SEC. 37.15 REPORTING OBLIGATIONS; LICENSING.
(a) Owners of residential dwelling units subject to this Chapter 37 shall be required to report certain information about their units to the Rent Board, as set forth in subsections (b) and (c). In the case of a unit owned by multiple owners, reporting by a single owner shall suffice. Owners shall report the information using a form prepared by the Rent Board. The Rent Board may, in addition to or in lieu of a paper form, develop an electronic form or a secure internet website with an interface for owners to submit the required information. The Rent Board may develop procedures for tenants to also report information about their units, but in that event reporting by tenants shall be optional rather than required.
(b) Owners shall report under penalty of perjury the mailing address of each unit and whether the unit is Owner-Occupied. The term “Owner-Occupied” shall refer to a unit which is occupied by an owner of record on either a full-time or part-time basis and is not rented at any time, as set forth in Administrative Code Section 37A.1(f). Depending on whether the unit is Owner-Occupied, the following reporting requirements shall apply:
(1) If the unit is Owner-Occupied, then the owner shall not be required to report any further information about the unit under this subsection (b).
(2) If the unit is not Owner-Occupied, then the owner shall be required to report under penalty of perjury the following additional information about the unit: (A) the name and business contact information (address, phone number, email address) of the owner(s), or of the property manager, if any, designated by the owner(s) to address habitability issues; (B) the business registration number for the unit, if any; (C) the approximate square footage to the best of the owner’s or manager’s knowledge, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the unit; (D) whether the unit is vacant or occupied, and the date the vacancy or occupancy commenced; (E) the start and end dates of any other vacancies or occupancies that have occurred during the previous 12 months; (F) for tenant-occupied units, the base rent reported in $250 increments, and whether the base rent includes specified utilities (water/sewer, refuse/recycling, natural gas, electricity, etc.); and (G) any other information that the Rent Board deems appropriate following a noticed public meeting in order to effectuate the purposes of this Chapter 37.
(c) For units (other than condominium units) in buildings with 10 units or more, the information described in subsection (b) shall be reported to the Rent Board by July 1, 2022, and updated by March 1, 2023 and annually by March 1 of each successive year. For condominium units and units in buildings with fewer than 10 units, the information shall be reported commencing March 1, 2023 and updated annually by March 1 of each successive year. Unit information shall also be updated within 30 days of any change in the name or business contact information of the owner or designated property manager.
(d) The Rent Board shall use the information it receives under this Section 37.15 to create a housing inventory that may be used for purposes of inspecting and investigating the level of housing services being provided to tenants, investigating and analyzing rents and vacancies, monitoring compliance with this Chapter 37, generating reports and surveys, and providing assistance to landlords and tenants and other City departments as needed. The Rent Board shall not use the information to operate a rental registry within the meaning of California Civil Code Sections 1947.7 – 1947.8.
(e) If a landlord has substantially complied with the obligation to report information about a rental unit as required under this Section 37.15, the landlord shall receive a license to impose rent increases on tenants in that unit under Sections 37.3(a)(1)-(2). If the landlord has not substantially complied with the reporting obligation, then the license to impose rent increases shall be temporarily suspended during the period of the landlord’s noncompliance. Upon receipt of the required information from the landlord, the suspension shall be terminated, and the license to impose rent increases shall be restored prospectively, but a tenant shall not be obligated to pay the increased rent for months during the period of suspension.
[Added by Ord. No. 265-20, effective January 18, 2021]
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