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Despite protests from local landlords, Palo Alto is pressing ahead with a new law that would make more tenants eligible for eviction protections.
The new rule would go beyond state legislation on "just cause" evictions, which requires 12 months of tenancy before the renter protection can apply. In Palo Alto, the threshold will now be six months.
The council approved the new law in a "first reading" earlier on Aug. 7 and is scheduled to officially adopt it on Monday, Aug. 21, with a "second reading," which in most cases is a formality.
For advocates for the city's tenants, the move is another positive step by the city to protect renters, who make up roughly 45% of the Palo Alto population. The city is also in the process of enacting a rental registry and of setting a cap on security deposits for unfurnished residences so that they don't exceed 150% of the rent.
Lauren Bigelow, president of the group Palo Alto Renters Association, called just-cause protections "some of the most balanced but impactful protections for a renter."
"Without them, the idea that a renter can be doing everything right and still lose their home looms large," Bigelow told the council during a June 5 discussion of the topic.
"With these protections, there is transparency. People understand that nothing is guaranteed forever, but knowing the reasons you can lose your home gives renters parameters you can operate within," she said.
Council member Vicki Veenker, one of the proponents of the new policy, called rental units "the city's welcome mats." She was one of six council members who supported relaxing the eligibility criteria for just-cause evictions and on setting a cap on the security deposits that landords can charge.
"So protecting those who rent nearly half our residents from being evicted without just cause or being able to reasonably limit moving costs is simply the right thing to do," Veenker said at the June discussion.
But some landlords assert that the opposite is true. During an Aug. 7 hearing, several residents claimed that the proposed solution is wholly unnecessary and potentially burdensome for property owners.
One argued that the new law may deter her from constructing an accessory dwelling unit on her property; another suggested that it would effectively "defund" housing and exacerbate Palo Alto's housing shortage.
Ben Cinz, whose family owns various properties in Palo Alto, said he is concerned about the city enacting a requirement that goes beyond state regulations without demonstrating a need for that to occur.
"I think it's imposing a burden on property owners that doesn't need to exist," Cinz said.
Anil Babar, spokesman for the California Apartment Association, argued that the city is acting rashly by adopting the new rule.
Assembly Bill 1482, a 2019 law that strengthened renter protections and capped rent increases, was adopted after extensive deliberations, he said. There was a reason why state legislators chose 12 months as the threshold, he argued.
The 12-month period, he said, provides both the property owner and the tenant "ample time to determine if this is the right situation."
"It also provides a property owner with ample time to determine if a resident is a good fit for other residents in the property," Babar said.
"Sometimes you have a problem tenant, and other residents have a concern about that particular tenant. There's very little that the owner can do if they're not violating one of the just causes," he said.
The complaints did little to diminish the enthusiasm of the council, which approved the ordinance on its "consent calendar" with little discussion or debate.
The law requires landlords to only terminate tenancies for "just cause," which can be either "at-fault" (when the renter fails to comply with their rental agreement) or "no fault" (when the reason complies with state law but is outside the renter's control, such as when the property undergoes redevelopment).
The ordinance requires landlords to give renters notice of their right to a just-cause eviction and, if such an eviction is to occur, provide a specific reason that justifies it.
Landlords are also required to provide renters with an opportunity to resolve a lease violation before a termination notice is issued. For renters who are evicted through a "no fault" just cause termination, landlords must provide relocation assistance or a rent waiver.
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