Landlord trying to evict me from my garage. Fun times ahead.

[Junkie]

Just where in SF is all the new housing supposed to be built?

Realistically though, once the relationship between landlord and tenant become so poisoned, why continue to live there? There will be a constant effort to get you out and the tactics will change, just enough to skirt the law or regs and who wants to live like that?

He's most likely paying well under market rate, which explains wanting to stay there.

There are quite a few underdeveloped parts of SF with competent soil for tall buildings.

A lot of political will against development. Huge fights at City hall over this. I have been a part of them for a couple of years. Now most of it is a pissing contest between low income housing advocates and how to tax/spend funds attached to high dollar developments.

Low income housing advocates seem to like requiring outrageous amounts of low income housing in any new developments, which tends to mean nothing gets built.

 

[Sharky]

My landlord just issued my a 30 day notice to vacate my garage. I just spoke with the rent board, and it sounds like it is totally illegal for them to since they do not have a reason to sever any rental services.

My landlords have always been exceedingly shady and their treatment of me has bordered on harassment at times.

More to the story: So I know they are planning to a seismic retrofit of our building. I have been waiting to hear what needs to be done to accommodate that, and what time frame etc. I am have been willing to work with them. Now with everything I have found out they need to have all that to me in writing 30 days prior. I also found out they have been illegally raising my garage rent separately from my apartment rent for years now.

IN addition my bumbling landlord mentioned they may be compressing the space of the garage during the work being done. I am almost positive this is because they want to expand the apartment in the basement, and thus why they issued an eviction letter.

I have spoken with the rent board twice today via phone, and will be going for in person counselling tomorrow. They will be sending the proper forms and notifications to my landlord on my behalf. I have also contacted the building inspection office to find out if they have filed the proper permits for the seismic retrofit (which I actually want of course). They need to have filed all of that before they can even issue me a temporary severance of services, let alone the illegal eviction they are trying to perform.

I am debating on whether I need to get a housing lawyer (anybody know anyone?), or if I should simply approach my landlord after the letters have been sent and see if they want to handle this the easy way or the hard way. I have so much I can use against them it is comical.

I know for a fact they have terrible legal counsel if they even have any, because things they have told me are just flat out wrong. They also try and intimidate based on incorrect information or flat out lies. I also know that they shy away whenever anyone brings up the rent board or anything official because they have never done anything the right way. They have been sued by previous tenants on multiple occasions and have never won.

Relevant reading if you're interested:
Parking and Storage Spaces as Housing Services
http://sfrb.org/topic-no-256-parking-and-storage-spaces-housing-services

Temporary Severance of Specified Housing Services During Mandatory Seismic Retrofit
http://sfrb.org/temporary-severance-specified-housing-services-during-mandatory-seismic-retrofit

I know a guy who could deal with this potentially. SF Rent ordinance is a specialty in itself. So make sure you get a lawyer that has experience in this area if you go that route.

 

[Eldritch]

There are quite a few underdeveloped parts of SF with competent soil for tall buildings. Low income housing advocates seem to like requiring outrageous amounts of low income housing in any new developments, which tends to mean nothing gets built.

Yeah, that is part of the big fight right now. You have some Affordable Housing Advocates that want to just put development fees into a fund to build low income housing somewhere else. Which is a more successful, more supportive model. Unfortunately, there is a SJW element that has a lot of momentum right now that is demanding the BMR units be built IN the high end development so poor people can have easy access to nice neighborhoods, which is a crap idea that often kills projects.

 

[revnort]

I know a guy who could deal with this potentially. SF Rent ordinance is a specialty in itself. So make sure you get a lawyer that has experience in this area if you go that route.

Shoot me a pm, I'm collecting names for people to contact if it comes to that.