Call for Action — Tell the San Jose City Council: Don’t Impose Expensive New Mandates on Rental Property Owners

In the City of San Jose REALTORS® and their clients own many rental properties and play a vital role in providing safe well-maintained housing. On Tuesday, April 18th the San Jose City Council will consider new measures that attempt to make housing more affordable; instead, the proposals make the costs of maintaining and managing rental property more uncertain and expensive for good tenants and landlords alike, while giving bad actors the tools to abuse the new laws. SCCAOR supports efforts to help renters in San Jose, but does not believe costly mandates make housing more affordable for all.

The Ellis Act Ordinance:

  • Under the Ellis Act, if you choose to redevelop your property but continue to operate it as a rental property, all the replaced units and any additional units you might add will be subjected to rent control. Tell the Council to support policies that add more housing not limit it. Ask them to exempt new units from the rent control law.
  • If you choose to redevelop your rent controlled property as for sale housing you will be required to pay out each tenant thousands of dollars. This is on top of other development fees and costs the city already imposes.
  • Read the proposed Ellis Act Ordinance by clicking here.
The Tenant Protection Ordinance:
  • Tenants have the ability to file frivolous claims for repair because the City does NOT require verification that the claims are legitimate. This will grant tenants the ability to file frivolous claims to extend their just cause protection endlessly.
  • Tenants have no responsibility to prove that any claims they make are true, they are essentially given unlimited protection under this new law. The burden of proof is on the landlords to prove the tenants are being truthful.
  • Under this law, a landlord would have to provide evidence of a lease violation or proof that an illegal act was committed to evict a tenant. This harms a landlord’s ability to keep their good tenants safe from their bad ones.
  • Read the proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance by clicking here.

How Can You Help?

Attend the San Jose City Council Meeting on April 18th
Where: 200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, CA 95113
When: Tuesday, April 18th at 1:30 PM

Sign the Petition: Say NO to the proposed Ellis Act and Tenant Protection Ordinance by Clicking Here.

Contact the Mayor and City Council:

Mayor Sam Liccardo (408) 535-4800 mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D1 Chappie Jones (408) 535-4901 District1@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D2 Sergio Jimenez (408) 535-4902 District2@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D3 Raul Peralez (408) 535-4903 District3@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D4 Lan Diep (408) 535-4904 District4@sanjoseca.gov
Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco (408) 535-4905 District5@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D6 Dev Davis (408) 535-4906 District6@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D7 Tam Nguyen (408) 535-4907 District7@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D8 Syliva Arenas (408) 535-4908 District8@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D9 Don Rocha (408) 535-4909 District9@sanjoseca.gov
Councilmember D10 Johnny Khamis (408) 535-4910 District10@sanjoseca.gov