§ 66-98. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accommodations means either of the following:

(1)

The residential rental units in any detached physical structure containing four or more residential units.

(2)

With respect to a detached physical structure containing three or fewer residential rental units, the residential rental units in that structure and in any other structure located on the same parcel of land, including any detached physical structure specified in subsection (1) of this definition.

Affiliate means, with respect to an owner, any natural person who or business entity that is controlled by or controls the owner. For purposes of this definition, "control" of a natural person or business entity means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of its management or policies, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.

Good cause means:

(1)

Failure to pay rent, except when the court concludes that the tenant acted within his or her legal rights in withholding rent;

(2)

Performance of a dangerous or illegal act in the accommodation;

(3)

Material breach of the rental agreement and failure to correct the breach within 30 days of notice; or

(4)

Maintenance of a nuisance and failure to abate within a reasonable time following notice.

Low-income tenants means persons and families whose income does not exceed the qualifying limits for lower-income families as established and amended from time to time pursuant to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, or as otherwise defined in Health and Safety Code § 50079.5. The city shall maintain and provide to owners and tenants information concerning current income levels which qualify tenants as "low income" under this definition.

Mass eviction means the eviction by an owner of multiple tenants residing on one or more parcels within the city, where the notices of termination provided to the tenants require that 25 or more of the accommodations be vacated within any 30-day period. For purposes of determining whether or not this numeric threshold is satisfied, all evictions by an owner or any affiliate of the owner shall be counted in the aggregate.

Notice of termination means the written notice by which an owner terminates a tenant's right to occupancy in an accommodation. For purposes of this article, a "notice of termination" will be considered valid if it complies with all applicable sections of state law and the terms of the agreement governing the tenant's occupancy of the accommodation.

Owner means the record holder of fee title to the property, or the successor in interest thereto. It does not include the lessor, sublessor, agent or representative of the owner.

Residential rental units includes both single-family detached dwellings and multifamily dwellings.

Tenant means any renter, tenant, subtenant, lessee, or sublessee of a residential rental property, or the successor to a tenant's interest, or any group of tenants, subtenants, lessees, or sublessees of residential rental property, or any other person entitled to the use or occupancy of such residential rental property and includes a former tenant displaced by the withdrawal of an accommodation from rent or lease.

Withdrawal means the eviction of all tenants from accommodations in connection with the removal of the accommodations from the residential rental market. To the extent that owners of withdrawn accommodations desire to convert such accommodations to other uses, including but not limited to condominiums, community apartments, stock cooperatives, other forms of owner occupancy, or other change in use, or to permanently remove them from the rental housing market by demolition, or otherwise remove them by means other than withdrawal, such owners must also obtain all required permits and approvals from the city in addition to complying with this article.

(Ord. No. 2002-03, § 1(16.150.030), 2-21-2002)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.