Rental Housing Owners Ass'n v. City of Hayward

200 Cal. App. 4th 81, 133 Cal. Rptr. 3d 155, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 1330
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 30, 2011
DocketNo. A128168
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 200 Cal. App. 4th 81 (Rental Housing Owners Ass'n v. City of Hayward) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rental Housing Owners Ass'n v. City of Hayward, 200 Cal. App. 4th 81, 133 Cal. Rptr. 3d 155, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 1330 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Opinion

JENKINS, J.

Introduction

Following entry of judgment in favor of Rental Housing Owners Association of Southern Alameda County, Inc. (RHOA), on its petition for writ of mandate, the trial court issued a peremptory writ of mandate enjoining the City of Hayward (City) from enforcing the “Mandatory Inspection Program” (MIP) incorporated in its Residential Rental Inspection Ordinance (ordinance). The trial court concluded the ordinance was unconstitutional on its face because it forced landlords to grant City inspectors access to occupied units without the consent of the tenant, in violation of Civil Code section 1954 and the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Accordingly, the trial court enjoined enforcement of Hayward Municipal Code sections 9-5.306 (Entry) and 9-5.401 (Fees/Penalty Charges), and commanded the City to repeal or cure the constitutional and statutory defects in these sections.

In response to the writ, the City amended the ordinance and filed a return to writ of mandate.1 RHOA filed objections to City’s return to writ of mandate, asserting that the amended ordinance failed to cure the constitutional defects identified by the trial court in its earlier judgment. The trial court sustained two of the five objections raised by RHOA. The court found that the amended ordinance was unconstitutional on its face because landlords continued to be responsible for obtaining tenants’ consent and could incur fines or penalties when tenants refused to permit entry to officials for inspection.

[85]*85The City appeals the trial court’s order sustaining RHOA’s objections to its return to writ of mandate. Having considered the arguments presented, including those of amicus curiae for RHOA, California Apartment Association (CAA),2 we vacate the trial court’s order and remand with instructions that the trial court enter a new and different order consistent with this opinion.

Facts and Procedural Background

A. The Residential Rental Inspection Ordinance

The City initiated its comprehensive rental housing inspection program in 1982 and first implemented the ordinance at issue here in 1989.3 The stated purpose of the ordinance is to “safeguard the stock of decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing units within the City and to protect persons entering or residing in them by providing for inspection of rental housing units and the common areas when certain indicators show that violations of the Hayward Housing and Building Codes may exist in a unit or pursuant to a systematic area-wide inspection program.” (§ 9-5.102.) The ordinance is administered under the authority of the enforcement official (the city manager, or his or her designee). (§ 9-5.301.)

The ordinance authorizes two types of inspection by City officials of rental housing units, viz., (1) the MIP (§ 9-5.302), which targets all rental housing units in specified areas, and (2) a “for cause” inspection (under § 9-5.303) of a particular rental unit at the request of a tenant who reports a housing code violation at the property. Only the MIP concerns us here.

The MIP, as described in section 9-5.302 of the ordinance, is a part of the City’s “effort to encourage conservation of existing rental housing units, motels, and hotels” by requiring owners of these types of structures “to bring these units to Housing and Building Code standards.” (§ 9-5.302.) Section 9-5.302 also provides, “Owners and managers shall allow for the inspection of these units. If an Owner or manager refuses to permit an inspection, the Enforcement Official is authorized to procure an inspection warrant.” (§ 9-5.302, italics added.)

The ordinance also delineates the method of entry into units for inspection purposes. Section 9-5.306 provides: “Upon presentation of proper credentials, [86]*86the Enforcement Official, after having obtained the consent of the Owner or occupant, may enter any rental housing unit ... at reasonable times during daylight hours to perform any inspection required by this code. [f] . . . [T]he Enforcement official shall not enter any rental housing unit . . . without the consent of the Owner or occupant thereof unless an inspection warrant therefor has been issued. . . .” (§ 9-5.306, italics added.)

Finally, in regard to fees and penalty charges, the ordinance provides: “The annual fee and fees or penalty charges for any inspection or re-inspection performed pursuant to the provisions of this code shall be established from time to time by resolution of the City Council. Payment of such fees shall be made by Owner of the rental housing unit . . . upon demand by the City.” (§ 9-5.401.) The City may recover fees and penalty charges from an owner by way of a special assessment levied against the property on the tax roll after the enforcement officer prepares a report, the owner is notified of a hearing on the report, and a hearing is held. (§§ 9-5.501 to 9-5.503.) At the hearing, “the City Council shall hear and pass upon the report of the Enforcement Official together with any objections or protests thereto” and may correct or revise the report or the fees charged “as it may deem just.” (§ 9-5.503.)

B. RHOA’s Petition for Writ of Mandate

RHOA filed its petition for writ of mandate in February 2009. In its petition, RHOA states that it is pursuing the action on behalf of its 200-plus members who own and operate approximately 12,500 dwelling units in the City, representing some 60 percent of the City’s rental housing stock.

RHOA challenged the language of the MIP on several grounds. First, RHOA asserted that the portion of the MIP (§ 9-5.302) that states “Owners and managers shall allow for the inspection of these units” is preempted by Civil Code section 1954 (section 1954). Section 1954 describes circumstances under which a landlord may enter a tenant’s unit, and as relevant here, it allows a landlord entry for inspection purposes only at the request of a tenant upon termination of the lease.4 Second, RHOA asserted that the “shall allow” language violates the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution because it requires landlords to permit entry into residential units absent tenants’ consent or a warrant. Third, RHOA asserted that the fee and penalty provisions in section 9-5.501 violate owners’ rights to substantive due process under the state and federal Constitutions because owners incur fees [87]*87and penalties for their refusal to allow City inspections without tenant consent. RHOA requested that the court issue a writ of mandate enjoining the City’s enforcement of sections 9-5.302 (MIP) and 9-5.501 (Report on Fees/Penalty Charges).

The City opposed RHOA’s writ petition. The City argued that RHOA’s facial challenge to the MIP fails because the express language of section 9-5.302 does not require landlords to facilitate illegal entry into a tenant’s dwelling. Rather, the language of the MIP, in conjunction with section 9-5.306 (Entry), makes clear that enforcement officials must obtain the consent of the owner or occupant prior to entry. If consent is refused, the City must obtain an inspection warrant.

In reply, RHOA argued that the City’s reliance upon the consent required under the “entry” provision of section 9-5.306 was misplaced.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
200 Cal. App. 4th 81, 133 Cal. Rptr. 3d 155, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 1330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rental-housing-owners-assn-v-city-of-hayward-calctapp-2011.