In 2019 the City of Hayward enacted the Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance, which caps annual rent increases and restricts evictions to only those reasons listed in the Ordinance.  Here is a summary of the Ordinance’s eviction control provisions.

Notification Requirement

Landlords are required to provide tenants with notice of the ordinance by posting the notice in the common area of the building or conspicuous location within the building. Landlords must also notify all current tenants that their unit is subject to the ordinance and provide them with a copy of the Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance handbook. All new tenants must also be notified in writing by the landlord of the ordinance before entering into any verbal or written rental agreement. Failure to provide the required notice will preclude the landlord from increasing the tenant’s rent and constitutes a defense to any unlawful detainer action.  

Exempt Properties

All rental units in Hayward are covered by the just-cause for eviction provisions of the ordinance, except the following: 

• Owner-occupied units where the owner shares the kitchen or bathroom with the tenant.
• Hospitals, extended care facilities, convalescent homes, nonprofit homes for the aged, or dormitories owned and operated by either an educational institution or a private organization.
• Motels, hotels, inns, tourist houses, rooming houses, and boarding houses; provided that such accommodations are not occupied by the same tenant for thirty or more continuous days.
• Nonprofit co-operatives that are owned, occupied, and controlled by a majority of the residents.
• Nonprofit facilities that providing short term treatment, assistance, or therapy for alcohol, drug, or other substance abuse and the housing is provided incident to the recovery program, and where the client has been informed in writing of the temporary or transitional nature of the housing.
• Nonprofit facilities which provide a structured living environment that has the primary purpose of helping homeless persons obtain the skills necessary for independent living in permanent housing if the occupancy is restricted to a limited and specific period of time of not more than 24 months and if the client has been informed in writing of the temporary or transitional nature of the housing at its inception.
• Affordable housing acquisitions and rehabilitation development projects that receive a subsidy or funding from a federal, state, or local agency for the purpose of substantially rehabilitating a property and converting the rental units to affordable rental housing.

Just Cause Reasons for Eviction

Landlords may only evict a tenant residing in a covered unit for a reason recognized by the ordinance.  The ordinance specifies 15 just cause reasons for eviction, which are:

• Failure to pay rent;
• Breach of the lease;
• Willful and substantial damage to the unit;
• Refusal to sign a new lease that is materially the same as the original lease;
• Nuisance;
• Unreasonably preventing landlord’s entry to the unit upon proper written notice;
• Temporary eviction for substantial repairs when necessary to bring the unit up to code compliance and the landlord has obtained any necessary and required permits to do so;
• Demolition of the unit when landlord has obtained any necessary and required permits to do so;
• Owner or relative move-in;
• Owner move-in pursuant to lease provision allowing owner to move into the unit;
• Tenant is convicted of using the unit for illegal purposes;
• Tenant is using the unit to manufacture, distribute, sell, or possess a controlled substance as defined by California law;
• Breach of reasonable written rules and regulations applicable to all tenants;
• Lawful termination of a tenant’s employment as resident manager; and
• Threats by a tenant to commit a crime that could result in death or great bodily harm to another person on the property, where a police report of the threat has been made.

Relocation Benefits

Hayward has also enacted a Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance which requires the landlord to pay relocation assistance for tenants who are evicted through a no-fault eviction such as an owner move-in, demolition, or temporary eviction to conduct substantial repairs.  Hayward, Cal. Mun. Code § 12-2.01. Landlords are required to notify existing tenants of their rights under the ordinance within thirty days of the effective date and are required to notify all new tenants prior to their tenancy.

Most units in the City of Hayward are covered under the relocation benefits ordinance except the following properties:

• Hospitals, extended care facilities, convalescent homes, nonprofit homes for the aged, or dormitory owned and operated by either an educational institution or a private organization which offers spaces in rooms for rent in conjunction with the providing of services such as meals, cleaning services, and social programs;
• Motels, hotels, inns, tourist houses, rooming houses, and boarding houses; provided that such accommodations are not occupied by the same tenant for thirty or more continuous days;
• Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a kindergarten and grades 1 to 12;
• Owner-occupied units where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the owner;
• Owner-occupied single-family homes where the owner rents no more than two rooms or units, including an accessory dwelling unit on the property;
• Duplexes where the owner has lived in one unit as their principle place of residence since the beginning of the tenancy;
• Single-family homes and condominiums with owners who are not real estate trusts, LLCs, or corporations; and
• Buildings built within the last fifteen years.  Hayward, Cal. Mun. Code § 12-2.12.

Tenants are entitled to either a payment of one month’s rent or a waiver of the last month’s rent.  Hayward, Cal. Mun. Code § 12-2.03. When a landlord does not provide relocation assistance for a no-fault eviction, the termination notice becomes void.  Id.

Tenant Remedies for Violation(s) of the Ordinance(s)

Tenants may bring a lawsuit against their landlord for violating the ordinance.  Hayward, Cal. Mun. Code § 12-1.18.  If a landlord demands, accepts, receives, or retains improper rent from the tenant, the landlord will be liable for actual damages, attorney fees and costs.  “Willful” or malicious violations of the ordinance subject the landlord to a penalty of $500 or three times the amount of money the landlord improperly charged collected, or retained, whichever amount is greater. 

Additionally, a landlord’s failure to comply with the notice provisions of the relocation benefits ordinance constitutes an infraction authorizing a fine up to a $100 for the first conviction, $200 for the second conviction, and $500 for the third conviction.  Additional violations constitute a misdemeanor subjecting the landlord to a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for six months, or both. 

Please contact Lynx Legal with any questions regarding Hayward’s eviction control ordinance, or if you are ready to start a case.  We can be reached at 888-441-2355 or [email protected].  You may also schedule a telephonic consultation on our website.