Despite constant attacks on the Ellis Act, it remains the law of the land. Rental housing providers can go out of the landlording business, with many caveats.
Removing rental units through the Ellis Act
Passed in the 1980s, the Ellis Act is a law that allows landlords to exit the rental business and use their property for some other purpose. It has served as a counterbalance to rent control when landlords decide that they are no longer are interested in subsidizing rent-controlled units.
Despite fear-mongering by tenants' advocates, there are numerous protections in place for residents at risk of being displaced by the Ellis Act.
If a property owner wants to go out of the landlording business, it will come with a price in the form of hefty relocation payments that must be paid to each authorized occupant. Elderly tenants and disabled persons will be entitled to even more money to soften the transition.
Tenants must be notified well in advance of the landlord's intention to remove rental units from the market and there are a whole host of other statutory obligations that must be followed.
With lawmakers and other officials having a deep distrust of speculators and serial evictors, rest assured that Ellis Acting a property will not come easily and without procedural hurdles to overcome.
This is a massive, potentially perilous undertaking best journeyed with the landlord attorneys of Bornstein Law.
