The City of Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program protects tenants from unjust evictions without a cause and from unreasonable rent increases. The law also provides relocation benefits for tenants who are evicted for a no-fault reason.
What Units Have Just-Cause Eviction Protection Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
Every unit or any part of a unit rented as a “home, residence, or sleeping place” has just cause-eviction protection under the Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program, except hotels, hospitals, religious facilities, extended care, licensed elder care, dorms, government owned units, dwelling units where a landlord shares a bathroom or kitchen with the tenant, shelters, accessory dwelling units, and a duplex within a single structure continuously occupied by the owner. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.020(a). Single-family homes, rooming houses, boarding houses, illegal units, and live-work spaces are specifically covered by Concord’s just-cause provisions. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.020(b).
To be protected, a tenant must pay rent for the unit. “Rent” includes nonmonetary compensation as well, such as goods and labor offered for tenancy. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.010(c)(28).
Sections 19.20.020(a) & 19.40.010(c)(12)&(28)
Does My Tenancy Fall Under The State Of California Tenant Protection Act Of 2019 Or The City Of Concord Tenant Protection Program?
The eviction protections under the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“California Rent Control”) apply to all units in Concord that are not covered by the City of Concord Tenant Protection Program and that otherwise meet the requirements of state rent control eviction protections. If your Concord unit is one of the exempt buildings under the City’s law, please read our guide to determine if your unit is covered by California Rent Control eviction protections.
What Are The Just Causes For Eviction Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
A landlord must have a just-cause reason to terminate a tenancy. If a landlord does not have one of the permissible reasons for eviction, they cannot force a tenant out of their home.
The following are the no-fault reasons for eviction:
(1) Default in the payment of rent.
(2) A breach in the material term of the lease, but only after the tenant has been first issued a written notice to correct the violation.
(3) Maintaining, committing, or permitting the maintenance or commission of a nuisance.
(4) Committing waste.
(5) Refusal to execute a written extension or renewal of a lease for an additional term of similar duration with similar provisions.
(6) Criminal activity in a unit or on the property, or any criminal activity or criminal threat, or criminal activity off the property that is directed at other tenants or the landlord.
(7) Assigning or subletting.
(8) Refusal to allow the landlord to enter.
(9) Using a unit for an unlawful purpose.
(10) Employee, agent, or a licensee of landlord failing to vacate.
(11) Failing to vacate after giving notice to vacate or accepting a buyout of the tenancy.
Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(c).
The following are the no-fault reasons for eviction:
(12) Intent to occupy by the landlord or the landlord’s parent, child, spouse or registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild. (Owner or relative move-in eviction.)
(13) Withdrawal of all units from the rental market pursuant to the Ellis Act.
(14) Compliance with a government or court order or local ordinance requiring the unit to be vacated.
(15) Intent to demolish or substantially remodel.
Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(d).
Are There Any Special Protections Against Eviction For Families With School-Age Children Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
Households with children in TK to 12th grade cannot be evicted during the school year for an owner move in, a relative move in, an Ellis eviction, government compliance, demolition, or substantial remodel. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(f). The tenant must notify the landlord of this protection within thirty days of receiving the eviction notice. Id. Notice of termination must contain a warning that a tenant’s failure to submit such a statement within thirty days shall be deemed a waiver. Id.
What Is Required For An Owner Move-In Eviction Or Relative Move-In Eviction In Concord?
An owner must comply with the following requirements:
- An owner- or relative-move-in eviction is not allowed if the owner or family member intending to move in already lives in another unit at the property. The landlord or their relative also cannot evict if there is a similar vacant unit. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(d)(1).
- The owner- or relative-move-in eviction notice must (1) list the name or names and relationship to the landlord of the intended occupant and (2) notify the tenant of the right to proof that the intended occupant is an owner or a family member. Id.
- The intended occupant must move in within ninety days and stay for twenty-four months. Id.
- For both an owner- or relative-move-in eviction, the owner must be a natural person with at least a 25% ownership or have any precent interest as long as 100% of the ownership is among family or is a natural person whose recorded interest in the property is owned through an LLC or partnership. Id.
- A landlord may not evict for an owner- or relative-move-in eviction if a tenant has been in the household for three years and is at least sixty-two years old, disabled, or terminally ill. Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that if left untreated would limit a major life activity. This protection does not apply if the landlord or landlord’s family member who will occupy the unit is either sixty-two or over, disabled, or terminally ill. Id.
- If the intended occupant fails to occupy the covered unit within ninety days or stay for at least twenty-four months, the landlord must reimburse the tenant for reasonable moving expenses incurred. The unit shall only be re-rented at the rent that was in effect at the time the tenant vacated for the owner- or relative-move-in eviction. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(e)(1).
What Is Required For An Ellis Act Eviction In Concord?
An Ellis Act eviction means that the landlord is withdrawing the building from the rental market and going out of the landlord business. This means that all tenants in the building must be evicted, not just one unit.
In general, a landlord must provide a 120-day notice for an Ellis eviction. Tenants who are over sixty-two years old or are disabled are entitled to a one-year notice. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(d)(2). Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that if left untreated would limit a major life activity. Id. The tenant must notify the landlord in writing within sixty days of the protected status. Id.
Within thirty days of receipt of the Ellis notice to terminate, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing of interest in re-renting if any units are re-offered for rent. Id. For a period of ten years, a landlord must provide a 120-day notice to the tenants of the landlord’s intent to re-rent the units. Id.
If within two years, a landlord offers a unit for rent, the displaced tenant shall have the right to return at the same rent and may pursue the landlord in court for actual and exemplary damages. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(e)(2). The action must be brought within three years of the withdrawal of the units from the rental market. Id. If the landlord re-rents within five years, the displaced tenant may return to the unit if the tenant has kept the landlord updated with a current mailing address or email address. Id.
What Constitutes A Substantial Remodel Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
“Substantial Remodel” means work that cannot be done safely with the tenant in the unit, or the replacement or substantial modification of any structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system that requires a permit or the abatement of lead, mold, or asbestos. Painting, decorating, and minor repairs do not qualify. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.010(c)(36).
A landlord must provide the tenant with description of the substantial remodel, the approximate duration of the work, and a copy of the permit or permits. If no permit is required, the landlord must provide a copy of a signed contract with a contractor. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(d)(4).
Do I Have The Right To Return In Concord If I Am Evicted For A Substantial Remodel Or Pursuant To A Government Order?
Provided the tenant notifies the landlord of an intent to reoccupy in writing within thirty days of receipt the eviction notice, a tenant shall have the right to return to a unit at the same rent after a substantial remodel or repairs pursuant to a government order. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.070(e)(3)-(4). If the substantial remodel is not commenced or completed, the landlord must also offer the tenant the right to re-rent at the same rent. Id.
Is A Landlord Required To Pay Statutory Relocation Benefits To Tenants In Concord?
For owner or relative move-in evictions, Ellis evictions, governmental order eviction, demolition, and substantial remodel, a landlord shall pay the household relocation assistance in the amount of three times the Department of Housing and Urban Development fair market rental value for that year for a like-sized unit in Contra Costa County. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.080. If any tenant in the unit is low-income, disabled, sixty-two years old or older, terminally ill, or school-aged, the household will receive an additional month’s rent. Id. Tenants in single-family homes and condominiums are entitled to only two months rent. In addition to the rent, each household will receive $3000, or $2000 for single-family homes and condominiums. Id.
A Landlord must pay temporary relocation assistance to tenants for a substantial remodel if the displacement is thirty days or less. Id. The per diem is equal to the Federal General Services Administration per diem rate for lodging and meals in Concord, Contra Costa County. Id.
What Units Have Rent Caps Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
All units built before February 1, 1995 have rent increase limits under the Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program, except the following: single family homes and condominiums, below market rate units and affordable housing units, hotels, hospitals, religious facilities, extended care, licensed elder care, dorms, government owned units, dwelling units where a landlord shares a bathroom or kitchen with the tenant, shelters, accessory dwelling units, and a duplex within a single structure continuously occupied by the owner. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.020.(a)-(b).
Does My Tenancy Fall Under The State Of California Tenant Protection Act Of 2019 Or The City Of Concord Tenant Protection Program?
The rent-ceiling protections under the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“California Rent Control”) apply to all units Concord that are not covered by the City of Concord Tenant Protection Program and that otherwise meet the requirements of state rent control. If your Concord unit is one of the exempt buildings under the City’s law, please read our guide to determine if your unit is covered by California Rent Control rent caps.
What Are The Allowable Rent Increases Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
For units subject to the rent caps in Concord, a landlord may only increase the rent each year by 3% or 60% of the CPI for all urban consumers for San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, whichever is lower. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.040. Landlords must roll back rents to April 4, 2023, rates, but may be increase by 2.52% for calendar year 2023. Id. Only one increase in rent is allowed per year. Id. No banking is allowed, meaning if a landlord fails to increase the rent by the allowable amount for a year, the increase is forever waived. Id.
Landlord can seek a larger increase by filing a Fair Return Petition. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.050. The landlord must show that the property is no longer making a fair return due to an increase in operating expenses or a decrease in income. Id.
Where a landlord is failing to repair or failing to provide services, a tenant may seek a downward adjustment in rent by filing a Decrease in Services Petition. Id.
The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program is a vacancy decontrol ordinance, which means that a landlord can increase the rent to market rate when the unit becomes vacant. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.040.
Can A Tenant Sue For Wrongful Eviction And Illegal Rent Increase Under The Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program?
A tenant may sue a landlord or anyone assisting a landlord for wrongful eviction or illegal rent collection for injunctive relief, economic damages, statutory damages, and emotional distress. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.120.(a)(1). The statutory damages shall be no less than $2,000, and no more than $5,000, per violation, in the discretion of the court. Id. If the aggrieved tenant is a at least sixty-two years old or disabled, the court may award an additional civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation. Id. In addition to these penalties, the economic damages are automatically tripled. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.120.(a)(2). The award for emotional distress shall also be tripled where the jury finds that the landlord or landlord agent acted in knowing violation of or in reckless disregard of the Concord Residential Tenant Protection Program. Id. Reasonable attorney fees and costs are payable to a prevailing tenant. A landlord can recover attorney fees and costs if a court determines the action was frivolous. Concord, Cal. Mun. Code § 19.40.120.(c).
Tenants should call Tobener Ravenscroft LLP at (415) 504-2165 to speak with a tenant attorney if they have any questions about their local laws or if they believe their landlord has violated the City of Concord Tenant Protection Ordinance.
