Property Rights Under Attack—Again

On the heels of a recent San Francisco Board of Supervisors decision to disallow condo-conversions in most Ellis Acted buildings, the board once again stepped to the forefront in the fight against property rights by passing a proposal that would make it more difficult for owners to take back common areas or parking spots for their own use if a tenant had already been using the space. The measure did not pass with a veto-proof majority and SFAA is hopeful that Mayor Gavin Newsom will veto the legislation. The legislation was sponsored by District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and requires that landlords give just cause when removing non-essential services like parking, laundry facilities, storage units and yards from tenants’ use. Previously, a property owner did not have to present just cause to rescind these services, but would likely need to lower the rent due to tenants’ claims of a reduction of services. It now appears that this penalty was not enough to suit the board, as the supervisors have voted to take yet another right from property owners.

To make matters worse, it does not appear that the anti-property sentiment at the board will be lessening anytime soon. Upcoming measures due to come before the supervisors include a proposal from Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval which requires that rental units due to be converted to tenancies in common meet 2006 San Francisco Building Code standards, including parking requirements. Additionally, Ted Gullickson of the San Francisco Tenants Union is threatening to place a measure on the November ballot that would prevent the city’s sheriff’s department from spending money to enforce Ellis Act evictions on senior or disabled tenants. Since force is almost never needed to remove tenants, this is a largely symbolic gesture designed to further indicate the city’s displeasure with this state law.

Eviction Disclosure Measure Passes
Measure B, which requires anyone selling an apartment building in San Francisco to disclose elderly or disabled evictions earlier in the home-buying process, narrowly passed at the polls last month. The other three San Francisco measures failed, as did the two state propositions for library bonds and universal preschool.

Report Your Neighborhood’s Road and Park Needs
Now that the winter and spring rains have finally come to an end, the city can get on with the business of fixing all the problems that the extensive and seemingly never-ending bad weather has wrought. The Department of Public Works is especially proactive about potholes this year, assigning additional crew and resources to fix these driving disasters. The department already finds 95% of the potholes it fills and fills potholes reported by the public within 48 hours much of the time, but DPW officials still want your help to find any additional areas in need of repair. Call DPW’s customer service line at 415-28-CLEAN or email 28clean@sfdpw.org to report potholes in your neighborhood; remember to include an address or cross street.

The park system is also asking city residents for help making the public parks a greener place. If you see a problem in your local park, all you need to do is to go to www.parkscan.org. Click on “Send Observation,” find your neighborhood park and/or playground, and type in your comments about what needs to be remedied. You can even attach pictures of the problem. Your observations are then sent electronically to the appropriate city officials. A tracking number is assigned to the report and dangerous conditions are acted upon immediately, while general maintenance issues may take longer to be resolved. Your reports help the Recreation and Parks Department use its money to fix the problems in our parks and playgrounds, not waste its limited resources discovering the problems in the first place.

Building Management Company Sued Using Mafia Law
CitiApartments, one of the largest building management companies in San Francisco, has been sued by a tenant using the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which is typically used in organized crime cases and has never before been used in landlord-tenant law. The plaintiff alleges that CitiApartments staff employed illegal harassment and strong-arm tactics to try to force her from her rent-controlled apartment. Lawyers for the management company deny the allegations. This is the second tenant lawsuit in under a month for the company, which was also sued by tenants in San Francisco Superior Court based upon similar intimidation claims. Although the two lawsuits make similar allegations, they have differing burdens of proof. The city lawsuit must establish that the company attempted to illegally recover possession of property, while the federal case must prove that CitiApartments committed wire and mail fraud to deprive the plaintiff of her property. Also, a conviction in federal court could mean CitiApartments will be prevented from continuing to work in San Francisco. It will likely be months, if not years, before these cases are settled.

Ellis Act Evictions Down
After all the hubbub surrounding Ellis Act evictions, the San Francisco Rent Board reports that such evictions are actually down 2.1% over last year. Evictions due to demolition or removal from housing use are down 32.9% and owner or relative move-in evictions are also down by nearly 20%. Capital improvement and nuisance evictions saw the largest increases (110.9% and 50.7%, respectively). Breach of rental agreement and habitual late payment of rent evictions both saw modest increases as well. Overall, evictions are up slightly for the first time since 2001; 1,446 notices were filed in the city’s fiscal year 2004-5 versus 1,621 in 2005-6. Even with the slight increase, overall eviction notices are down by about 1,000 from the 1999-2001 dot-com boom period. Further rent board statistics can be found at www.sfgov.org.

Fannie Mae Fined $400 Million
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae has been found guilty of accounting violations by federal regulators and fined $400 million in penalties. After a 24-month investigation, the Office of Housing Enterprise Oversight reported recently that Fannie Mae’s senior management manipulated accounting for financial rewards and actively worked to conceal these facts from regulators. Unethical accounting practices led Fannie Mae to falsely report that it was hitting its earning estimates each quarter, bilking investors while management staff was rewarded with undeserved bonuses. In addition to the substantial fine, Fannie Mae will also need to limit growth of its mortgage assets to December 31, 2005, levels and determine which current and former employees were at fault. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were both created by Congress to increase home ownership opportunities by keeping mortgage funds easily available. In recent years, Freddie Mac has also been cited and fined for accounting fraud.

Postal Pooch Problem
The U.S. Postal Service is warning dog owners to keep better control of their pets during mail delivery periods. Postal service employees report more than 5,000 dog bites each year, at an estimated cost of more than $1 million. Each time a dog bite occurs, police and animal control officials are notified. The dog may be quarantined and the owner fined up to $1,000, as well as sued for suffering and damages. Also, if the postal service determines that there is a “dog menace” at an address, that residence will not have mail delivery service until the postal service is assured that the animal will be confined during normal delivery hours. All dog owners should consider confining their pets to the home or backyard during these hours to avoid potential problems.

Share Your Rental Horror Stories
Every property owner has rental horror stories, be it that one obnoxious tenant or some bureaucratic nonsense from the city. But now you can get something great out of your worst rental-housing experiences. San Francisco Apartment Magazine is asking all SFAA members to send in a short essay (between 500-800 words) for SFAA’s first Rental Housing Horror Stories Contest. The top stories will be printed in an upcoming issue of SFAM. Please send your entries to Managing Editor Emily Landes at emily@blackpointpress.com by July 15, 2006.