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local rent control regulations. Washington state law preempts local governments from enacting laws “which regulate the amount of rent to be charged” and instead reserves that power under the state government. During September, the City Council passed two ordinances that require the City’s rental housing providers to provide substantial prior notice to their tenants of any rent increases, and to pay for relocation expenses for low-income renters who move in response to larger rent increases.
Under prior city ordinance and state law, landlords have been required to provide their tenants 60 days’ prior notice of any rent increase. One of the two ordinances passed by the City Council increases that notification period to 180 days, which by far is the longest rent increase notification period in the U.S. Further, if a low-income renter decides to move in response to a rent increase of 10 percent or more, housing providers will be obligated to provide a renter with “economic dislocation relocation assistance” equal to three months’ rent under the other ordinance passed by the City Council.
Rental housing providers in Portland, Oregon, sued the City over a similar policy requiring owners to pay relocation expenses to tenants who move in response to a 10 percent or more rent increase arguing that the ordinance was clearly intended to deter owners from raising rents beyond a certain level and, accordingly, should be banned by Oregon’s preemption of local rent control laws. However, that legal challenge was rejected at the county and appellate court levels and is now pending before the Oregon Supreme Court.
property when non-domestic violence grounds are also asserted in the unlawful detainer action. (Elmassian vs. Flores; Los Angeles Superior Court - filed August 23, 2021.) In other words, the Appellate Court found that a tenant can assert the defense to being evicted based upon domestic violence causing a nuisance on rented property even if non- domestic violence grounds are also asserted in the unlawful detainer action – even if the non-domestic violence grounds are non-payment or destruction of property.
In order to support the defense, the Court ruled that the documentation needed to support the defense can consist of a report prepared by the police narrating a domestic violence incident based solely on a tenant’s statement which does not need to name the perpetrator of the domestic violence, does not need to indicate the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, and only documents one of multiple instances of domestic violence relied on by the landlord to evict the tenant.
PROPOSED, NEW SPLIT-ROLL PROPERTY TAX BALLOT INITIATIVE COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES
Proponents of a new, split-roll property tax ballot initiative have submitted their proposal to the California Attorney General’s office requesting preparation of a “title and summary.” Inadequately named the “Housing Affordability and Tax cut Act of 2022,” the proposal is a mere wealth transfer in disguise that would penalize owners of properties with full cash (assessed) values of $5 million or greater through a property tax surcharge of 1.2% or more, and a prorated, lesser surcharge amount for properties with full cash (assessed) values between $4 million and $5 million.
Under the proposed initiative, “covered properties” include any commercial, residential, industrial, or mixed-use real estate, or vacant land with a full cash value of $4 million or more. Certain types of properties are exempt from the surcharge, including commercial agricultural land, deed restricted properties that house “low” and “very low” income residents, and vacant land protected and used for open space, among others.
Under California law, “full cash value” means “the county assessor’s valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under ‘full cash value’ or, thereafter, the appraised value of real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred after the
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A TENANT’S NEW DEFENSE TO A NUISANCE EVICTION
According to a Los Angeles Superior Court Appellate Judge, a tenant can assert as a defense to being evicted for causing a nuisance on rented
APARTMENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2021 CS-3