Campos proposal aims to help evicted stay in S.F. Ousted tenants would get 2 years of rent help in plan

Patricia Kerman and Tom Rapp were served an Ellis Act eviction notice in August for the apartment they share in the Mission District. They will have to move out by the end of the summer. Patricia Kerman and Tom Rapp were served an Ellis Act eviction notice in August for the apartment they share in the Mission District. They will have to move out by the end of the summer. Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Campos proposal aims to help evicted stay in S.F. 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

San Francisco officials have proposed a number of laws in recent months to help slow evictions of tenants in rent-controlled units and to keep those residents in San Francisco. Now, one city supervisor says he has found an even better way to ensure people can afford to stay in the city.

Supervisor David Campos will introduce legislation Tuesday that would require landlords who evict some tenants to pay the difference between their current rent and what they will have to pay for a similar apartment for two years.

The proposal would impact evictions under the Ellis Act, a state law that allows property owners to kick out tenants if they want to take a building off the rental market.

Between March 2012 and February 2013, 116 households in San Francisco were evicted using the Ellis Act, a practice tenants rights groups say is being used by real estate speculators to clear buildings of mostly low-income families and residents so they can make more money when they sell those units.

"The main objective is to recognize that while landlords have the right under the Ellis Act to evict people, jurisdictions like San Francisco have not only a right but an obligation to mitigate the impacts of those evictions," Campos said. "This is the best way to allow people evicted to stay in San Francisco."

Currently, the city requires building owners to pay each tenant evicted under the Ellis Act $5,261 in relocation fees, with a cap of $15,783 per unit. Disabled or elderly tenants receive an extra $3,508. The amounts are adjusted annually for inflation, and half must be paid at the time an eviction notice is served, the other half once the tenant moves out.

Under Campos' proposal, the difference between a unit's monthly rent and a "comparable" unit would be determined by the city controller's office, multiplied by 24 months and divided among the evicted tenants. An evicted tenant would receive either the $5,261 or the difference in rent, whichever is more.

Landlords push back

Property owners - who point out that households booted out under the Ellis Act account for less than 10 percent of the annual evictions in San Francisco - say they are frustrated with the narrative put forth by tenants rights groups.

Janan New, director of the San Francisco Apartment Association, which represents landlords, said many middle-class people use the Ellis Act simply because they want to move into a building they bought. Campos' proposal, she said, needs to include some sorts of means testing for tenants - "otherwise it's just clear theft."

"It is very creative - and he is acknowledging the ultimate policy goal of transferring wealth from building owners to tenants, so at least they are clear," she said. "The issue we have is how do you establish a definition of what these criteria are? How do you define what a comparable unit is, what a comparable neighborhood is? How do you define current market rate?"

People who lobby for tenants rights disagreed with New's argument that the city should assess tenants' income level or financial worth before forcing landlords to subsidize their rent for another two years.

Sara Shortt, executive director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, said people who are being evicted in San Francisco are overwhelmingly low-income and that any means testing of tenants should be a "broad assessment" of those losing their homes under the Ellis Act.

'Caught in the cross fire'

"That's just across the board what we see ... with every Ellis Act case, the people being evicted are low-income because that's who is caught in the cross fire here. That's why they are long-term tenants - they are people on (Social Security), people who are retired, people working low-wage jobs, immigrant families," she said. "You don't need to do an individual means testing of households to know there is a nexus."

Shortt said the legislation - which was suggested to Campos by people who participated in a recent series of "tenants conventions" - would achieve two goals: cutting down on real estate speculators by taking away an incentive to evict people and buying tenants some time to stay in San Francisco and figure out their next step.

For example, the board recently passed legislation giving long-term tenants evicted under the Ellis Act priority when they apply for affordable housing. Shortt said the two years of subsidized rent could help people waiting for those units to stay in San Francisco until an affordable unit becomes available.

"Where the relocation fees are set now, unfortunately the market has continued to soar - they are woefully inadequate," she said. "This legislation will hopefully help cut down on speculation that results in evictions as well as help tenants who are displaced in finding replacement housing and being able to stay in the city.

"Evictions in San Francisco right now are a one-way ticket out of the city," she added.

Campos, however, was careful to stress that the proposal is aimed solely at keeping tenants in San Francisco, not discouraging Ellis Act evictions. He noted that past court cases have made clear that cities have a right to implement policies aimed at combatting displacement.

'Striking a balance'

"I think we are striking a balance by letting market forces govern what relocation costs look like. It is the fairest way to both sides," he said. "We are confident it would survive a legal challenge. ... It's taken a long time to draft this, and it's consistent with the guidance courts have given us."

For longtime San Franciscans such as 48-year-old Tom Rapp, the legislation may come too late. Rapp has lived in an apartment on 20th Street in the Mission District for 15 years. His roommate, disabled senior Patricia Kerman, has been there for 27 years. They were served an Ellis Act eviction notice in August and will have to move out by the end of the summer.

Rapp, a contract maintenance worker, said the legislation would be a step in the right direction, but it isn't a panacea. He is hopeful he will be able to find a room he can afford with friends, but he has no idea what his roommate will do.

"Whenever I talk about her moving to one of the better (single-room-occupancy hotels), she starts crying," he said. "She's on a fixed income. I have no idea what's going to happen to her. ... The answer is to end the Ellis Act altogether, but anything that makes speculators think twice about doing this will help."