One of the most common questions we get from tenants is - what happens when my landlord sells my building? Tenants, understandably, want to know what their rights are if their rent-controlled building is bought or sold. While it varies by situation, here we attempt to tackle some of the most common issues that come up when there is a transfer of ownership.
No. The sale of a building alone is not a "just cause" for eviction. This means that a new owner cannot simply tell you to leave because they bought the property. Your existing lease agreement carries over and becomes the responsibility of the new landlord, regardless of whether your lease is written or oral. The terms of your tenancy with your previous landlord are binding on your new landlord.
Despite this, we do see situations where sellers and buyers will try to intimidate or pressure tenants into moving out. If you are in a situation where your tenant rights are being violated, speak with us at Wolford Wayne .
Yes. Within reason. If the rent-controlled building is being sold, the owner has a right to show the space to prospective buyers. Tenants cannot simply refuse to allow a landlord to show their apartment, at all. In fact, doing so may be grounds for eviction under the Rent Ordinance. However , you can negotiate the times that best suit your schedule. Per California Civil Code 1954, a landlord is permitted to enter your unit for the purpose of showing it to a potential buyer, upon twenty four hours written notice.
Not necessarily, but there are a few ways a landlord can legally force you to vacate following a sale. As we mentioned previously, your new landlord is not allowed to evict you unless there is just cause because he or she is bound by the same rules as your previous landlord. However, when there has been a transfer of ownership we do see a higher instance of two types of "no fault" evictions which may provide a landlord with legal grounds to evict.These are:
Not really. If you live in a rent controlled building, your home will continue to be covered by rent control. If a new landlord takes over a building where the prior owner did not impose the annual allowable increases, they could impose a small increase to make up for that. However, these increases have to be allowable according to the years in question. For example, if your previous landlord did not take any increases in 2019, 2020, and 2021 your new landlord can charge you rent increases for those three years and your current year.
Additionally, there are some limited situations where a landlord may petition the Rent Board to raise the rent based on an increase in costs to manage the property (operations and maintenance petitions) or if a tenant's rent was artificially low due to a unique relationship with the prior owner (special circumstance petition).
Maybe. Sellers will often give tenants a form, known as an estoppel agreement or tenant questionnaire, to fill out. Sometimes they will tell you that you "have to" fill it out. These forms look harmless enough. They ask tenants to spell out any terms of their lease that may not be included in the written lease agreement itself, so that a potential owner knows what they are getting into. In theory this is great- it means less of a chance of a new owner stepping on your toes. However, if you leave something important out, you risk forfeiting that right altogether. These forms leave only a single line where tenants can list ongoing disputes, repair needs, and rights that they may enjoy that are not in the lease. If you miss this, the new owner may claim you have lost that right altogether because you did not bring it up. For example, if your landlord said you could have a pet even though the lease says otherwise and you don't mention it in the form, they may argue you have no right to keep your pet!
To be safe, we recommend you write a letter rather than filling out the form. Include the pertinent information you want your landlord to have, but make clear that the list is not exhaustive, and instead just those things you can recall off hand. Even if your lease does state you have to fill out the form, consider writing a letter instead. This gives you wiggle room if you later realize you left something important out.
Yes. Buyouts buyouts buyouts. We see a lot of situations where an owner who is looking to sell their building will approach a tenant about a potential buyout of their tenancy. We also see this from new owners. Whether to enter into buyout negotiations - an exchange of money for moving out - is a very personal choice. On one hand it can present an opportunity to recover a substantial sum of money and take away the fear and risk involved in not knowing if the new owner will try and evict you or not. On the other hand, money only goes so far, especially for those tenants who expect to move into another rental unit in the Bay Area. If you have been approached about a buyout, it is important to avoid talking numbers or sitting down with your landlord until you have had a time to discuss your rights and a strategy with a qualified tenant's rights attorney.
It's natural to have concerns when your rent-controlled building is being bought or sold. If you are a long-term tenant living in a rent controlled building and your building is in the process of being sold, contact us today to talk through your rights and to determine a strategy.
At Wolford Wayne , we have experience helping tenants in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco when their rent-controlled building is being bought or sold. We know when your rights are being violated and can help you do something about it. So contact us today for a no-obligation consultation.
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco couple who were forced to give up their home of over twenty years after their landlord’s dog attacked and killed their dog.Read More
Recovered on behalf of an Oakland tenant who suffered a serious injury due to her landlord’s negligent maintenance of her home.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who suffered personal injuries and was forced to vacate his home of fifteen years after dealing with many months of environmental contamination and disruptive and nuisance construction conditions.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a group of 30 tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco who were living with horrendous conditions in their rent controlled apartments, including rodents, bedbugs, mold, water leaks and harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of three families living in a building in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood who were forced to live with substandard conditions for years as a result of their landlord’s negligence, including issues with lack of heat, lack of hot water and cockroach/rat infestations.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a couple living in a rent-controlled home in the outer Sunset neighborhood. Our clients were forced to vacate after the landlord served them with an Owner Move-In Eviction Notice. After the landlords failed to move into the property, our clients filed suit for wrongful eviction.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. Tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board.Read More
Recovered for a single long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of three long-term tenants in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood who were constructively evicted due to noise and nuisance conditions created by their downstairs neighbors, which the owner refused to address.Read More
Recovered on behalf of elderly, disabled tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.Read More
Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two former San Francisco tenants who were evicted via an Owner Move-In Eviction and owner failed to occupy the unit as her primary place of residence.Read More
Recovered on behalf of an elderly long-term tenant who was forced to vacate her long San Francisco apartment as a result of her landlord’s refusal to address longstanding defective conditions, including lack of heat, mold, rodent infestations, and defective plumbing. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owners’ refusal to provide him with alternative housing. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family that was constructively evicted from their home in the Richmond District as a result of unlawful rent increases, defective conditions and tenant harassment.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal “in-law” unit. In this case, a new owner purchased the building and then demolished our client’s unit without permits while she was displaced for seismic retrofitting.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two long term San Francisco tenants who were fraudulently evicted from their home of over twenty years under the pretext of an owner move-in eviction.Read More
Recovered for tenant who was injured when their stairway railing collapsed at the tenant’s Mission District apartment building.Read More
Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment house due to severe habitability defects including mold and water leaks.Read More
