The San Francisco Examiner - Jan 4, 2005
Evictees could get cash
By J.K. Dineen

For some landlords, evicting a tenant is about to get a lot more expensive.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to pass a law today requiring landlords to shell out $4,500 in "relocation benefits" in order to evict a tenant under the state's so-called Ellis Act, with a maximum of $13,500 for one unit.

The new ordinance applies to any tenant evicted under the Ellis Act, regardless of income level.

"It's going to help the tenants out," said Tenants Union Director Ted Gullicksen, calling the $4,500 "chump change."

The Ellis Act is a state law allowing property owners to evict tenants in rent-controlled buildings as long as the building is not rented out for three years. Landlords say it gives them an exit from the property rental business. Opponents say speculators use the Ellis Act as a tool to clean out buildings before selling them off as condominiums.

A total of 177 buildings were cleared out using the Ellis Act in fiscal year 2003-04, a 49 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Rent Board.

Landlord attorney Andrew Zacks called the proposed changes "illegal."

"This is simply taking money out of one citizen's pocket and giving it to another," Zacks said. "The tenant is not entitled to that money."

Zacks said the real estate industry didn't actively oppose the ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor Aaron Peskin and four other supervisors.

"Why waste our time?" Zacks said. "We don't have the political capital to find six votes on this. They are going to do what they are going to do. It will have to be tested in court."

Tenant groups say developers have been increasingly aggressive with the Ellis Act. Last year, 51 percent of Ellis Act evictions involved buildings bought within the last year, Gullicksen said.

Landlord Tom Ramm said the supervisors should leave small property owners alone.

"It's easy to go after the little guy because we're too busy working to go down and fight these kooks," Ramm said.