New Ordinance Would Help Some Renters Relocate

RIVERSIDE -Riverside County supervisors are expected today to advance a proposed ordinance that would require landlords whose properties are condemned to cover the expenses of tenants forced to relocate.

Supervisors John J. Benoit and Marion Ashley authored the measure, noting that county residents in rental units are not currently entitled to automatically receive relocation assistance from landlords whose properties fail to meet basic standards of habitability.

The county will sometimes provide financial help to displaced residents, and the ordinance — which would only apply to unincorporated communities — would additionally require that county agencies be reimbursed for their efforts.

The measure would only apply to properties condemned for health and safety code violations. If a household was forced to vacate a space because of something the residents did, a landlord would not be responsible for providing “displacement payment” assistance, nor would it apply when weather or other natural forces are to blame for a property’s dilapidated condition.

The amount of assistance provided would equal two months rent, based on “fair market” calculations, plus payments to cover the “reasonable cost of moving the residential household’s” goods to a new location.

Under the ordinance, renters qualifying for assistance would be entitled to receive it at least 20 days prior to the date county officials have ordered the premises to be vacated.

If the situation is so bad that residents have 10 days or less to leave a property, the landlord would be required to make a displacement payment within a day of the county’s order to vacate.

Property owners who fail to make timely payments would face penalties 1.5 times the amount they’re obligated to disburse to displaced renters.

Similarly, a county agency that offers displacement assistance would be entitled to reimbursement by a landlord at an equal amount, with the same penalties assessed for lack of compliance.

The county could place a lien on the property until the balance is paid in full, according to the proposed ordinance.

Landlords would have an opportunity to challenge the county’s actions, including the requirement that displacement assistance be made in the first place, through an appeals process that begins with an administrative hearing before the primary county agency involved.