Q: I do not recall what is the current length of time a family member needs to live in a unit from which a tenant was evicted? My question is what happens if my son, who will be returning after being away at grad school, returns and wants to live in the unit and we are able to get him in? Does he need to live there the entire duration? What if he gets a job offer in another city? What if he falls in love?

A: So this question involves the owner who owns a duplex, the owner lives in one unit and the owner seeks to have a son move into the tenant's unit. This would be what we call a relative move-in tenancy determination. Under San Francisco just caused eviction rules, an owner who resides in a building can have a son terminate a tenancy in order for the family to recover a unit for the Sun's use. It's called the relative move-in eviction, a relative needs to prove good faith without ulterior reason to make it the relative's principal place of residence for 36 months.

So the easy answer is that the relatives should live there and intend to live there for 36 continuous months from month 36 to month 60. If the relative decides to leave, the owner is supposed to offer the tenant who has been displaced the unit back at the old rent amount.

If the tenant does not want the unit back, then the owner is to offer the public the unit at the old rent amount from month 37 through month 60. So what does this practically mean? It practically means if you're going to do an owner move-in termination or a relative move-in termination, you really want to make a commitment to living at the property for 60 months instead of 36 months.

Because if you live there 36 months and then you want to rent it, you've got to offer it back to the tenants or back to the community at the old rental. So my strong recommendation is really make a commitment to being in that property for five years before making a decision whether you're going to do an owner move-in or a relative move-in termination.

Be advised, many people get sued for not living in a unit after displacing tenants through an owner moving or relative moving and the damages can be enormous. Six-figure, seven-figure damages for not complying with the rent ordinance. So I strongly recommend that when you consider doing an owner move-in or a relative move-in termination, you contact an attorney and understand what the rules are, what the obligations are, and what the liabilities are if you don't comply with your obligations.