San Francisco Apartment Ass'n v. City & County of San Francisco

881 F.3d 1169
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 8, 2018
Docket15-17381
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 881 F.3d 1169 (San Francisco Apartment Ass'n v. City & County of San Francisco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
San Francisco Apartment Ass'n v. City & County of San Francisco, 881 F.3d 1169 (9th Cir. 2018).

Opinion

OPINION

BEA, Circuit Judge

We must determine whether a San Francisco city ordinance limiting the rights of landlords to commence and conduct buyout negotiations is consistent with the federal and state constitutions. We do not, as we must not, evaluate the policy merits of the ordinance. Appellants—an individual property owner and several organizations that represent landlords’ interests in San Francisco—present us with assertions but no authority which suggests the ordinance runs afoul of either constitution! We therefore affirm the district court’s decision to grant the City and County of San Francisco’s (“the City’s”) motion for judgment on the pleadings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On October 21, 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors enacted Ordinance No. 225-14 (the “Ordinance”), titled “Tenant Buyout Agreements.” See S.F. Admin. Code § 37.9E. The “Findings and Purpose” section provides context for the enactment of the Ordinance:

Instead of evicting tenants, some landlords offer cash buyouts to tenants in exchange for the tenants vacating rental units.... Unlike no-fault evictions, these buyouts are unregulated, and can enable landlords to circumvent many of the restrictions that apply when a landlord, executes a no-fault eviction. For example, a landlord'who executes some types of no-fault evictions must give tenants a certain amount of time to move out, provide funds to tenants-to cover relocation costs, and allow tenants to move back into the unit under specified circumstances. Two types of these no fault evictions—the Ellis Act and owner move-in evictions—contain restrictions on how much rent a landlord can charge if the units are re-rented following eviction. Analogous regulations do not exist for tenant buyouts.
Anecdotal evidence indicates- that many buyout agreements are not conducted at armS-length, and landlords sometimes employ high-pressure tactics and intimidation to induce tenants to sign the agreements. Some landlords threaten tenants with eviction if they do not accept the terms of the buyout. The frequency of -these buyout offers increased significantly following passage of a San Francisco law in 1996 which restricted, and in many cases prohibited, condominium conversions following no fault evictions. By threatening a specific no fault eviction and then convincing a tenant to vacate rather than receiving the eviction notice, a landlord will avoid restrictions on condominium conversion as well as restrictions on renovations, mergers, or demolitions.... Disabled, senior, and catastrophically ill tenants can be particularly vulnerable, and. can face greater -hurdles in securing new housing., ■ -
The main purpose of this Section 37.9E is to increase the fairness of buyout negotiations and agreements by requiring landlords to provide tenants with a statement of their rights and allowing tenants to rescind a buyout agreement for up to 45 days after signing the agreement.... Another goal of this ordinance is to help the City collect data about buyout agreements. The City lacks comprehensive information about the number, location, and terms of buyout agreements. This dearth of information precludes the City from understanding the true level of tenant displacement in San Francisco.

S.F. Admin. Code § 37.9E(a). The Ordinance defines “Buyout Agreement” as “an agreement wherein the landlord pays the tenant money or other consideration to vacate the rental unit,” and it excludes from the definition agreements “to settle a pending unlawful detainer action.” Id. § 37.9E(c). The Ordinance defines “Buyout Negotiations” as “any discussion or bargaining, whether oral or written, between a landlord and tenant regarding the possibility of entering into a Buyout Agreement.” Id.

The Ordinance has six provisions rele-, vant to this appeal: (1) the “Disclosure Provision,” (2) the “Notification Provision,” (3) the “Rescission Provision,” (4) the “Database Provision,” (5) the “Penalty and Fee Provision,” and (6) the “Condominium Conversion Provision.” Id. § 37.9E; S.F. Subdivision Code § 1396.

The Disclosure Provision states that, prior to the commencement of buyout negotiations for a rental unit, landlords must provide each tenant in that unit with a written disclosure form written by the Rent Board. S.F. Admin. Code § 37.9E(d). The form states that a tenant has a right not to - enter into buyout negotiations or a buyout agreement, may choose to consult with an attorney before entering into negotiations or an agreement, has a right to rescind any buyout agreement for up to forty-five days after the agreement’s execution, and may visit the Rent Board for information about other buyout agreements in the tenant’s neighborhood. The form also includes a description of the Condominium Conversion Provision, the contact information for the landlord, the contact information for several tenants’ rights organizations, and a space for' a tenant signature.

The Notification Provision states that, prior to the commencement of buyout negotiations, the landlord shall provide the Rent Board with a declaration that the landlord provided each tenant with the disclosure form required by § 37.9E(d). Id. § S^Efe). 1

The Rescission Provision provides tenants with a unilateral right to rescind an executed buyout agreement for up to and including forty-five days after the agreement’s execution. Id. § 37.9E(g).

The Database Provision requires landlords to file a copy of any buyout agreement with the Rent Board between the forty-sixth and fifty-ninth day after the execution date of the buyout agreement. Id. § 37.9E(h). A related provision requires that the Rent Board create a searchable database with information received from the buyout agreements filed by landlords. Id. § 37.9E(i).

The Penalty and Fee Provision provides that a tenant may bring a civil action against a landlord for “failure to comply with the requirements set forth in subsections (d) and (f).” 2 Id. § 37.9E(k). That section also provides that “[t]he City Attorney or any organization with tax exempt status under [Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) ] with a primary mission of protecting the rights of tenants in San Francisco may bring a civil action against a landlord ... for failure to comply with subsection (h).” 3 Id.

Finally, the Condominium Conversion Provision provides that any property subject to a buyout agreement after the enactment of the Ordinance is ineligible for conversion to a condominium for ten years where the tenant involved in the buyout agreement was senior, disabled, catastrophically ill, or where the owner entered into a buyout agreement with two or more tenants in the same building. 4 S.F. Subdivision Code § 1396.

Appellants commenced this action by filing a “petition for writ of mandate” and a “complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief’ in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
881 F.3d 1169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/san-francisco-apartment-assn-v-city-county-of-san-francisco-ca9-2018.