t: 415-409-7611
f: 415-463-2349
San Francisco Office
507 Polk St.
Suite 310
San Francisco, CA 94102
Oakland Office
482 W MacArthur Blvd,
Oakland, CA 94609
Daniel M. Bornstein, Esq.
Principal
For over 26 years, rental housing providers have relied on Daniel Bornstein to cauterize risk, realize the full potential of their investment property, and power through unique challenges inherent with owning and operating a real estate business.
The boutique firm of Bornstein Law exemplifies the personal qualities of its founder and the decisive voice for rental property owners and operators, Daniel Bornstein. One of the most thankless and trying but necessary duties of a landlord is transitioning tenants out of rental units, but Daniel is the Bay Area’s authority in the carefully choreographed steps of unlawful detainer actions.
With deep knowledge in the complex laws governing landlord-tenant relationships, core practice areas include navigating thorny regulations in rent-controlled jurisdictions and effectuating vacancies through creative legal vehicles, with exceptional skill in crafting and executing proper and enforceable tenant buyout agreements, as well as assisting owners or close relatives recover a tenant-occupied rental unit for their own use.
Using wide-ranging litigation experience, Daniel is adept in the courtroom advocating for landlords and property managers in jury and bench trials, and this aggressive representation extends to regular appearances in front of local Rent Boards tasked with adjudicating rent increases and all manner of other landlord-tenant disputes. His approach is direct and sensible, taking into account the bigger picture while skillfully managing the details of unforgiving timelines and specialized documentation like notices, complaints, motions, and petitions.
However successful Daniel has been in the courtroom, he is just as accomplished in negotiating settlements and likes to say that litigation is not like a sporting event when one side wins and the other side loses - his goal is not to elongate a dispute, but to lower the temperature and secure a successful resolution taking into account risk, time and attorneys’ fees.
More than a litigator, Daniel has been called upon as an expert witness by dozens of third-party litigants and their counsel to testify in cases involving landlord-tenant, property management, leasing, and liability issues, leveraging his expertise on the stand to gain a powerful advantage.
Daniel is renowned for his educational workshops on ever-changing regulations and other subjects germane to the rental housing industry and while his events at the Fort Mason Center have been a mecca for sold-out crowds, he is just as affable speaking to close-knit groups. For many in attendance, it is the first time they gain an understanding of local rent control ordinances and other rules.
Although many institutional clients call upon Daniel for informed advice, there is a special place in his heart for “mom-and-pop” landlords who are especially susceptible to making missteps in a complicated regulatory regime.
When he is not representing clients in his day job, Daniel wears another hat as the founder and managing Broker of Bay Property Group, a full-service property management company and real estate brokerage focused on developing and maintaining successful rentals, and the recipient of the East Bay Rental Housing Association's 2013 Property Management Company of the Year award.
After graduating with honors at the University of Michigan and earning a Master of Arts at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy in 1992, Daniel earned his J.D. at The University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is an avid lecturer for the Preliminary Multistate Bar Review, discussing complex subjects in front of large groups preparing for the national multistate bar examination.
Among other academic highlights, Daniel quite literally gained a global perspective as a Visiting Professor of Law at Donetsk State University in Ukraine, where he lectured on real estate, municipal, and business law, was instrumental in implementing academic reform and conducted meaningful research in the Ukrainian privatization of state property.
IN THE MEDIA
Daniel Bornstein raises the voice of rental housing providers
RECENT FROM THE NEWSROOM
In an era when political rhetoric falls squarely on the side of tenants, Daniel offers a unique perspective through the lens of underrepresented property owners and as an outspoken advocate, always welcomes the opportunity to tell their story.
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