TITLE
WITHDRAWN
Recommendation to approve modifications to the City's Tenant Relocation Ordinance, and direct City Attorney to return a revised ordinance to the City Council for adoption.
DISCUSSION
On June 11,2019, the City Council passed a Tenant Relocation Ordinance to provide assistance to certain tenants required to leave their unit. The ordinance was adopted after significant study by City staff, outreach to stakeholders, and considerable discussion and input by the City Council and the public. During the discussion, the City Council discussed some changes to the ordinance that could be proposed in the future. The following modifications are proposed to assist with the efficient implementation of the Tenant Relocation Ordinance and· provide additional clarity to the adopted ordinance. These modifications come from both tenant advocates and property owners, to recognize issues raised by both sides and attempt to achieve a consensus on this important issue.
Recommended changes to the ordinance include:
1) Advanced Payment of Relocation Benefits
The current ordinance requires one half of the relocation payment to be paid 10 or 24 days (depending on the circumstances) following receipt of notice to vacate by' the tenant, with the balance to be paid no later than 5 days after the tenant vacates the unit.
In order to provide additional assistance to the tenant looking for a new home, the ordinance should be modified to grant tenants the full relocation payment within 15 days after service of a 30/60-day notice to vacate or within 5 days after the date the tenant notifies the landlord they intend to move after a qualifying rent increase. If the tenant fails to vacate the unit after receipt of the relocation payment, then the tenant would be required to repay the relocation payment and be subject to the same penalties applicable to landlords for failure to make relocation payments.
2) Tenants to Notice Landlord of Intent to Receive Benefits
Currently ...
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