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(a) The Board of Supervisors finds that residents who are required to vacate their units because an order to abate has been issued by the Director of the Department of Building Inspection ("DBI") or Director of Public Health ("DPH"), stating that there are unsafe housing conditions due to the presence of lead hazards or the unpermitted status or occupancy of the unit discovered as a result of a lead hazard inspection of the building pursuant to San Francisco Health Code Articles 11 and 26, may experience relatively greater difficulty finding affordable replacement housing because of the expediency with which the displacement occurs. Moreover, an order to abate may require temporary vacation to protect occupant health and safety because the work necessary to make the unit habitable cannot be performed while the occupants remain in place.
(b) The City and County of San Francisco has embarked on several ambitious programs to eradicate lead hazards throughout significant portions of the housing stock. Investigations under these enforcement programs are triggered by the presence of a child who is at risk for lead poisoning or when activities resulting in the disturbance of lead-based paint are performed so as to generate uncontrolled lead hazards. Many children at risk for lead poisoning reside in low-income households. Additionally, many of the housing units in which children at risk for lead poisoning reside are also units that are not safe for residential use or occupancy.
(c) In order to insure that these enforcement efforts reach the greatest possible number of households with children at risk for lead poisoning and housing units with lead hazards, there must be incentives and protections for those occupants who, by reporting lead hazards, risk the temporary or permanent loss of their affordable housing.
(d) The Board of Supervisors specifically finds that tenants displaced as a result of lead hazard relocation suffer a financial burden because of the acute lack of resources available for locating and securing suitable relocation housing. Additional hardship is often caused by lack of safe and decent comparably sized and located housing at an affordable rent. Local government has often assisted such displaced tenants with moving and associated relocation expenses. Resources to continue provision of this assistance have become increasingly scarce. Moreover, tenants displaced under these circumstances often require public health, transportation, storage and other public services on an interim basis, due to the health impacts of unsafe or hazardous housing.
(e) The Board of Supervisors has determined that if a landlord is obliged under this Chapter and under Chapter 37 of the San Francisco Administrative Code or any State or federal law to provide relocation assistance greater than that which is provided in this Chapter, the greatest amount of relocation assistance shall be made available.
(f) In order to ensure that adequate relocation assistance is available to lawful tenants who are subject to lead hazard relocation and to provide that assistance in a manner that is as equitable as possible to the tenant, the landlord and the public at large, the Board of Supervisors finds and declares that this Chapter is necessary to protect and further the public health, safety and welfare.
(Added by Ord. 400-96, App. 10/21/96; amended by Ord. 394-97, App. 10/17/97; Ord. 99-04, File No. 031992, App. 6/4/2004)
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms are as defined below:
Child At Risk For Lead Poisoning. A child up to 72 months of age.
Citing Department. The Department of Public Health or its successor agency and the Department of Building Inspection or its successor agency.
Director-DPH. Director of Public Health or his or her designee.
Director-DBI. Director of Building Inspection or his or her designee.
Household. An individual, two or more persons related by blood or marriage, or a group of persons who are not related by blood or marriage and who live together, before and after the relocation, in a dwelling unit or portion of a dwelling unit.
Landlord. An owner, lessor, or sublessor who receives or is entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy of any dwelling unit or portion thereof, any nonresidential building, or any other premises in the City and County of San Francisco, and the agent, representative or successor of any of the foregoing.
Lead Hazard. Any condition that constitutes a nuisance in accordance with Section 581(b)(10) of the San Francisco Health Code.
Lead Hazard Relocation. Relocation as a result of the presence of a lead hazard in the resident's unit or as a result of an lead hazard inspection of the building pursuant to the San Francisco Health Code, San Francisco Building Code or San Francisco Housing Code.
Notice to Vacate. Any notice or order issued by Department of Public Health or Department of Building Inspection that requires the temporary or permanent vacation of the unsafe residential unit or by the landlord in accordance with Section 37.9(a)(14) of the San Francisco Administrative Code.
Order to Abate. Any notice or order to abate provided to a landlord or owner issued by the Department of Public Health, pursuant to Health Code Sections 596, 1628 or 1630, the Department of Building Inspection, pursuant to San Francisco Building Code Section 102, subsequent to a lead hazard inspection which finds that there exists a lead hazard requiring corrective action or a failure to comply with the San Francisco Housing, Building, Plumbing, Electrical or Mechanical Codes due to an unpermitted residential use and occupancy.
Owner. Any person, agent, firm or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in a dwelling unit, building, or other premises. For purposes of this Chapter, the term "owner" shall not include entities such as banks or lending institutions holding equitable interests as security unless the entity is in actual physical control of the premises.
Proof of Compliance. Documentation, in such form as the citing department shall provide, that the lead hazards or conditions creating the unsafe unit have been abated pursuant to the terms and conditions of the order to abate.
Relocation Assistance. Benefits accruing to individual lawful occupants residing in unsafe residential units as defined herein.
Residential Unit. All residential dwelling units in the City and County of San Francisco together with the land and appurtenant buildings thereto, and all furnishings and facilities supplied in connection with the use or occupancy thereof, including garage and parking facilities.
Right to Occupy. The right of a tenant to reoccupy the residential unit or portion of the dwelling unit from which the tenant was displaced pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Chapter.
Tenant. A person entitled by written or oral agreement, subtenancy or by sufferance, to occupy a residential dwelling unit to the exclusion of others.
Unsafe Residential Unit. A residential unit shall be deemed unsafe for the purposes of this Chapter only if it or the common area of the building or structure in which it is located is the subject of a notice by the Director-DPH for lead hazards or by the Director-DBI for violations of the San Francisco Housing, Building, Plumbing, Electrical or Mechanical Codes due to unpermitted residential use and occupancy, where the notice of violation from DBI or DPH resulted from an inspection for lead hazards.
(Added by Ord. 400-96, App. 10/21/96; amended by Ord. 394-97, App. 10/17/97; Ord. 99-04, File No. 031992, App. 6/4/2004)
Relocation assistance shall be provided to any lawful occupant who has been served with a notice to vacate based on the presence of lead hazards. Any notice to vacate shall be written to the affected tenant(s), owner(s), and/or manager(s). Any notice to vacate pursuant to which a tenant is entitled to relocation assistance under this Chapter, must comply with the relevant provisions of Sections 37.9(a)(10), (a)(11) or (a)(14) of the Administrative Code except that the landlord or owner is not obligated to pay relocation assistance as provided for in those Sections if the tenant receives relocation assistance pursuant to this Chapter. A notice to vacate based upon violations of or of the San Francisco Health Code of the San Francisco Building Code will not be valid unless an order to abate, mandating abatement of the unsafe conditions in the residential unit from which relocation must occur, has been issued by a citing department.
A landlord may elect to temporarily relocate lawful occupants pursuant to this Chapter for a period in excess of 30 days only if the conditions of Subsection (b) below are satisfied. A temporary relocation pursuant to this Chapter shall be subject to all rights and remedies provided by San Francisco Administrative Code Sections 37.9(a)(11) or (a)(14) except for the payment of relocation assistance as provided therein; provided, however, that a tenant temporarily relocated under this Chapter shall be displaced only for the lesser of (1) the time mandated by the citing department in its order to abate or (2) three months.
For purposes of this Chapter, it shall be rebuttably presumed that a lawful occupant is entitled to relocation assistance prior to being required to vacate his or her unit if a landlord endeavors to recover possession of the unit within six months of the service of an order to abate by the citing department. This presumption shall not apply after the order to abate has been abated.
(a) Notice to Vacate. In order for a lawful occupant to be eligible for relocation assistance, a landlord shall provide each lawful occupant in addition to any requirements for notice imposed by Sections 37.9(a)(10), (a)(11) or (a)(14) of the San Francisco Administrative Code, a notice to vacate, that states that the unit must be vacated because it is an unsafe residential unit. A copy of the order to abate shall be attached to the notice to vacate. Each notice to vacate shall state its duration and that the occupant(s) are eligible for relocation assistance, and shall include a full description of the requirements and scope of that assistance, as described herein. It shall be rebuttably presumed that the notice provided by the landlord is valid.
(b) Relocation Assistance Due to Tenants. Relocation assistance in the form of a relocation payment shall be provided by the landlord to each lawful occupant. A relocation payment shall be offered or provided where an order to vacate has been issued by a citing department. The amount of relocation assistance shall be based upon the length of time the tenant will be displaced from the unit; provided that in no event shall a tenant be entitled to receive relocation assistance provided by Sections 37.9(a)(11) or 37.9(a)(13) of the Administrative Code if the tenant receives relocation assistance pursuant to this Chapter.
(1) Relocation Payment. The landlord shall provide a relocation payment, the amount of which is based upon the length of time the tenant will be displaced from the unit, to each tenant who is a member of the household which is being displaced. For relocation payments which involve calculations of assistance on a daily basis, displacement in excess of eight hours shall constitute one day's relocation benefits.
No landlord shall be required to provide relocation payments where the landlord offers the lawful occupants a comparable dwelling unit in the same building.
(A) Short-Term Relocation. Short-term relocation shall apply only when the period of displacement will be up to 30 days.
Short-term relocation payments shall be as follows: The lawful occupant shall receive a relocation payment not less than four days prior to the effective date of relocation, except that where an Emergency Order, as defined in San Francisco Health Code Section 1630, or an order to vacate as defined in San Francisco Health Code Section 596(c), has been issued, relocation assistance shall be paid immediately.
(i) The amount of the relocation payment shall be a minimum of $52 per person per day for temporary housing costs and a minimum of $12 per person per day for the costs of food, transportation and other quality of life services, not to exceed payment for more than four persons. Commencing July 1, 2004, these relocation payments shall increase annually at the rate of increase in the "rent of primary residence" and "food at home" expenditure categories of the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers for the San Francisco-Oakland Metropolitan Area, U.S. Department of Labor, (CPI) for the preceding 12 months, as that data is made available by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Payments shall be made for the estimated period of time that the tenant will be displaced; provided, however, that if the relocation period is extended beyond the initial payment period, payments shall be received in increments of not less than two days.
(B) Moderate Term Relocation. Relocation payments for displacements 31 days or longer shall be as follows: Landlord shall provide relocation assistance in an amount equal to two months fair market rent, as stated in the most recent schedule maintained by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a comparable residential unit; provided however that the maximum amount of relocation assistance a tenant is entitled to shall not exceed the fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit. Payment of this relocation benefit shall be made at the time Notice to Pay Relocation Benefits is served on the landlord and Order to Vacate is served on the tenant. For payments beyond the 60th day of relocation, said payment shall be made monthly not less than five days before the 1st of the following month.
(C) Permanent Relocation. The landlord shall provide relocation assistance in an amount equal to five months' fair market rent, as stated in the most recent schedule maintained by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a comparable residential unit; provided however that the maximum amount of relocation assistance to which a tenant is entitled shall not exceed five months' fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit. This subsection shall apply whenever an order to abate cites an unlawful residential use and the landlord seeks to demolish or otherwise permanently remove the unit from housing use. Relocation payment under this subsection is an obligation separate from and additional to the refund of any security deposit pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1950.5, Chapter 49 of the San Francisco Administrative Code, or any other remedy available to the tenant by law.
(2) Relocation upon Shortened Time. Upon the issuance of an order to vacate by the citing department requiring temporary vacation of a unit with less than 15 days' written notice, the landlord shall immediately pay to the tenant 25 percent of the per diem amount required by Subsection (A), multiplied by each day such notice was less than 15 days. This relocation payment is in addition to any other relocation payment as provided for herein.
(c) Right to Reoccupy. Any tenant evicted or required to vacate under the provisions of this Chapter shall have the right of first refusal to reoccupy the unit or other portion of the residential structure from which the tenant was evicted or required to vacate.
In addition, the following procedures are to be followed in affording the right of reoccupancy to the displaced tenant.
(1) The landlord, at the time the tenant vacates the unsafe residential unit, shall give written notice advising the tenant of his/her right to reoccupancy. The notice shall also include the landlord's residential or business address and telephone number. The notice shall be in the appropriate language of the affected tenant(s).
(2) The tenant shall provide the landlord with his/her address and telephone number, which the landlord will use for future notification purposes.
(3) Within 14 days of receipt of written notice from DPH that the violations have been abated or prior to the landlord's offering for rent or lease the unit or portion of the residential structure from which the tenant was displaced pursuant to this Chapter, whichever is sooner, the landlord shall notify the tenant that she or he may exercise his/her right to reoccupy. The notice shall be given by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address provided by the tenant. The notice shall state that the tenant shall have 30 days from receipt of the landlord's notice of the tenant's right to reoccupy to notify the landlord of acceptance or rejection of the offer and, if accepted, the tenant shall reoccupy the unit within 45 days of receipt of the landlord's offer.
(4) If the tenant does not respond to the notice within 30 calendar days of the date of mailing, or the landlord is unable to locate the tenant upon the exercise of good faith effort to do so, the landlord shall be deemed to have complied with this Section, and the tenant's right to reoccupy shall terminate.
(d) Penalties For Failure To Make Relocation Payments. Whenever a landlord fails to make relocation payments in violation of the provisions of Administrative Code Section 72.2, the tenant may institute a civil proceeding for injunctive relief, money damages of not less than three times actual damages, (including damages for mental or emotional distress), and whatever other relief the court deems appropriate. In the case of an award of damages for mental or emotional distress, said award shall only be trebled if the trier of fact finds that the landlord acted in knowing violation of or in reckless disregard of Administrative Code Section 72.2 herein. The prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs pursuant to order of the court. The remedy available under this section shall be in addition to any other existing remedies which may be available to the tenant.
(Added by Ord. 400-96, App. 10/21/96; amended by Ord. 394-97, App. 10/17/97; Ord. 99-04, File No. 031992, App. 6/4/2004)
(a) Any tenant who refuses to vacate within the time period stated on the notice to vacate pursuant to Section 72.3(a) shall not be entitled to receive relocation assistance; provided that if the tenant has, after good faith efforts, been unable to obtain alternative housing, the landlord shall extend the time period in which to vacate by an additional 30 days and the tenant retains their right to receive relocation assistance as provided in this Chapter.
(b) If the tenant has failed to pay rent due, a landlord may elect to deduct the amount of rent owed from the relocation assistance a tenant would otherwise be entitled to under this Chapter. If the landlord elects to offset the relocation payments, any dispute as to whether rent is due or the amount that is due shall be resolved in a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon final determination by the court, the landlord shall make relocation payments to the tenant less the amount of rent that was found to be lawfully owed to the landlord. Failure to make said payment shall be enforced pursuant to the remedies provided by Section 72.6 herein.
(c) If any tenant or guest or invitee of the tenant has created the lead hazard or has caused or substantially contributed to the conditions giving rise to the unsafe conditions necessitating relocation, the tenant shall not be entitled to receive relocation assistance. The landlord shall allege in the notice to vacate and, under penalty of perjury, state specific facts supporting the allegation that the tenant, or guest or invitee of the tenant, caused or substantially contributed to the conditions creating the lead hazards. The burden of proof shall be on the landlord to demonstrate the specific facts supporting the allegations. Should the landlord fail to provide such information, the tenant is entitled to damages equal to three times the relocation assistance the tenant is entitled to under this Chapter. Any dispute as to whether the tenant, or guest or invitee of the tenant caused or substantially contributed to the conditions creating the lead hazard shall be resolved in a court of competent jurisdiction. This exception shall apply only to payments subject to moderate term relocation, as defined in Section 72.3(b)(1)(B) herein.
(d) The tenant's knowledge of the status of the unit as an unsafe residential unit shall not disqualify a tenant from eligibility for relocation assistance provided by this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. 400-96, App. 10/21/96; amended by Ord. 394-97, App. 10/17/97)
It shall be unlawful for a landlord to increase the amount of rent for any vacated unit pursuant to this chapter, except as otherwise permitted by Chapter 37 of the San Francisco Administrative Code.
(Added by Ord. 400-96, App. 10/21/96; amended by Ord. 99-04, File No. 031992, App. 6/4/2004)
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