Landlord tenant: Ellis Act.

(1) Under the Ellis Act, public entities generally are prohibited from adopting any statute, ordinance, or regulation, or taking any administrative action, to compel the owner of residential real property to offer or to continue to offer accommodations in the property for rent or lease. The act authorizes, if an owner seeks to displace a tenant or lessee from accommodations withdrawn from rent or lease by an unlawful detainer proceeding, the tenant or lessee to assert by way of defense that the owner has not complied with the act, or statutes, ordinances, or regulations of public entities adopted to implement the act. This bill would require, if an owner seeks to displace a tenant or lessee from accommodations withdrawn pursuant to the act, the plaintiff to state in the caption of the complaint that the civil action is described in a specified provision of the Ellis Act. (2) Existing law authorizes a court clerk to allow access to limited civil case records filed in unlawful detainer proceedings to specified persons and, after 60 days after the complaint has been filed, to any other person, with a specified exception. This bill would prohibit the clerk of the court from allowing access to court records filed in the above-described civil action to displace a tenant or lessee from withdrawn accommodations, when the caption of the complaint states that it is a civil action described above, except as specified. (3) The Planning and Zoning Law requires each city, county, and city and county to prepare and adopt a general plan that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element that includes an assessment of housing needs. This bill would authorize, if a public entity, as defined, finds that the prohibition of the Ellis Act decreases the total number of affordable rental units within a jurisdiction, the board of supervisors to compel the owner of a residential real property to offer, or continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease by adoption of a resolution or by a majority vote of the electors within the county.