedings would better facilitate the hearing:
(1) A brief presentation by or on behalf of landlord, including testimony by any other affected parties and witnesses in support of the application.
(2) A brief presentation by or on behalf of the tenant, including testimony by any other affected parties and witnesses in opposition to the application.
(3) A brief rebuttal by the landlord.
d. The subcommittee shall establish equitable time limits for presentations at a hearing, with a minimum length of ten (10) minutes each for the landlord and the tenant, subject to adjustments for translation and reasonable accommodation.
e. City staff shall maintain an official hearing record, which shall constitute the exclusive record of the decision.
f. All parties to a hearing shall have the right to seek assistance in developing their positions, preparing their statements, and presenting evidence from an attorney, tenant organization representative, landlord association representative, translator, or any other person. If the representative will be speaking on behalf of the party at the hearing, the party shall so advise the subcommittee.
g. To prevail on the application, the landlord must carry the burden of demonstrating that the tenant has been a disruptive tenant, as defined in subsection A of this section.
h. Two (2) votes are required to approve an application. The vote shall be taken after the conclusion of the presentations by the landlord and the tenant and any deliberations by the members of the subcommittee. If two (2) votes are not cast in favor of approving the application, the application is deemed to be denied.
i. Within five (5) business days after the hearing record is closed, the subcommittee shall reconvene and issue a written determination setting forth its decision approving or denying the application, with written findings in support thereof.
6. A written notice of the decision shall be mailed by the City to the applicant and the affected tenant within two (2) days of the issuance of the decision by the subcommittee. Such notice shall be accompanied by a copy of the hearing decision.
7. If the subcommittee determines that the tenant is a disruptive tenant, the landlord may serve the tenant with written notice provided in accordance with State law to terminate the tenancy. The landlord is not required to pay relocation fees to the tenant. When the disruptive tenant vacates the unit in response to the notice, the landlord may not increase the rent that will be charged for the unit above the amount that was being charged to the disruptive tenant, other than any adjustments otherwise available under this chapter.
8. Any final decision of the subcommittee is subject to judicial review pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5 and must be filed in accordance with the time periods specified therein. (Ord. 18-O-2766, eff. 12-21-2018)