KNOWLEDGE BASE / RENT CONTROL / EMERYVILLE RENT CONTROL
Emeryville's Residential Landlord And Tenant Relations Ordinance
In our not-too-distant memory, the corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland wasn't as popular as its neighbors, but things are heating up in Emeryville.
As a stone's throw away from San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, University of California, Berkeley and Silicon Valley, Emeryville has established itself as an epicenter for growth, History has taught us that with growth comes calls for rent control, and this has been codified in Chapter 40 of Title 5 of the Emeryville Municipal Code. Emeryville rent control delineates between “just cause” evictions (failure to pay rent, tenant illegal activity, and the like) and no-fault evictions.
Barring a natural disaster, if tenants are evicted through no fault of their own, it will come at a price to the landlord in the form of relocation assistance. A “large landlord” will have to shell out even more relocation payments, large meaning the owner of more than four units in the City of Emeryville.
Bornstein Law has always admonished owners not to resort to “self-help” eviction measures designed to harass or intimidate tenants, and Emeryville shares our viewpoint by spelling out a long list of transgressions that could be considered harassment or an attempt to drive out tenants without adhering to procedural requirements.
From the cradle to the grave of the tenancy, Emeryville is a real stickler for documentation and transparency. Tenants must be apprised of their rights and when the tenancy has ended, landlords have to provide a copy of the notice of termination within ten days of delivery to the tenant, accompanied by a copy of the rental agreement.
We do not want to be alarmist, but in parting thoughts, we would be remiss not to mention Emeryville's rent ordinance puts landlords on notice that violation of the rules can result in a civil proceeding for money damages or injunctive relief, or both.
In such an intensive regulatory regime, Emeryville landlords have a lot of opportunities to go astray, but Bornstein Law can steer you away from the minefields.
Read Emeryville's rent control ordinance here