Landlord 'nightmare' in eviction attempt S.F. HOUSING

Jan sits on the floor of her bedroom where she's says she has had to move her office equipement for fear of it being stolen by her tenent. Jan Sluizer says tenant Lou Podover moved in in July after responding to a Craigslist ad and has not been paying rent or the security deposit he promised. She also alleges he is stealing from her and smokes in the house. San Francisco, CA Wednesday August 28th, 2012. less Jan sits on the floor of her bedroom where she's says she has had to move her office equipement for fear of it being stolen by her tenent. Jan Sluizer says tenant Lou Podover moved in in July after responding ... more Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Landlord 'nightmare' in eviction attempt 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Janet Sluizer knew she was taking a bit of a chance when she turned to Craigslist this summer to find a tenant for her apartment in the Mission. What she didn't expect was that she'd be spending thousands of dollars in a struggle to evict a roommate who she says hasn't paid rent beyond the first month.

"This is a nightmare," Sluizer said.

It's a nightmare that landlord advocates say is all too common in San Francisco, where 64 percent of residents rent.

"What she's experiencing is not unusual," said Janan New, executive director of the San Francisco Apartment Association. "The rental housing market in San Francisco is quite complicated and complex to manage."

According to New, a combination of confusing rent ordinances and an abundance of free legal resources for tenants make it difficult for inexperienced landlords to evict someone on their own.

"If you attempt to evict a tenant, even if it's a simple non-pay issue, we recommend you hire an attorney to do that," New said.

Sluizer's fight to evict her tenant serves as a cautionary tale for those who want to bring in extra money by renting out a room in their home.

It was less than a week after Louis Podover moved in that Sluizer, an independent radio journalist, decided she wanted him out after she says she did not receive the security deposit or last month's rent that she requested on move-in day, July 18. She said her three-story home smelled of cigarettes even though she forbade smoking. She filed a police report after discovering that several pieces of jewelry were missing from a box in her bedroom.

Denies accusations

Podover said in a brief interview that he made all payments in cash and denied stealing from Sluizer or smoking in the house. He declined to answer further questions on advice of his lawyer.

"I think she's taking advantage of me," he said.

Sluizer mailed her first 30-day eviction notice to Podover on July 31 using a form she got from the California Apartment Association. But she was later told by her attorney, Saul Ferster, that the notice wouldn't hold up in court because the city requires eviction notices to inform tenants that they could turn to the city's Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board for advice.

The new eviction date is set for Sunday, but Ferster said winning what is called an unlawful detainer suit - to force Podover out - could take up to four months.

"A lot of the situations in other counties would be dealt simply with a 30-day notice and that's the end of it," Ferster said. "In San Francisco, you just can't do that."

According to Superior Court records, seven unlawful detainer suits have been filed against Podover in San Francisco. Landlord attorney Drexel Bradshaw has a term for those who game the system by paying only the first month's rent and delaying eviction proceedings: professional tenants.

"They move in, they take advantage and they end up living rent free," he said. "A few days before the prospective subtenant is forced to move out, they'll find another landlord of whom they can take advantage."

Necessary safeguards

While Sluizer, 63, may be finding the eviction process difficult, Ted Gullicksen, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, says it's because safeguards some landlords complain about are necessary. Gullicksen said landlords have the upper hand because it's rare for tenants to successfully get free legal counseling and eviction cases go right to the top of court dockets.

"Landlords tend to believe that 'Pacific Heights' was a documentary as opposed to a piece of fiction," he said, referring to the 1990 thriller about a San Francisco tenant who doesn't pay rent and ruins the lives of the landlord couple trying to evict him. "That just hasn't happened."

Both sides have their talking points, said San Francisco Rent Board Executive Director Delene Wolf, but the truth lies somewhere in the middle. She called Sluizer's circumstances a sad story, but said it's not unique to San Francisco.

"If you don't pay rent, you get evicted anywhere in California," she said. "I'm not saying it's simple, but it's as simple as it's going to get."

That's no comfort to Sluizer. She said she takes full responsibility for not getting anything in writing from Podover as soon as he moved in, something that landlord attorneys said is a recipe for disaster. She said she's offered to pay movers and cover a motel for two weeks for Podover, anything to get her peace of mind back.

"This guy is having a field day on my dime," she said. "I just want him out of my house."