By Tim Redmond : 48hills – excerpt
Speculators who use the Ellis Act to evict tenants saw their property values rise almost twice as fast as other landlords in the city, with the median haul from tossing long-term renters into the streets at $1.4 million.
That’s what a study, by the Board of Supes Budget and Legislative Analyst, makes clear—and it shows that these speculators can afford to pay far more money in relocation fees than the city currently charges.
The report was requested by Sup. Myrna Melgar, who has introduced legislation to raise the relocation fees, currently at $7,419 per tenant, to $10,000. That bill will be heard Monday/16 at the Land Use and Transportation Committee.
Melgar is seeking to raise the relocation fees to $10,000 per tenant, with a maximum of $30,000 for a unit.
The legislation would also make clear that if a landlord decides to re-rent any unit vacated by the Ellis Act they also have to rent the rest of the units, at the pre-Ellis price…(more)