(a) Applicability. This section shall be applicable only to structures or lots containing 10 or more residential rental units. This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) A single-family dwelling;
(2) Rooms or accommodations in hotels, boardinghouses, or lodginghouses which are rented to transient guests for a period of less than thirty days;
(3) Dwelling units in a condominium, community apartment, planned development or stock cooperative as defined in Chapter 21.40, or in a limited equity stock cooperative as defined in the California Business and Professions Code;
(4) Dwelling units in which housing accommodations are shared by landlord and tenant;
(5) Housing accommodations in any hospital, extended care facility, asylum, nonprofit home for the aged, or in dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education, a high school or an elementary school;
(6) Housing accommodations rented by a medical institution which are then subleased to a patient or patient's family;
(7) Dwelling units whose rents are controlled or regulated by any government unit, agency, or authority, or whose rent is subsidized by any government unit, agency, or authority; or
(8) Dwelling units acquired by the city of Palo Alto or any other governmental unit, agency or authority and intended to be used for a public purpose.
(b) Amount required. Whenever a landlord seeks an eviction for any reason other than to comply with regulations relating to the qualifications of tenancy established by a governmental entity or at-fault just cause other than temporary displacement of 31 days or fewer, the landlord shall provide a relocation assistance payment as follows:
(1) Unit Type Amount
0 bedrooms | $7,000 |
1 bedroom | $9,000 |
2 bedrooms | $13,000 |
3 or more bedrooms | $17,000 |
If the residential rental unit is occupied by two or more renters, the landlord shall provide each renter with a proportional share of the required payment. One half of the payment shall be paid at the time that the landlord provides notice of its intent to seek a qualifying eviction; the remainder of the payment shall be paid to each renter when that renter vacates the unit.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1), each residential rental unit that, at the time the landlord provides notice of its intent to seek an eviction subject to this section, is occupied by a low-income household as defined in Chapter 16.65, a renter who is 60 years of age or older, a renter who is disabled within the meaning of Government Code section 12955.3, or a renter who is a minor, shall be entitled to a single additional relocation payment of $3,000. This amount shall be divided equally among the qualifying (i.e. low-income, elderly, disabled, orminor) renters. In order to receive this additional payment a qualifying renter must provide written notice to the landlord of his or her eligibility along with supporting evidence within 15 days of receiving the landlord's notice. The entirety of this additional payment shall be paid within 15 days of the renter’s written notice to the landlord.
(c) Notice. Prior to or at the same time that the landlord provides notice of its intent to seek an eviction subject to this section, the landlord shall serve on the renter a written notice describing the rights described in this section. The failure to provide this notice shall not operate as a substantive defense to an eviction pursuant to California Government Code sections 7060-7060.7.
(d) Annual adjustment. Commencing July 1, 2019, the relocation payments specified in this section shall increase annually at the rate of increase in the "rent of primary residence" expenditure category of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Region, not seasonally adjusted, for the preceding calendar year. Current rates shall be published on the city's website.
(e) Request for waiver. A landlord may request a waiver or adjustment of the relocation assistance payment required by this section only upon a showing that strict application of its requirements would effectuate an unconstitutional taking of property or otherwise have an unconstitutional application to the property. Requests for waiver or adjustment must be submitted in writing to the director of planning and development services together with supporting documentation at least 90 days before the proposed termination of tenancy. Requests shall be acted on by the city council.
(f) Authority to regulate. The director of planning and development services may issue regulations implementing this section.
(Ord. 5589 § 2 (part), 2023: Ord. 5544 § 2, 2022: Ord. 5543 § 2, 2022: Ord. 5494 § 3, 2020: Ord. 5451 § 2, 2018: Ord. 5447 § 2, 2018)