New Inspection Fee for Credit Checks
Due to growing problems with identity theft, the credit reporting industry put requirements into place to limit its exposure to lawsuits and government regulations. These changes require an onsite inspection by SFAA’s credit-reporting contractor, Credit Bureau Associates. For the last 18 months, CBA has provided this service free of charge to SFAA members, but now that grace period has ended and the service costs $60. This fee and the inspection are only required for members who have not already signed up with CBA. It must be paid at the time the application and service agreement are submitted. You will not be able to access credit reports from any authorized company until you have gone through the new registration and onsite inspection process. If you have any questions, call CBA at 800-564-6440.

Managers Luncheon March 20
SFAA invites all of its members in property management firms to join the Managers Luncheon on March 20, 2008, at Absinthe in Hayes Valley. These luncheons are designed to provide a venue for discussion amongst those who manage property in the city; speakers have included sanitation workers with Sunset Scavenger and officers with the Vice Crimes division of the San Francisco Police Department. The Managers Luncheon takes place the third Thursday of every other month at noon. The luncheon costs $40 per person, which includes a three-course prix-fixe lunch. Seating is limited, so please contact Education and Events Director Vanessa Khaleel at 415-255-2288 or via email at vanessa@sfaa.org to RSVP.

SFAA Goes Paperless
Starting last month, SFAA became greener by becoming an email-driven organization. For example, rather than remind members of monthly meetings via postcards, you now receive email notices about meetings, as well as other events. The organization also puts more of its communications online at www.sfaa.org, creating a more comprehensive website for members. If you are not currently receiving SFAA’s email communications, please contact Member Services Coordinator Maria Shea at 415-255-2288 or via email at maria@sfaa.org.

No Position on Parks Bond
SFAA’s Political Action Committee has decided to take a no-position stance on the Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond Measure on the February 5, 2008, ballot. The $185 million bond would, if passed, go toward improving and repairing neighborhood parks, waterfront parks, park restrooms, park trails and park forestry. Landlords can pass through 50% of the resulting property tax increase to their tenants. This measure requires a two-thirds affirmative vote to pass.

Water Passthrough at the Board
San Francisco Supervisor Michaela Alioto-Pier will soon bring legislation to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to create a water rate passthrough, which would cover 50% of the recently increased rates or 70% in buildings with additional conservation amenities like low-flow fixtures. Mayor Gavin Newsom, SFAA and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission support this passthrough, which would not require a San Francisco Rent Board petition to pass the fees on to tenants. SFAA Executive Director Janan New points out that the passthrough would be more than a win for landlords; it would be a win for the environment. “If tenants pay, then obviously they are going to conserve,” she argues. “If there’s no consequence, there’s no conservation.”

SFAA is working with the supervisors on the issue but, at press time, it was unclear what the specifics of the passthrough would be, or if a passthrough would be passed at all. If it is not passed this month, the SFAA will begin gathering signatures to reverse Proposition E, a 2001 ballot measure that gave the board the power to approve PUC rate increases without going to the voters. If the proposition is rescinded, all PUC increases since 2001 will be revoked and will need to pass at the ballot to be reinstated. Contact your local supervisor to request passage of this important and green-minded passthrough.

San Francisco to Have Greenest Building Codes in the U.S.
If the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passes a plan spearheaded by Mayor Gavin Newsom, the city will have the country’s most environmental building codes. In December, Mayor Newsom announced his intentions to fast track legislation that would require new residential and commercial properties to meet LEED standards, which were developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and are the strictest widely used guidelines in the country. The city already has a mandate to build all new municipal buildings to these standards and fast tracks permits for developers who voluntarily meet LEED guidelines. The ordinance would only apply to residential buildings over 75 feet tall, new commercial buildings over 5,000 square feet and renovations on buildings over 25,000 square feet.

The Board of Supervisors must still approve the legislation, but a majority of supervisors appear to be supportive of the ordinance, so it should have no trouble passing. City officials estimate that the new rules could save 220,000 megawatt hours of power and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60,000 by 2012.

Affordable Housing on November Ballot
A ballot initiative that would set aside money for affordable housing will likely come before voters in the November 2008 election. The measure was sponsored by Supervisor Chris Daly and is supported by a majority of the board. If voters pass the initiative, the city would be required to spend $2.7 billion to build affordable housing over the next 15 years. Daly estimated that this figure would add 10,000 to 12,000 new affordable units to the city’s housing stock. In the first year, $122 million would be mandated, with that number increasing over time to $254 million a year in the final year. In last year’s budget, the city set aside $88 million for affordable housing.

Mayor Gavin Newsom has come out against the measure, saying that it takes away the city’s flexibility when balancing the budget. The labor community is undecided, as the measure could take away resources from other labor priorities, and is focusing its efforts instead on passing a $800 million bond for San Francisco General Hospital, which is likely to be on the November ballot as well.

Same-Sex Couple Property Tax Break Confirmed
The California Supreme Court turned down an appeal by county assessors, thus confirming that domestic partners in the state have the same right as married couples to accept or inherit real estate without a tax increase. In October, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento ruled that registered domestic partners are entitled to all the tax benefits of Proposition 13, which limits property tax increases to 2% per year. The property can be reassessed at market value after it is sold or changes owners, but transfers of property between spouses are exempt from this often-hefty reassessment.

In 2003, the State Board of Equalization approved a regulation extending those rights to domestic partners, and in 2005 a law passed by the State Legislature reaffirmed those rights. But assessors in several counties challenged the expanded tax break, saying that Prop. 13 is part of the State Constitution and cannot be expanded by the board or the Legislature. The appeals court disagreed with this argument and said that lawmakers were within their rights to expand the change-of-ownership exemption. By denying the further appeal of the assessors, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision.

Terrorism Insurance Renewed
In the closing days of the 2007 legislative session, Congress approved legislation extending the federal terrorism insurance backstop for seven years, just days before its scheduled expiration date. The law makes the federal government the insurer of last resort for terrorism insurance. Absent this extension, multifamily owners would have once again faced conditions experienced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, when terrorism coverage virtually disappeared.

Final passage was delayed because of the major differences between the House and Senate bills, with the former trying to pass a much more comprehensive version. The final compromise version of the legislation does extend coverage to domestic events. However, a House provision requiring insurers to make coverage available for nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological events was dropped. Instead, the bill calls for a U.S. Government Accountability Office study on the availability and affordability of insurance for these events.