The following shall apply to a unit where possession is recovered pursuant to § 5.54.030(C)(10) of this chapter.
(A) Re-rental of rental unit within two years.
(1) If the rental unit is offered again for rent or lease for residential purposes within two years of the date the rental unit was withdrawn from rent or lease, the following provisions shall govern:
(a) The landlord of the rental unit may be liable to any tenant who was displaced from the property by that action for treble damages. Any action by a tenant pursuant to this division shall be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the rental unit from rent or lease. However, nothing in this division precludes a tenant from pursuing any alternative remedy available under the law.
(b) The town may institute a civil proceeding against any landlord who has re-offered a rental unit for rent or lease subject to this division, for exemplary damages for displacement of tenants. Any action pursuant to this division shall be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the rental unit from rent or lease.
(c) Any landlord who offers a rental unit again for rent or lease shall first offer the unit for rent or lease to the tenant displaced from that unit by the withdrawal pursuant to this chapter, if the tenant has advised the landlord in writing, within 30 days of the displacement, of the tenant's desire to consider an offer to renew the tenancy and has furnished the landlord with an address to which that offer is to be directed. That tenant or former tenant shall advise the landlord at any time during the eligibility of a change of address to which an offer is to be directed.
(2) If the landlord re-offers the rental unit for rent or lease pursuant to this division, and the tenant has advised the landlord pursuant to this division of a desire to consider an offer to renew the tenancy, then the landlord shall offer to reinstate a rental agreement or lease on terms permitted by law to that displaced tenant.
(3) This offer shall be deposited in the United States mail, by registered or certified mail with postage prepaid, addressed to the displaced tenant at the address furnished to the landlord as provided in this division, and shall describe the terms of the offer. The displaced tenant shall have 30 days from the deposit of the offer in the mail to accept the offer by personal delivery of that acceptance or by deposit of the acceptance in the United States mail by registered or certified mail with postage prepaid.
(B) Re-rental of units within five years.
(1) For all tenancies commenced during the time periods described below, the rental unit shall be offered and rented or leased at the lawful rent in effect at the time any notice of intent to withdraw the rental unit is filed with the Town Manager, plus annual adjustments available under § 5.55.080 of this Code.
(2) The provisions of division (B)(1) shall apply to all tenancies commenced during either of the following time periods:
(a) The five-year period after any notice of intent to withdraw the rental unit is filed with the town, whether or not the notice of intent is rescinded or the withdrawal of the rental unit is completed pursuant to the notice of intent.
(b) The five-year period after the rental unit is withdrawn.
(3) This division shall prevail over any conflicting provision of law authorizing the landlord to establish the rental rate upon the initial hiring of the rental unit.
(4) A landlord who offers a rental unit again for rent or lease within five years from the date on which it is withdrawn, and which is subject to this division, shall first offer the unit to the tenant displaced from the unit by the withdrawal, if that tenant requests the offer in writing within 30 days after the landlord has notified the town of an intention to offer the rental unit again for residential rent or lease. The landlord of the rental unit shall be liable to any tenant who was displaced by that action for failure to comply with this division, for punitive damages in an amount which does not exceed the contract rent for six months, and the payment of which shall not be construed to extinguish the landlord's obligation to comply with this division.
(C) Demolition restrictions. If the rental unit(s) are demolished, and new rental unit(s) are constructed on the same property, and offered for rent or lease within four years of the date the rental unit(s) were withdrawn from rent or lease, the newly constructed rental unit(s) shall be subject to the system of regulation established in § 5.55.080 at which they would be offered on the basis of a fair and reasonable return on the newly constructed rental unit, notwithstanding any exemption from the system of regulations for newly constructed rental unit.
(D) Applicability to successors in interest. This section shall apply to all successors in interest, except by inheritance, of a landlord who has withdrawn rental units from rent or lease. The Town Manager shall record a notice with the county recorder which shall specifically describe the real property where the rental unit is located, the dates applicable to the constraints and the name of the landlord of record of the real property. The notice shall be indexed in the grantor-grantee index.
(E) A person who acquires title to the real property subsequent to the date upon which the rental unit thereon have been withdrawn from rent or lease, as a bona fide purchaser for value, shall not be a successor in interest for the purposes of this chapter if the notice prescribed by this section has not been recorded with the county recorder at least one day before the transfer of title.
(F) Notice of withdrawal. A landlord who seeks to demolish or withdraw a rental unit from the rental market under § 5.54.030(C)(10) must provide the Town Manager with a notice, that states, under penalty of perjury:
(1) The number of rental units withdrawn;
(2) The address or location of those rental units;
(3) The name or names of the tenants of the rental units; and
(4) The lawful rent applicable to each rental unit.
(G) The name or names of the tenants, the rent applicable to any residential rental unit, and the total number of rental units, is confidential information and for purposes of this chapter shall be treated as confidential information for purposes of the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Cal. Civil Code).
(H) The landlord must record with the county recorder a memorandum summarizing the provisions, other than the confidential provisions, of the notice in a form which shall be prescribed by the town , and will require a certification with that notice that actions have been initiated as required by law to terminate any existing tenancies.
(I) The landlord must notify the town in writing of the intention to re-offer the rental unit for rent or lease.
(J) The date on which the rental unit is withdrawn from rent or lease for purposes of this Chapter is 120 days from the delivery in person or by first-class mail of the notice of withdrawal to the town. However, if the tenant is at least 65 years of age or disabled, and has lived in their rental unit for at least one year prior to the date of delivery of the notice of intent to withdraw, then the date of withdrawal of the rental unit of that tenant shall be extended to 180 days after the date of delivery of that notice, provided that the tenant gives written notice of their entitlement to an extension to the landlord within 60 days of the date of delivery of the notice of intent to withdraw.
(K) Extension of tenancy for elderly or disabled tenants. If a tenant notifies a landlord in writing within 60 days of the town receiving the notice of intent to withdraw the rental unit, the following provisions shall apply:
(1) The tenancy shall be continued on the same terms and conditions as existed on the date of delivery to the town of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to any adjustments otherwise available under this chapter.
(2) No party shall be relieved of the duty to perform any obligation under the lease or rental agreement.
(3) The landlord shall elect to extend the tenancy on any other rental unit within the rental property up to 180 days after date of delivery of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to divisions (K)(1) and (K)(2) of this section.
(4) Within 30 days of the notification by the tenant to the landlord of their entitlement to an extension, the landlord shall give written notice to the town manager of the claim that the tenant is entitled to stay in their rental unit for 180 days after date of delivery of the notice of intent to withdraw.
(5) Within 90 days of date of delivery to the town of the notice of intent to withdraw, the landlord shall give written notice of the landlord's election to extend a tenancy under division (L)(3) and the revised date of withdrawal to the town and any tenant whose tenancy is extended.
(6) The date of withdrawal for the rental unit as a whole, for purposes of calculating any time-periods in this chapter, shall be the latest termination date among all tenants within the rental unit, as stated in the notices required by divisions (L)(4) and (5). A landlord's further voluntary extension of a tenancy beyond the date stated in the notices required by divisions (L)(4) and (5) shall not extend the date of withdrawal.
(L) The landlord must notify any tenant displaced pursuant to § 5.54.030(C)(10) of the following:
(1) That the town has been notified pursuant to § 5.54.060(F).
(2) That the notice to the town specified the name and the amount of rent paid by the tenant as an occupant of the rental unit.
(3) The amount of rent the landlord specified in the notice.
(4) Notice to the tenant of their rights under this division.
(5) Notice to the tenant of the following:
(a) If the tenant is at least 65 years of age or disabled, and has lived in their rental unit for at least one year prior to the date of delivery to the town of the notice of intent to withdraw, then tenancy shall be extended to 180 days after date of delivery to the town of the notice of intent to withdraw, provided that the tenant gives written notice of their entitlement to the landlord within 60 days of date of delivery to the town of the notice of intent to withdraw.
(b) The extended tenancy shall be continued on the same terms and conditions as existed on date of delivery to the town of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to any adjustments otherwise available under § 5.55.080 of this Code.
(c) No party shall be relieved of the duty to perform any obligation under the lease or rental agreement during the extended tenancy.
(M) Not later than the last day of the third and sixth calendar months following the month in which notice is given to the town, and thereafter not later than December 31 of each calendar year for a period of two years, beginning with the year in which the six-month notice is given, the landlord of any property which contains or formerly contained one or more rental units which a tenant or tenants vacated pursuant to § 5.54.030(C)(10) shall notify the town, in writing, under penalty of perjury, for each such rental unit:
(1) Whether the rental unit has been demolished;
(2) If the rental unit has not been demolished, whether it is in use;
(3) If the rental unit is in use, whether that use is residential;
(4) If the rental unit is in residential use, the date the tenancy began, the name of the tenant(s), and the amount of rent charged.
(N) If a rental unit has been demolished, and one or more new units constructed on the lot, the landlord shall furnish the information required by divisions (L)(2), (3) and (4), above, for each new unit. The town shall maintain a record of the notices received under this section and all notices received under this section for each rental unit withdrawn from the rental market pursuant to § 5.54.030(C)(10).
(O) The town shall notify each person who is reported as having become a tenant in a vacated or new rental unit subject to the reporting requirements of § 5.54.060(M) that it maintains the records described in § 5.54.060(L), and that the rent of the rental unit may be restricted pursuant to this chapter.
(P) The town shall maintain a register of all rental units withdrawn from rent or lease under § 5.54.030(C)(10) and the rent applicable to each unit at the time of withdrawal. The town shall inform tenants displaced from units withdrawn from rent or lease at the address provided by the tenant, when the landlord notifies the town that the rental unit or replacement unit will again be offered for rent or lease within two years of the date of withdrawal.
(Q) The town may investigate whether a rental unit that was withdrawn from rent or lease has been again offered for rent or lease, and whether the landlord has complied with the provisions of this section.
(Ord. 870, passed 11-2-2022; Ord. 882, passed 9-6-2023)