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Old 05-01-2016, 07:05 PM
 
12 posts, read 41,721 times
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I've been living in an in-law unit on the bottom level of a house--not sure if it's a legal unit or not, the landlord claims it is--and the landlord has served a 60 day termination of tenancy notice because he wants to sell his house and either no one's interested because it comes with a tenant, or he's not getting as much as he wants for it and figures he can get more without a tenant. I went to the SF Rent Board to get more details about the legalities of the situation, and they said technically you're not allowed to force a tenant to leave just because you want to sell, and you can only evict if the reason falls under a specific number of Just Causes. He could do an "owner move-in" or "Ellis Act" eviction but that would require the landlord pay a relocation fee of around $5000. They also said the papers he gave me weren't legit and I could actually file a wrongful eviction claim on him because what he's doing isn't really legal.

The guy is pretty old, he says he wants to sell because he and his wife are too old to take care of the house and move somewhere smaller, at the same time he's been a dick at various times when I've had to interact with him. Ever since he's given me the notice, he's been texting me every day to try and pressure me to sign it, or to ask if I've found a new place yet. I've been looking for other places and everything similar on market now is almost twice my current rent, and moving will cost me a lot.

When I googled it, there's tons of threads and articles about everyone saying you should just lawyer up and go through with a no-fault eviction so you at least get paid some relocation expenses, but at the same time it seems like it would take a big mental and time toll on everyone. Does anyone know of people who have been in similar situations, and what they did? In SF, do most tenants negotiate some kind of buyout, or go through the eviction process, or just suck it up and leave?

Last edited by jjj321; 05-01-2016 at 07:13 PM..
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Old 05-01-2016, 07:42 PM
 
Location: where the good looking people are
3,814 posts, read 3,979,018 times
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Either way you look at it your dream is over. Time for you to move to Portland or Lathrop.
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Old 05-01-2016, 07:53 PM
 
12 posts, read 41,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical View Post
Either way you look at it your dream is over. Time for you to move to Portland or Lathrop.
That's not helpful at all and completely irrelevant to the post.

The question is for people who have been in the situation or know others who have, and whether they decided to move without involving lawyers/relocation agreements, or if it's standard to go through a formal process.
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Old 05-01-2016, 07:59 PM
 
24,326 posts, read 26,725,717 times
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60 day notice is more than fair, don't give them a hassle. The market is good to sell now, so why stop them.
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Old 05-01-2016, 08:02 PM
 
Location: where the good looking people are
3,814 posts, read 3,979,018 times
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I'm just saying sooner or later you will have to leave. And fighting it is going to make your life hell between you and your landlord. You can bet he will probably keep your security deposit and not give you a good recommendation to your next landlord. Any money you get for "relocation" will probably be mostly spent on your "lawyer" fees. You will be lucky to be in the black in the long run.

Why stay somewhere you are not welcome? It's just not worth the sanity. If you you can't afford current market rates and can not wait the 2-5 years it takes to score lesser income housing, just move somewhere you can afford.

The bay area is not worth that type of headache. It's not Paris.
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Old 05-01-2016, 08:03 PM
 
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If you're in SF, I don't think it's a question as to whether he will need to pay you a relocation fee (he clearly will). You seem like you're versed well enough on it and even stated the avenue he would take to evict you...

Ellis Act evictions which require withdrawal from rental housing use all of the units in the building or a unit detached from another structure on the same lot (e.g. a cottage). Seniors (over 62) and disabled tenants get a one year notice. Tenants evicted for this cause have a right to a relocation payment, and disabled and senior tenants (over 62) get one year notice. All tenants get at least 120 days notice.

It looks like the relocation amount you would be due is $5,555.21 (that's as of 2/29 so it may have gone up a little).
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Old 05-01-2016, 08:34 PM
 
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If you get relocation money as part of the ellis act and 120 days notice then maybe you can negotiate a little more money to be out in 60 days. Either way you are going to have to move eventually you can fight it and drag it out and punish an old couple who were kind enough to rent you a place to stay for a while. Or you can be a responsible adult and move in a timely manner and not expect this old couple to subsidize your life because you can't afford to move somewhere else.
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Old 05-01-2016, 09:05 PM
 
12 posts, read 41,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justinbro2002 View Post
If you get relocation money as part of the ellis act and 120 days notice then maybe you can negotiate a little more money to be out in 60 days. Either way you are going to have to move eventually you can fight it and drag it out and punish an old couple who were kind enough to rent you a place to stay for a while. Or you can be a responsible adult and move in a timely manner and not expect this old couple to subsidize your life because you can't afford to move somewhere else.
(and also responding to bodyforlife99) Actually the landlord has made it clear he won't pay any relocation or give me 120 days, just 60 days. So what I'm asking is if it's standard in SF for landlords to pay relocation, or if it's in the minority and most landlords don't pay relocation unless the tenant specifically pushes for it.

Justinbro--cut the patronizing tone, landlords aren't "kind enough to rent people places to stay for awhile"--it's a business arrangement and they make money off of their customers and rent control laws are the only reason they don't raise as much as they can.
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Old 05-01-2016, 09:05 PM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,697,639 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justinbro2002 View Post
If you get relocation money as part of the ellis act and 120 days notice then maybe you can negotiate a little more money to be out in 60 days. Either way you are going to have to move eventually you can fight it and drag it out and punish an old couple who were kind enough to rent you a place to stay for a while. Or you can be a responsible adult and move in a timely manner and not expect this old couple to subsidize your life because you can't afford to move somewhere else.
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Old 05-01-2016, 09:18 PM
 
2,379 posts, read 1,788,356 times
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I suggest you do some research on this website. They also have a drop in counseling clinic. I believe low cost legal help is available to tenants in the lower income brackets. They can advise you on that.

https://www.sftu.org/evictions/

I am not going to suggest whether or not you should fight the eviction. That a decision for you to make
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