SAN FRANCISCO— Stating that he cannot allow rival property owners to gain a competitive advantage, Bay Area landlord Jeremy Lubbock acknowledged Friday he had added a noncompete clause to his leases that bars tenants from living anywhere else within 90 days of vacating an apartment. “This is a fairly standard practice put in place to make sure that upon moving out of our building, you will not immediately enter into a similar living place somewhere else,” said Lubbock, adding that the restrictive covenant also prohibits accepting any short-term housing arrangement that may come up, such as a hotel room or friend’s apartment, for the full three months. “It would be perfectly fine for a former tenant to sleep in another location as long as they do so outdoors or in a makeshift form of shelter, and not within 150 miles of their previous place of residency. This is simply to ensure that we get you out of the apartment and living in a car in an orderly manner.” Lubbock added that his leases also include a nondisclosure agreement so that renters cannot reveal insider knowledge about the building’s plumbing or heat or whether he’s the type of landlord who stops by unannounced on weeknights to attempt to fix the garbage disposal on his own.

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