No doubt the last two years of moratoriums, eviction rules, required disclosures, declarations of Covid-19 related financial distress, and applications for rental assistance have our heads spinning. As a result, we find ourselves wondering when will the old way of...
Month: January 2021
Unreasonable HOA Board: You Can Act and Cause the Entire Board of Directors to be Removed
Who hasn’t heard a horror story concerning an HOA Board of Directors abusing its powers? If you are facing a similar situation, don’t panic; the law addresses this issue and allows homeowners to remove an entire Board of Directors. Introduction A Homeowners’...
ZFP’s Clients Obtain Court-Ordered Stay of San Francisco’s New 10-Day Notice Law
For over 100 years in California, when tenants fail to timely pay rent or otherwise breach lease obligations, landlords have been entitled to bring legal actions for possession of rental units (an “unlawful detainer”), after first serving tenants with a three-day...
Did Senate Bill 8 impact the definition of “housing development project” under the Housing Accountability Act?
The California Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 (“SB 8”) in 2021, which was intended to add further protections to California’s Planning and Zoning laws to increase the supply of housing. While SB 8 accomplished that by clarifying and strengthening various provisions...
Three Things Landlords Should Know About Habitability
A decision by the California Supreme Court in 1974 established that all rental agreements in the state include an implied warranty of habitability. This implied warranty binds anyone who rents or leases their property, regardless the explicit language within any...
Does the Housing Accountability Act Apply to My Project? ZFP’s Clients Test the Law’s Boundaries.
California’s Housing Accountability Act (Government Code section 65589.5) requires local governments to approve code-compliant housing development projects. If a city denies a housing development project without making specific findings of an unmitigable “public...
The San Francisco Owner Move-In Eviction
In general, virtually all San Francisco residential tenants enjoy eviction controls. This means that even though a tenant's lease has expired, a landlord still may only evict a tenant for one of the sixteen reasons provided for in the San Francisco Rent Ordinance. New...
Zacks, Freedman & Patterson, PC is Pleased to Announce the Opening of Two New Office Locations
Zacks, Freedman & Patterson, PC is pleased to announce the opening of two new office locations in the East Bay and Monterey Bay! While Zacks, Freedman & Patterson, PC has been in San Francisco for more than 30 years, we have consistently provided real...
Thinking of Utilizing SB 9 in San Francisco? Better Act Fast.
The Legislature has passed a series of increasingly aggressive housing laws that loosen local zoning requirements and remove local discretion over housing projects. One of the latest bills, SB 9, permits owners of certain properties in urban, single-family zoned...
San Francisco Imposes Additional Requirements on Property Owners Looking to Build ADUs; Increases Consequences of Removing Tenant Housing Services
Beginning December 12, 2021, property owners must meet additional requirements to add Additional Dwelling Units, or ADUs, under the San Francisco local program. In San Francisco, there are several different ADU programs available to property owners. The state program...