When the city manager determines that a dwelling unit must be
vacated and is not habitable, or is in such a condition as to declare
it imminently dangerous to life, limb, health, property or safety
of its tenants the general public or adjacent property the property
owner will be responsible for:
A. Paying
costs associated with the relocation of affected tenants. These costs
will include one of the following:
1. The
immediate payment, by cashier's check or money order, or the greater
of:
a. Two months fair market value rent for a comparable, legal residential
rental dwelling that is decent, safe and sanitary, and without pending
enforcement action; or
b. Two months of the tenant's actual rent at the time of displacement.
Fair market rent shall be determined based on the most current Federal
Department of Housing and Urban Development schedule. The payment
required by this section shall be made directly to the property owner/manager
of the relocation dwelling. The property owner is also responsible
for reasonable moving and storage costs; or,
2. Other
arrangements of equal benefit as the arrangements set forth above,
which are agreeable to the primary tenant whose signature appears
on the lease agreement (if any) as evidenced by a written agreement
between the tenant and property owner and executed by same. Such an
agreement shall, at a minimum, contain each of the following components:
a. The names of all legal occupants or tenants of the dwelling being
vacated and the name of the adult person designated as the head of
household;
b. The specific address of the dwelling, including a unit number, which
the tenant must vacate;
c. A statement of the amount of the relocation payment or other benefit
conferred on the tenant;
d. If the tenant will not receive a relocation payment, an express statement
of waiver from each affected adult tenant and a statement describing
the alternative arrangement of equal benefit to be provided to the
ten-ant; and
e. The address(es) to which the tenant(s) will relocate.
3. When
a tenant is required to vacate a dwelling unit with less than thirty
days' notice, the payment required by this article shall also include
the immediate payment of one additional month's fair market rent or
the provision of alternative decent, safe and sanitary legal housing
for thirty days after the tenant vacates, whichever the tenant prefers.
4. "Immediate
payment" means payment delivered on or before the tenant vacates the
dwelling unit.
5. Payments
required under this article are in addition to and separate from the
refund of any security deposit or other payment required by law.
B. Establishing
Proof of Compliance. The property owner shall provide or cause to
be provided to the city manager, a copy of the cashier's check(s)
or money order(s) necessary for relocation and receipt signed by the
new property owner/manager. Or, in the alternative, a copy of the
fully executed agreement between the property owner and tenant evidencing
an alternative arrangement pursuant to this section. The property
owner shall provide the required documents to the city manager within
five days of the date the tenant vacates the property.
C. Right
of First Refusal. A tenant evicted or required to vacate a residential
structure under this article shall be given the right of first refusal
to reoccupy the same dwelling unit from which the tenant was displaced,
or a comparable dwelling unit within the same building, once the dwelling
unit has been made habitable.
1. The
property owner shall, at the time the tenant vacates, provide written
notice advising the tenant of the right of first refusal. The notice
shall include a current address and telephone number that can be used
by the tenant to contact the owner.
2. It
is the tenant's responsibility to provide the owner with contact information
consisting of the tenant's current address to be used for future notification,
and to provide updated contact information to the owner if there is
any change in the information.
3. Thereafter,
when the dwelling unit or building becomes habitable, the property
owner shall give written notice to the tenant advising the tenant
that a dwelling unit is ready for occupancy. The written notice shall
be made by certified mail, return receipt requested and a copy shall
be provided to the city manager.
4. If
the property owner cannot locate a previous tenant after two attempts
over a period of two weeks, the property owner shall be deemed to
have complied with the right of first refusal provision of this article,
and the tenant's right of first refusal is forfeited.
5. "Right
of first refusal" means the right of a tenant to re-occupy the dwelling
unit formerly occupied by the tenant at the same rental rate for a
period of six months, or a comparable dwelling unit in the same building,
once the dwelling unit has been made habitable.
D. Exceptions.
The property owner is not required to provide relocation if, based
upon written documentation submitted by the property owner and other
interested parties including affected tenants, and following a hearing
as provided in this section, the hearing officer finds in writing
that:
1. The
tenant is more than thirty days in default of rent at the time the
dwelling is to be vacated (except a tenant lawfully withholding rent
for correction of unsafe or hazardous conditions); or
2. The
tenant refuses to vacate after timely payment of the relocation benefit;
or
3. The
tenant has caused or substantially contributed to the conditions giving
rise to the need for abatement; or
4. The
building becomes unsafe or hazardous due to unforeseen events or natural
disasters that are beyond the control of the property owner and the
owner's action or inaction did not contribute to the impact on the
building.
E. Request
for Determination of Exception—Notice to Affected Tenants.
1. A property owner may request a hearing before the hearing officer to determine whether one or more of the exceptions set forth above apply. Any such request must be made in writing to the city manager within seven days following receipt of the notice to abate a code violation. The property owner shall simultaneously provide affected tenants with a copy of the request for a hearing, together with copies of any written materials provided in support of the request, and, once ascertained, shall also promptly notify any such tenants of the date and time of the hearing. Following the hearing, a written determination of the hearing officer shall be provided by first class mail and/or certified mail to the property owner and to any interested person who submitted written documentation or a written request for a copy of the determination. The determination of the hearing officer may be appealed to the appeal board pursuant to Section
19.05.014. Notwithstanding any other provision of the city's code or other law, the filing of a request for exception or the taking of an administrative appeal from a hearing officer's determination on the request for exception shall not stay the property owner's obligations under this article.
2. Failure
to request a hearing for a determination of exception within the time
set forth in this section shall be deemed a waiver by the property
owner of the right to an exception.
F. Failure
to Perform. If the property owner is responsible for relocation and
fails to comply with the obligations set forth in this article, a
certificate of nuisance and/or a lien for the actual costs of relocation
and enforcement actions may be assessed against the property. Nothing
herein shall be construed to obligate the city to provide any relocation
assistance.
G. Private
Right of Enforcement. Affected tenants may bring an action against
the property owner to enforce the obligations set forth in this article.
(Ord. 03-1 § 2; Ord. 04-5 § 3; Ord. 12-11 § 3)