The California Apartments Association has filed a lawsuit and a temporary restraining order to prevent Mountain View’s voter-approved rent control initiative, Measure V, from taking effect.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 22, also challenges the city’s Just Cause Eviction Urgency Ordinance. However, a stipulation agreement between CAA and the city provides that the ordinance will remain active during litigation.
Mountain View Mayor Pat Showalter said the just-cause eviction ordinance, adopted Nov. 15 by the council, is “an important protection for renters in our community who may be at risk of eviction without cause. It is good that we can continue to provide this protection while the legal challenge to Measure V is resolved.”
Measure V, a charter amendment initiative passed in the Nov. 8 election, calls for a five-member housing board to settle rental disputes and limits rent increases in most cases to between 2 and 5 percent annually.
City officials said CAA must file a motion for preliminary injunction by Feb. 3 to continue to prevent implementation of Measure V. If CAA does, the restraining order will remain in effect until the court’s decision on the motion for preliminary injunction. Once the motion is filed, a hearing date will be set. If a motion for preliminary injunction is not filed by Feb. 3, Measure V will be implemented.
Daniel DeBolt, spokesman for the Mountain View Tenants Coalition, called CAA officials “Grinches” for filing the restraining order so close to Christmas. But he expressed relief about the just-cause eviction ordinance remaining in effect.
“This means that landlords who have been evicting folks to avoid the rent rollback are still acting illegally,” he said. “The rollback (to rents being charged in October 2015, per Measure V) may still go into effect in early 2017. Unfortunately, some folks may not be able to pay the rent without the rent rollback and may still face eviction/displacement.”
DeBolt recommended that “all tenants pay full rent in January or risk a three-day notice to evict, and keep all paperwork to prove what the rent was Oct. 19, 2015, and that you paid in full every month since. This may allow us to obtain refunds at a later date if/when the rollback goes into effect.”
According a city of Mountain View statement, officials chose not to contest the Measure V restraining order “to provide time for the city to fully analyze the complaint and ensure the immediate preservation of the city’s Just Cause Eviction Urgency Ordinance. … The city is evaluating and assessing the lawsuit in order to determine next steps.”
The city council is expected to discuss the litigation early next year. The city has 30 days, until Jan. 20, to respond.
For renter and landlord questions, call Mountain View’s Rental Housing Helpline at 282-2514 or email [email protected]. For general questions regarding the Just Cause Eviction Urgency Ordinance or Measure V, email [email protected]. Most city offices will be closed or have modified hours through Jan. 2. Emails received during this time will be reviewed when the city reopens for business Jan. 3. The city will continue to provide updates at mountainview.gov/rentstabilization.
“The city council wants the public to know that we take this matter very seriously and we regret any confusion this situation may cause renters and landlords,” Showalter said. “We ask that our community understand that the city cannot say more about pending litigation at this time.”
