1. City Council Potential Modifications to Tenant Protection Ordinance
James Wong, Senior Project Manager
October 22, 2018

2. Recommendation
Finding of CEQA exemption under “General Rule”, Section 15061(b)(3)
Receive staff report on potential modifications to the Tenant Protection Ordinance
Provide further direction to staff

3. Background
TPO requires landlords of multifamily rental units to pay relocation benefits under only five (5) circumstances:
1. Demolition
2. Permanent removal of unit from market
(including condo conversion)
3. Occupancy by landlord or landlord’s
family member
4. Government order to vacate

4. Background 5. Tenants evicted from educational
institution-owned housing who meet the
following criteria:
Tenant’s status as student, faculty or
staff has been discontinued for 365
days or more prior to eviction notice
Tenant must be in good-standing and
be income-eligible

5. Background Income-Eligibility for TPO benefits:
140% or less of median income
Household Size
Median Income
140% Median Limit 1
$48,500
$67,900 2
$55,450
$77,360 3
$62,350
$87,290 4
$69,300
$97,020 5
$74,850
$104,790

6. Background TPO Relocation Allowance: TPO Moving Expense allowance:
$1,306 for adult household
$3,935 for household w/ dependents, seniors, disabled persons
Unit Size
HUD FMR
RELO Allow (FMR x 2)
Studio
$1,067
$2,134
1-BR
$1,284
$2,568
2-BR
$1,663
$3,326
3-BR
$2,231
$4,462
4-BR
$2,467
$4,934

7. Background TPO Cases FY 2019: 6 cases processed
$47,471 avg income TPO-eligible tenants
$3,874 avg TPO benefit amount
7 cases in progress

8. Background Survey of Other Cities
Only 19 cities in CA have local policies addressing tenant protections, just cause evictions, and/or rent control
Within LA County, only 6 cities have adopted one or more of such ordinances: Pasadena, Glendale, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood
17 CA cities have just cause ordinances

9. TPO Modification Options
Option #1: Require landlords to pay TPO relocation benefits to all tenants
Reason for tenancy termination is other than the five (5) “trigger” circumstances
Tenant in good standing, income-eligible per TPO cap, has at least 10 years tenancy
TPO relocation amount determined by length of tenancy: “Base” TPO amount if up to 10 years of tenancy, 200% of Base TPO if 20+ years of tenancy.

10. TPO Modification Options
Option #2: Increase or eliminate 140% AMI income cap
Current 140% AMI cap for 2-person household is $72,590.
Income cap would be $99,801 if increased to 180% AMI
However, the five (5) circumstances that trigger applicability of TPO would still apply

11. TPO Modification Options
Option #3: Expand TPO applicability to units vacated for property upgrades and re-occupancy at higher rent.
Tenant eligibility to claim relocation benefit is based on landlord certifying that eviction is to upgrade property and increase rent
May be difficult to administer/enforce as it would rely on landlord voluntarily providing a written certification

12. TPO Modification Options
Option #4: Expand TPO applicability to large rent hikes which exceed a specified percentage increase.
Other cities are considering this option
This option requires further study as to legality and impacts
Potentially creates a heavy administrative burden due to high number of TPO cases likely to be generated

13. Possible Unintended Impacts
Increase operating costs for apartment owners
Cause upward pressure on rents
Discourage private investment in rental properties
Cause delays in or jeopardize development of projects that contain Inclusionary units
Administrative impacts requiring additional staff and funding resources

14. Potential TPO Modifications
End of presentation

15. Background Just cause eviction ordinances
Landlords can evict tenants only for certain reasons, including:
Failure to pay rent
Breach of lease
Owner move-in
Permanent removal of unit from market
Repairs that make unit uninhabitable