City officials sent a stern warning this week to landlords who
operate poverty-stricken housing. Clean it up or pay the price.
City officials sent a stern warning this week to landlords who operate poverty-stricken housing. Clean it up or pay the price.
The Hollister City Council passed an ordinance that penalizes owners of units deemed substandard by the city. If a tenant is forcibly displaced because of crude conditions, the landlord must pay a relocation assistance fee to the tenant.
The fee would include moving costs or the difference in rental cost – for a maximum three moths – between the old and new home.
“It’s the best thing the city can do for tenants,” City Attorney Elaine Cass said.
Examples of substandard housing include illegal units, construction without permits, water heaters not securely trapped, no sewer hookups or illegal electrical installations, according to Cass.
“It’s the tenants who rent that usually suffer,” Cass said.
The city’s code enforcement department has witnessed several occurrences in recent years in which landlords caused a brunt of a premise’s habitation problems – yet tenants had still ultimately paid the price. With high housing costs and a rash of substandard housing in Hollister, many people are forced into worse situations or even homelessness.
Other cities, such as San Jose have “very effectively” followed a similar code enforcement policy, according to Cass. Hollister’s ordinance takes effect Feb. 5.
Councilman Tony Bruscia emphasized a need to change policies regarding substandard housing. He expressed his desire at the City Council meeting to prevent situations in which tenants are “thrown out on the street.” The Council passed the ordinance unanimously.
Under Hollister’s new ordinance, Code Enforcement Officer Tim Burns would post a notification stating the violation and the city’s warning that the home is not fit for habitation. The city would include all tenants rights in the notice. The ordinance also calls for Spanish translation of a tenant’s rights – namely the relocation assistance fee.
Burns said the city will next “put together a program” for dealing with the ordinance.
“It gives us some alternatives in how we can better assist the people (who are victimized),” Burns said.
He said the ordinance was “absolutely” a good idea because it holds owners more accountable. It does not, however, give landlords responsibility for relocation fees if natural catastrophes or tenants’ actions cause the problem.
Landlords will be obligated to offer emergency relocation assistance under three categories of displacement. “Emergency relocation assistance” is defined as a situation in which the city orders the unit vacated immediately. “Temporary relocation assistance” is defined as a situation in which the city displaces tenants on a non-emergency basis for up to 60 days. And “permanent relocation assistance” is defined as a situation of displacement for more than 60 days.
Under permanent relocation assistance – aside from landlord obligations to pay the difference in rent or moving costs – the landlord also may be ordered to pay employment and education transportation costs or offer “security” for tenants’ furnishings left behind during a transition period. They also may have to offer alternative housing.
Additionally, a landlord cannot evict a tenant after receiving the city’s notice – an action to presumably avoid paying any relocation fees – unless the eviction is lawful.
