Ellis Act

CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 7060-7060.7

7060.a) No public entity, as defined in Section 811.2, shall, by statute, ordinance, or regulation, or by administrative action implementing any statute, ordinance or regulation, compel the owner of any residential real property to offer, or to continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease, except for guestrooms or efficiency units within a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code, if the residential hotel meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The residential hotel is located in a city and county, or in a city with a population of over 1,000,000.
(2) The residential hotel has a permit of occupancy issued prior to January 1, 1990.
(3) The residential hotel did not send a notice of intent to withdraw the accommodations from rent or lease pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 7060.4 that was delivered to the public entity prior to January 1, 2004. (b) For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Accommodations” means either of the following:
(A) The residential rental units in any detached physical structure containing four or more residential rental units.
(B) With respect to a detached physical structure containing three or fewer residential rental units, the residential rental units in that structure and in any other structure located on the same parcel of land, including any detached physical structure specified in subparagraph (A).
(2) “Disabled” means a person with a disability, as defined in Section 12955.3 of the Government Code.

7060.1. Notwithstanding Section 7060, nothing in this chapter does any of the following:
(a) Prevents a public entity from enforcing any contract or agreement by which an owner of residential real property has agreed to offer the accommodations for rent or lease in consideration for a direct financial contribution or, with respect to written contracts or agreements entered into prior to July 1, 1986, for any consideration. Any contract or agreement specified in this subdivision is not enforceable against a person who acquires title to the accommodations as a bona fide purchaser for value (or successors in interest thereof), unless (1) the purchaser at the time of acquiring title to the accommodations has actual knowledge of the contract or agreement, or (2) a written memorandum of the contract or agreement which specifically describes the terms thereof and the affected real property, and which identifies the owner of the property, has been recorded with the county recorder prior to July 1, 1986, or not less than 30 days prior to transfer of title to the property to the purchaser. The county recorder shall index such a written memorandum in the grantor-grantee index.
As used in this subdivision, “direct financial contribution” includes contributions specified in Section 65916 and any form of interest rate subsidy or tax abatement provided to facilitate the acquisition or development of real property.
(b) Diminishes or enhances, except as specifically provided in Section 7060.2, any power which currently exists or which may hereafter exist in any public entity to grant or deny any entitlement to the use of real property, including, but not limited to, planning, zoning, and subdivision map approvals.
(c) Diminishes or enhances any power in any public entity to mitigate any adverse impact on persons displaced by reason of the withdrawal from rent or lease of any accommodations.
(d) Supersedes any provision of Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 7260) of this division, Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of Division 3 of Title 2 of this code, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code, Part 2 (commencing with Section 43) of Division 1 of the Civil Code, Title 5 (commencing with Section 1925) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1159) of Title 3 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Division 24 (commencing with Section 33000) of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) Relieves any party to a lease or rental agreement of the duty to perform any obligation under that lease or rental agreement.

7060.2. If a public entity, by valid exercise of its police power, has in effect any control or system of control on the price at which accommodations may be offered for rent or lease, that entity may, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, provide by statute or ordinance, or by regulation as specified in Section 7060.5, that any accommodations which have been offered for rent or lease and which were subject to that control or system of control at the time the accommodations were withdrawn from rent or lease, shall be subject to the following:
(a) (1) For all tenancies commenced during the time periods described in paragraph (2), the accommodations shall be offered and rented or leased at the lawful rent in effect at the time any notice of intent to withdraw the accommodations is filed with the public entity, plus annual adjustments available under the system of control.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to all tenancies commenced during either of the following time periods:
(A) The five-year period after any notice of intent to withdraw the accommodations is filed with the public entity, whether or not the notice of intent is rescinded or the withdrawal of the accommodations is completed pursuant to the notice of intent.
(B) The five-year period after the accommodations are withdrawn.
(3) This subdivision shall prevail over any conflicting provision of law authorizing the landlord to establish the rental rate upon the initial hiring of the accommodations.
(b) If the accommodations are offered again for rent or lease for residential purposes within two years of the date the accommodations were withdrawn from rent or lease, the following provisions shall govern:
(1) The owner of the accommodations shall be liable to any tenant or lessee who was displaced from the property by that action for actual and exemplary damages. Any action by a tenant or lessee pursuant to this paragraph shall be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the accommodations from rent or lease. However, nothing in this paragraph precludes a tenant from pursuing any alternative remedy available under the law.
(2) A public entity which has acted pursuant to this section may institute a civil proceeding against any owner who has again offered accommodations for rent or lease subject to this subdivision, for exemplary damages for displacement of tenants or lessees. Any action by a public entity pursuant to this paragraph shall be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the accommodations from rent or lease.
(3) Any owner who offers accommodations again for rent or lease shall first offer the unit for rent or lease to the tenant or lessee displaced from that unit by the withdrawal pursuant to this chapter, if the tenant has advised the owner in writing within 30 days of the displacement of his or her desire to consider an offer to renew the tenancy and has furnished the owner with an address to which that offer is to be directed. That tenant, lessee, or former tenant or lessee may advise the owner at any time during the eligibility of a change of address to which an offer is to be directed.
If the owner again offers the accommodations for rent or lease pursuant to this subdivision, and the tenant or lessee has advised the owner pursuant to this subdivision of a desire to consider an offer to renew the tenancy, then the owner shall offer to reinstitute a rental agreement or lease on terms permitted by law to that displaced tenant or lessee.
This offer shall be deposited in the United States mail, by registered or certified mail with postage prepaid, addressed to the displaced tenant or lessee at the address furnished to the owner as provided in this subdivision, and shall describe the terms of the offer. The displaced tenant or lessee shall have 30 days from the deposit of the offer in the mail to accept the offer by personal delivery of that acceptance or by deposit of the acceptance in the United States mail by registered or certified mail with postage prepaid.
(c) A public entity which has acted pursuant to this section, may require by statute or ordinance, or by regulation as specified in Section 7060.5, that an owner who offers accommodations again for rent or lease within a period not exceeding 10 years from the date on which they are withdrawn, and which are subject to this subdivision, shall first offer the unit to the tenant or lessee displaced from that unit by the withdrawal, if that tenant or lessee requests the offer in writing within 30 days after the owner has notified the public entity of an intention to offer the accommodations again for residential rent or lease pursuant to a requirement adopted by the public entity under subdivision (c) of Section 7060.4. The owner of the accommodations shall be liable to any tenant or lessee who was displaced by that action for failure to comply with this paragraph, for punitive damages in an amount which does not exceed the contract rent for six months.
(d) If the accommodations are demolished, and new accommodations are constructed on the same property, and offered for rent or lease within five years of the date the accommodations were withdrawn from rent or lease, the newly constructed accommodations shall be subject to any system of controls on the price at which they would be offered on the basis of a fair and reasonable return on the newly constructed accommodations, notwithstanding any exemption from the system of controls for newly constructed accommodations.
(e) The amendments to this section enacted by the act adding this subdivision shall apply to all new tenancies created after December 31, 2002. If a new tenancy was lawfully created prior to January 1, 2003, after a lawful withdrawal of the unit under this chapter, the amendments to this section enacted by the act adding this subdivision may not apply to new tenancies created after that date.

7060.3. If a public entity determines to apply constraints pursuant to Section 7060.2 to a successor in interest of an owner who has withdrawn accommodations from rent or lease, the public entity shall record a notice with the county recorder which shall specifically describe the real property where the accommodations are located, the dates applicable to the constraints and the name of the owner of record of the real property. The notice shall be indexed in the grantor-grantee index.
A person who acquires title to the real property subsequent to the date upon which the accommodations thereon have been withdrawn from rent or lease, as a bona fide purchaser for value, shall not be a successor in interest for the purposes of this chapter if the notice prescribed by this section has not been recorded with the county recorder at least one day before the transfer of title.

7060.4. (a) Any public entity which, by a valid exercise of its police power, has in effect any control or system of control on the price at which accommodations are offered for rent or lease, may require by statute or ordinance, or by regulation as specified in Section 7060.5, that the owner notify the entity of an intention to withdraw those accommodations from rent or lease and may require that the notice contain statements, under penalty of perjury, providing information on the number of accommodations, the address or location of those accommodations, the name or names of the tenants or lessees of the accommodations, and the rent applicable to each residential rental unit.
Information respecting the name or names of the tenants, the rent applicable to any residential rental unit, or the total number of accommodations, is confidential information and for purposes of this chapter shall be treated as confidential information by any public entity for purposes of the Information Practices Act of 1977, as contained in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code. A public entity shall, to the extent required by the preceding sentence, be considered an “agency,” as defined by subdivision (d) of Section 1798.3 of the Civil Code.
(b) The statute, ordinance, or regulation of the public entity may require that the owner record with the county recorder a memorandum summarizing the provisions, other than the confidential provisions, of the notice in a form which shall be prescribed by the statute, ordinance, or regulation, and require a certification with that notice that actions have been initiated as required by law to terminate any existing tenancies. In that situation, the date on which the accommodations are withdrawn from rent or lease for purposes of this chapter is 120 days from the delivery in person or by first-class mail of that notice to the public entity. However, if the tenant or lessee is at least 62 years of age or disabled, and has lived in his or her accommodations for at least one year prior to the date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw pursuant to subdivision (a), then the date of withdrawal of the accommodations of that tenant or lessee shall be extended to one year after the date of delivery of that notice to the public entity, provided that the tenant or lessee gives written notice of his or her entitlement to an extension to the owner within 60 days of the date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw. In that situation, the following provisions shall apply:
(1) The tenancy shall be continued on the same terms and conditions as existed on the date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to any adjustments otherwise available under the system of control.
(2) No party shall be relieved of the duty to perform any obligation under the lease or rental agreement.
(3) The owner may elect to extend the date of withdrawal on any other accommodations up to one year after date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to paragraphs (1) and (2).
(4) Within 30 days of the notification by the tenant or lessee to the owner of his or her entitlement to an extension, the owner shall give written notice to the public entity of the claim that the tenant or lessee is entitled to stay in their accommodations for one year after date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw.
(5) Within 90 days of date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw, the owner shall give written notice to the public entity and the affected tenant or lessee of the owner’s election to extend the date of withdrawal and the new date of withdrawal under paragraph (3).
(c) The statute, ordinance, or regulation of the public entity adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) may also require the owner to notify any tenant or lessee displaced pursuant to this chapter of the following:
(1) That the public entity has been notified pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2) That the notice to the public entity specified the name and the amount of rent paid by the tenant or lessee as an occupant of the accommodations.
(3) The amount of rent the owner specified in the notice to the public entity.
(4) Notice to the tenant or lessee of his or her rights under paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 7060.2.
(5) Notice to the tenant or lessee of the following:
(A) If the tenant or lessee is at least 62 years of age or disabled, and has lived in his or her accommodations for at least one year prior to the date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw, then tenancy shall be extended to one year after date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw, provided that the tenant or lessee gives written notice of his or her entitlement to the owner within 60 days of date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw.
(B) The extended tenancy shall be continued on the same terms and conditions as existed on date of delivery to the public entity of the notice of intent to withdraw, subject to any adjustments otherwise available under the system of control.
(C) No party shall be relieved of the duty to perform any obligation under the lease or rental agreement during the extended tenancy.
(d) The statute, ordinance, or regulation of the public entity adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) may also require the owner to notify the public entity in writing of an intention to again offer the accommodations for rent or lease.

7060.5. The actions authorized by Sections 7060.2 and 7060.4 may be taken by regulation adopted after public notice and hearing by a public body of a public entity, if the members of the body have been elected by the voters of the public entity. The regulation shall be subject to referendum in the manner prescribed by law for the ordinances of the legislative body of the public entity except that:
(a) The decision to repeal the regulation or to submit it to the voters shall be made by the public body which adopted the regulation.
(b) The regulation shall become effective upon adoption by the public body of the public entity and shall remain in effect until a majority of the voters voting on the issue vote against the regulation, notwithstanding Section 9235, 9237, or 9241 of the Elections Code or any other law.

7060.6. If an owner seeks to displace a tenant or lessee from accommodations withdrawn from rent or lease pursuant to this chapter by an unlawful detainer proceeding, the tenant or lessee may appear and answer or demur pursuant to Section 1170 of the Code of Civil Procedure and may assert by way of defense that the owner has not complied with the applicable provisions of this chapter, or statutes, ordinances, or regulations of public entities adopted to implement this chapter, as authorized by this chapter.

7060.7. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to supersede any holding or portion of any holding in Nash v. City of Santa Monica, 37 Cal.3d 97 to the extent that the holding, or portion of the holding, conflicts with this chapter, so as to permit landlords to go out of business. However, this act is not otherwise intended to do any of the following:
(a) Interfere with local governmental authority over land use, including regulation of the conversion of existing housing to condominiums or other subdivided interests or to other nonresidential use following its withdrawal from rent or lease under this chapter.
(b) Preempt local or municipal environmental or land use regulations, procedures, or controls that govern the demolition and redevelopment of residential property.
(c) Override procedural protections designed to prevent abuse of the right to evict tenants.
(d) Permit an owner to withdraw from rent or lease less than all of the accommodations, as defined by paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 7060.
(e) Grant to any public entity any power which it does not possess independent of this chapter to control or establish a system of control on the price at which accommodations may be offered for rent or lease, or to diminish any such power which that public entity may possess, except as specifically provided in this chapter.
(f) Alter in any way either Section 65863.7 relating to the withdrawal of accommodations which comprise a mobilehome park from rent or lease or subdivision (f) of Section 798.56 of the Civil Code relating to a change of use of a mobilehome park.