Owens v. City of Oakland Housing, Residential Rent and Relocation Board
Facts: The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act exempts single family residences (SFRs) from rent control. The landlord of an SFR rented separate rooms to different tenants. The rent agreed to is higher than allowed by local rent control ordinances for multi-family units. A tenant files a complaint with the city. The city investigates the tenant’s complaint, determining the rent is excessive for a multi-family unit, and enforces the rent control ordinance.
Claim: The city claims the landlord’s SFR became a multi-unit dwelling since it was leased to multiple separate tenants, permitting the enforcement of rent control ordinances.
Counterclaim: The landlord claims their tenancies are exempt from the rent control ordinance, since SFRs are exempt from rent control under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
Holding: A California court holds the landlord’s tenancies are not exempt from local rent control ordinances since the landlord’s SFR became a multi-family unit when the landlord rented separate rooms to different tenants. [Owens v. City of Oakland Housing, Residential Rent, and Relocation Board (June 5, 2020)_CA6th_]
