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A Safe House
by Supervisor Carmen Chu
Domestic violence is a widespread problem impacting one in three households in the United States. Recent studies have concluded that domestic violence is the second leading cause of homelessness among San Francisco women. According to the National Housing Law Project, women living in rental housing are victimized at a rate more than three times that of women living in owned housing.
One of the most significant problems facing victims of domestic violence is whether they have the ability to recover safely. That’s why I partnered with District Attorney Kamala Harris to pass legislation at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to provide tenants who are victims of domestic violence with the opportunity to recover safely in their homes.
At times, domestic violence cases lead to eviction, even when the victims are in the process of seeking help to end the abuse or moving forward with criminal charges against their abusers. Domestic violence incidents have resulted in nuisance complaints and eviction notices. The intent of the new law is to ensure that domestic violence victims have access to safe housing during recovery.
Passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in February 2009, the legislation amends the city’s Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance (Rent Ordinance) to allow for the conduct of an abuser to serve as a defense against the eviction of the victim tenant. Tenants are granted relief from eviction provided that the notice to the victim tenant to vacate the unit is substantially based on the abuser’s act(s): domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
Though the accepted evidence is ultimately up to the court, the legislation outlines that the court shall consider evidence that may include but is not limited to: a copy of a temporary restraining order or emergency protective order; and/or a copy of a written report by a peace officer employed by a state or local law enforcement agency; and/or other written documentation from a qualified third party (a peace officer, a victim advocate employed by a state or local law enforcement agency, a licensed clinical social worker or a marriage and family therapist).
The legislation, which amends Chapter 37 of the San Francisco Rent Ordinance, was crafted with safeguards to protect both the rights of landlords and tenants who are victims of domestic violence. It’s important that victim tenants are given the opportunity to recover where it is most safe, but it is also vital to ensure that landlords are protected from potential abuse of the ordinance. That’s why there is a clause in the ordinance to prevent repeated invocation of this new policy. A tenant granted relief from eviction within the previous five years who has not sufficiently demonstrated any intention to remedy the situation may not obtain relief.
In a case where two or more co-tenants are parties seeking relief under this ordinance (where each alleges that he or she was a victim of domestic violence perpetrated by another co-tenant), the court may determine whether a tenant acted as the dominant aggressor in the acts constituting a domestic violence offense. The tenant whom the court determines to be the dominant aggressor in the acts constituting a domestic violence offense is not entitled to relief under this ordinance. The amendment to the Rent Ordinance also includes confidentiality protections for the victim regarding information provided to the landlord about any abuse.
The successful passage of this legislation demonstrates the balance between providing domestic violence victims with a safe place to recover and taking into account the operational realities of property owners, who are also responsible for maintaining a safe property for all their tenants. The input and comments from domestic violence advocates and the property owner community allowed us to improve this legislation. As a result, I am pleased to have the support and participation of these groups.
State Versus Local Legislation
Originally introduced in June 2008, the legislation was redrafted after passage of State Assembly Bill 2052. AB 2052 was concurrently pending at the State Legislature, and included some provisions that overlapped with the proposed ordinance as originally drafted. The most important overlap included the provision on permitting early termination of a lease by a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. In this situation, maintenance of the lease at the existing site poses a danger for victims of domestic violence.
AB 2052 was passed by the State Legislature and signed by the governor at the end of September 2008. It went into effect immediately as urgency legislation on September 27, 2008. The San Francisco ordinance was then revised to avoid unnecessary duplication or conflicts.
San Francisco is joining a chorus of jurisdictions seeking to provide additional protections to domestic violence victim tenants. Over 20 other jurisdictions, including the United States federal government, Arizona, New York, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington have enacted tenant protections for victims of domestic violence and stalking.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, domestic violence is one of the
most chronically underreported crimes. In addition to effective law enforcement,
we need to assure victims that there is a safe path to recovery.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine. Carmen Chu is the supervisor for District 4 (Sunset/Parkside) and can be contacted at Carmen.Chu@sfgov.org. Landlords or tenants who would like more information about compliance with this ordinance should contact the San Francisco Rent Board at 415-252-4602. Copyright © 2009 by Black Point Press. All rights reserved.