26.33.060 Tenant provisions.
The following shall apply to all conversions of residential units to condominiums:
(a) Notice of Intent. A notice of intent to convert shall be delivered to each tenant. The form of notice shall be on a form prepared by the community development department and shall inform tenants of all rights provided under this section. It shall be mailed or otherwise delivered within five (5) days of filing the application.
(b) Leases for Continuing Tenants. Any tenant who does not wish to purchase a unit but who wishes to continue renting and gives notice of such intention within the time set forth herein shall be offered a lease of not less than two (2) years, to take effect upon approval of the final map for the project. The lease shall provide for rent increases which shall not exceed five (5) percent per year. Base rent for such leases shall be the rent in effect at the time the conversion application is filed with the city.
(c) Tenants’ Right of First Refusal. In conformity with the applicable California Government Code sections, existing tenants of any unit shall be given a nontransferable right of first refusal to purchase the unit which they occupy at a price no greater than the price offered to the general public. Notice of exercise of such right must be given as provided herein.
(d) Notice of Tenant’s Election. Each tenant shall have ninety (90) days from the date of issuance by the California Department of Real Estate of the Subdivision Public Report or from the commencement of sale of the units, whichever date is later, to declare the tenant’s election:
(1) Lease. To lease a unit;
(2) Purchase. To purchase a unit; or
(3) Vacate. To neither lease nor purchase a unit, but instead to vacate the project.
Failure of a tenant to declare an intent within the time designated shall be deemed an election by the tenant to neither purchase nor lease any unit but instead to vacate the project.
(e) Vacating Units by Nonpurchasing or Nonleasing Tenants and Payment of Moving Expenses. Each tenant of the project at the time the application for conversion has been filed who (a) has not previously given notice of his or her intent to move, (b) elects not to purchase or lease a unit or who is silent on the notice of right to buy or lease as provided herein, and (c) is not in default of the obligations of the rental agreement or lease under which he or she occupies his or her unit, shall have not less than one year from the approval date of the conversion permit or final subdivision map, whichever is later, to find substitute housing and relocate. The developer shall notify each such tenant immediately prior to the time of final map approval of the anticipated date required to vacate the unit and when the one-year period shall commence. Evidence of delivery of such a notice to each such tenant shall be submitted prior to approval of the final map. The developer shall pay each such tenant his or her actual moving expenses, provided that developer’s obligation for a tenant’s moving expenses shall not exceed four (4) times the monthly rent paid by such tenant for his or her unit prior to tentative map approval as provided herein. A tenant commencing occupancy of a unit after the application for conversion is filed shall not be entitled to moving expenses. Tenants eligible to receive the moving expenses shall receive such expenses at the time they relocate.
(f) Increase in Rents. The rent of any tenant in the project for which an application for a conversion permit has been filed shall not be increased for one year from the time of filing of the application and thereafter no more than once each year until the unit is sold or until the subdivision application is denied or withdrawn. Any rental increase during such period shall not exceed one-half of the increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland Metropolitan Area.
(g) Termination by Tenant. Any tenant shall have the right to terminate any lease or rental agreement for a unit within the project to be converted without any penalty whatsoever after notice has been given of the intention to convert if such tenant notifies the developer in writing thirty (30) days in advance of such termination.
(h) Alternative Accommodations. The developer shall provide alternate comparable accommodations, including moving expenses, for such period the tenant is displaced or his or her unit is rendered uninhabitable by remodeling or other conversion procedures.
(i) Notice to New Tenants. After submittal of the tentative map, any prospective tenants shall be notified in writing of the intent to convert prior to leasing or renting any unit. (Ord. 1206 § 3, (1981); Ord. 1806 § 42, (2007))