The City Council finds and determines that:
A. 
Some rental units and rooms in Napa are found to have severe code violations which threaten the life and safety of occupants and require the units or rooms to be vacated to allow for extensive repairs.
B. 
Such code violations are often caused by deferred maintenance, may breach the landlord's implied warranty of habitability and sometimes constitute constructive eviction of the tenant household from its residence.
C. 
Difficulty of finding replacement housing and incurring moving-related expenses creates a financial hardship for tenant households, particularly those who are low-income.
D. 
Temporary relocation due to fumigation also places a burden on tenant households for which they are not responsible and although the length of relocation is usually short, the household is still faced with inconveniences and expenses.
E. 
The level of services and payments provided in this chapter are similar to those provided to those relocated as a result of government-sponsored rehabilitation programs and are reflective of actual relocation costs likely to be incurred by displaced households.
F. 
The difference in payments between tenant households displaced from units and those displaced from rooms is based on differences in actual costs likely to be incurred.
G. 
The relocation payment obligations imposed on landlords by this chapter partially mitigates the financial hardships faced by tenant households displaced in order to bring the property up to housing code or because of fumigation and have the additional purpose of encouraging landlords to maintain their residential properties in a habitable condition.
(O94-002)
The purpose of this chapter is to provide relocation services and require property owners to make payments to residential tenant households relocated as a result of code enforcement activities or owner-initiated voluntary actions to achieve code compliance or fumigation in order to alleviate hardships associated with such relocations; to facilitate the correction of code violations; and to protect the health, safety and welfare of Napa.
(O94-002)
"Code enforcement" or "code enforcement activity"
means an activity or activities initiated by the city to ascertain the condition of a building and requiring an owner to make necessary repairs to bring the property into compliance with applicable building and housing codes.
"Household" or "tenant household"
means one or more individuals entitled to the occupancy of a rental unit or room who share living expenses.
"Owner"
means a person, persons, landlord, corporation, or any entity holding title to a property or agent or assignee.
"Relocation"
means the required vacating of a residential unit or room by a tenant household and the moving into another unit or room as a result of repairs required to bring the property into code compliance whether such repairs are undertaken because of code enforcement or through voluntary compliance as defined below.
"Rental unit" or "unit"
means a dwelling containing a separate bathroom, kitchen, and living area which is the place of permanent or customary and usual abode of a household, including a single-family dwelling or a unit in a multifamily or multipurpose dwelling, a unit in a condominium or cooperative housing project.
"Room"
means a room in a hotel or boarding house occupied by a tenant for at least 14 consecutive days or a rented room in a private dwelling.
"Voluntary code compliance"
means actions initiated by an owner to voluntarily achieve compliance with applicable building and housing codes.
(O94-002)
A. 
A tenant household may be considered eligible for relocation assistance and payments pursuant to Sections 8.18.060, 8.18.070, 8.18.080, 8.18.090 and 8.18.100 if the city determines that if the condition of a building is such that a household cannot safely occupy the unit or room which while the unit is being rehabilitated and if such condition was not created by the tenant household occupying the unit or room.
B. 
A household relocated due to fumigation shall be eligible for relocation payments as specified in Section 8.18.090(C) and move-back option contained in Section 8.18.100(A) but not for other types of relocation assistance provided by the city or owner.
(O94-002)
A. 
The owner shall be responsible for providing relocation payments to the tenant household required to move because of fumigation or because repairs undertaken to bring the property into code compliance cannot be undertaken with the tenant household in place.
B. 
The owner shall be responsible for providing such payments directly to the household to be displaced or already displaced.
C. 
The owner shall make payments at least 10 days in advance of the move to facilitate relocation. When it is uncertain as to when the unit to be rehabilitated will be ready for re-occupancy, advance payment can be a partial payment sufficient to allow relocation to take place. The remaining amount owed pursuant to this chapter shall be made in a timely manner in order to prevent hardship to the tenant household.
D. 
Relocation payments shall not be required for repairs which are required as a result of any natural disaster or emergency not caused by the owner, including, but not limited to, a fire, earthquake or flood.
(O94-002)
A. 
The city shall assist households to be relocated as a result of code enforcement activities or owner-initiated voluntary actions to achieve code compliance by providing information, referral, monitoring, and other relocation advisory assistance aimed at facilitating the household's move.
B. 
Whenever a building containing a residential rental unit or room or portion thereof is declared to be a substandard or deficient building pursuant to the Napa Municipal Code, the Building Official shall also determine whether the repairs necessary to abate the substandard or deficient conditions can be reasonably accomplished without vacation of such building, or portion thereof, by its occupants.
C. 
If the Building Official issues a notice of violation but does not find that vacation is necessary, any affected tenant may file a written request for a hearing by the City Manager or designee describing the reasons for such request with the City Manager. If the Building Official determines that vacation is necessary to repair a substandard or deficient building containing a residential rental unit or room, he or she shall mail or personally deliver a notice of necessity to vacate building and a summary of the provision of this chapter to the building's owner and to each affected household in the building.
D. 
The issuance by the Building Official of a notice of necessity to vacate building shall not relieve the building owner of his or her obligation to provide a notice of termination of tenancy imposed by any provision of state law or ordinance. Any such notice which the owner serves upon a tenant household shall refer to and shall be accompanied by a copy of this chapter. Each tenant household which has been served with such a notice of termination shall notify the owner by registered mail of the estimated amount of payments to which the tenant household is entitled pursuant to Section 8.18.090 of this chapter within 20 days after receipt of such notice. If payment is to be made in more than one installment, the tenant household shall notify the owner of the remaining amount owed.
E. 
Within 10 days after receipt of the tenant's notice referred to in subsection D, the owner shall either make such payment directly to the tenant household or file a written request for a hearing by the City Manager or designee describing the reasons for such request with the City Manager if the owner wishes to contest the estimated relocation payment amounts or the tenant household's eligibility for relocation payment.
F. 
A hearing shall be scheduled before the City Manager or designee to consider the issues described in the appeal document within 30 days after filing of the appeal. The owner and all affected tenants shall be notified by mail of the time and place of the hearing at least 10 days before the date of hearing. The City Manager or designee shall render a decision on any such appeal within 10 days after the close of the hearing. The decision shall be final.
G. 
Nothing in this section shall in any way preclude or limit any aggrieved party from seeking judicial review after such person has exhausted the administrative remedies provided by this section. However, it shall be conclusively presumed that a litigant has not exhausted his or her administrative remedies as to any issue which is not raised in the administrative proceedings authorized herein.
(O94-002)
A. 
Whenever an owner applies for a building permit to rehabilitate a property or to make repairs to a residential rental property, he or she shall be required to specify whether such rehabilitation or repairs will necessitate that the tenant or households vacate the premises.
B. 
The city shall provide the owner with a notice containing information about tenants' relocation rights and a city contact number where additional information can be received as well as a copy of the relocation ordinance. Within 10 days of the building permit application, an owner must serve all affected tenants with a notice and a copy of the ordinance in both of the following cases:
1. 
The owner has determined that relocation will be necessary to undertake repairs to bring the property into code compliance.
2. 
The Building Department determines that substantial rehabilitation is involved even if the owner asserts that the repairs can be undertaken with the tenant(s) remaining in place.
C. 
Acknowledgement of receipt by the tenant(s) of the above information must be supplied by the owner to the Building Official before the city's issuance of the building permits necessary to undertake repairs. Such acknowledgement may be in the form of the tenant's signature asserting receipt, or other proof substantiating that the notice was received by the affected tenant(s).
D. 
Any affected tenant may request that the city's Building Official make a determination in cases where he or she does not agree with the owner either as to the necessity to relocate or to remain in place while the repairs to bring the property into code compliance are being undertaken. Such request must be filed within 10 days of the tenant's acknowledgement of receipt of the relocation information provided by the owner.
E. 
Section 8.18.060(D), (E), (F) and (G) of this chapter shall also apply to relocations resulting from voluntary actions taken by the owner to bring a property into code compliance, except that it is the owner rather than the Building Official who shall notify the tenant that the unit will have to be vacated.
(O94-002)
A. 
The City may in its discretion make any of the payments required by Section 8.18.090 in situations where the owner is unwilling or unable to pay for relocation costs and the tenant household is required to be relocated due to code enforcement activity or voluntary action to achieve code compliance. The City shall recover from the owner all costs incurred as a result of making such payments. In order for the city to consider such payments, a request must be made by the tenant household to the City Manager within 20 days from the owner's refusal to make the required payments.
1. 
In the above cases, the city shall first mail, by certified mail, a written notice to the owner of the owner's obligation under this chapter to provide relocation assistance and payment and the time limit within which payment is to be made. The notice shall also specify failure to make required payments may result in the city making such payments on behalf of the owner and the consequences to the owner of the city's action.
2. 
If within 10 days of the notice the owner continues to refuse to make the necessary payments, the city may make the required relocation payment to the household. The City shall then bill the owner for the amount of payment, plus any administrative and other costs it would not have otherwise incurred. If the owner does not make payment within a 60 day period, the city shall record a lien on the property from which the household was relocated with the County Recorder and provide notice of such lien to the property owner and to the county assessor. The lien amounts shall accrue interest at 10% per annum until the lien is discharged. The lien shall be subordinate to all existing special assessment liens previously imposed upon the property and shall be paramount to all other liens except for state, county and municipal taxes and special assessments.
(O94-002)
A. 
Payments for relocation from rental units households to be relocated from rental units in order to bring the property into code compliance requirements other than fumigation shall be eligible for the following payments:
1. 
A one-time dislocation allowance of $200.00 to help defray incidental relocation expenses.
2. 
The household's choice of a fixed or actual moving and storage expense payment subject to the following requirements:
a. 
If a fixed payment is chosen, a payment of $400.00 shall be made if both moving and storage of household goods are necessary. If no storage is required, the fixed payment shall be $200.00. No documentation is necessary to receive a fixed payment. In cases of disputes as to whether storage is required, the city shall be asked to make that determination. The city's determination is final.
b. 
Payment for actual documented moving and storage expenses shall include both movement to the replacement unit(s) and movement back to the original unit. Payment shall not exceed the rates established by the California Public Utilities Commission.
3. 
A replacement housing payment equal to the documented difference between the rent and utilities paid on the unit being rehabilitated and the lesser of:
a. 
Rent and utilities in the replacement unit; or
b. 
An amount equal to 10% above the fair market rent guidelines maximum used for the Section 8 Existing Housing Program or its equivalent by bedroom size of the unit being rehabilitated. The rent differential payment shall be made until such time that the unit from which the household was relocated is available for occupancy but not to exceed three months.
B. 
Payments for Relocation From Rental Rooms. Payments for relocation from rooms, except for solely fumigation purposes, shall be as follows:
1. 
Actual, documented moving and storage costs, not to exceed the rates established by the California Public Utilities Commission.
2. 
A replacement housing payment equal to the lesser of:
a. 
The documented difference between rent and utilities on the room to be vacated and a replacement dwelling; or
b. 
The Fair Market Rent Guidelines maximum for a one bedroom unit used for the Section 8 Existing Housing Program.
The rent differential shall be paid until such time as the room from which the household was relocated is available for occupancy but not to exceed three months.
C. 
Payments for Relocation Due to Fumigation. Payments for relocation from units or rooms as a result of fumigation shall be the lesser of:
1. 
The difference between rent on the unit or room being fumigated and the replacement room or unit; or
2. 
An amount equal to 10% above the Section 8 Fair Market Rent Guidelines maximum or its equivalent by bedroom size of the unit being fumigated prorated for the number of days the tenant household cannot occupy their unit, and a prorated amount equal to the Section 8 Fair Market Rent Guidelines maximum for a one-bedroom unit when a room is vacated because of fumigation.
D. 
Payment to Multiple Households Occupying a Unit or Room. Payments for relocation from a unit occupied by more than one household shall be divided among the households according to amount of space occupied in the unit. Payments for relocation from a room shall be shared equally among the households.
(O94-002)
A. 
A household displaced due to repairs or rehabilitation undertaken to bring a property into code compliance or because of fumigation shall have the option of moving back into the unit or room from which it was required to move as soon as the unit is ready for re-occupancy.
B. 
If a household wishes to avail itself of this option, it must inform the owner by registered mail of its current address at all times during the period of displacement.
C. 
As a general rule, owners shall notify a relocated household at least 30 days in advance by registered mail of the availability of the unit or room. If a shorter notice is given and the household indicates that it wishes to move back, the unit or room must be held vacant at no cost to the household for a period of 35 days after the mailing of the notice of availability.
D. 
Within five days of receipt of notice of availability of the unit or room, a household wishing to move back must personally notify the owner in writing or by registered mail if it wishes to move back.
(O94-002)
In addition to any other penalty or remedy available or imposed by any other law or equity, any person violating any provision or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an infraction as set forth in Chapter 1.20 of the Napa Municipal Code.
(O94-002)
Any person or organization aggrieved by a violation of any provision of this chapter shall have the right to file an action for injunctive relief and/or damages. Treble damages shall be awarded for willful failure to comply with the payment obligation established by this chapter.
(O94-002)