Senator Mark Leno presented SB 364 to the Senate Housing Committee today – his second effort to impose “anti-speculator” restrictions on Ellis Act withdrawals in San Francisco. Busloads of San Franciscans, on both sides of the issue, headed to Sacramento to share their opinions. Ultimately, the 6-5 vote against SB 364 maintains the status quo in the City, pending reconsideration, where the housing committee will hold a second vote (so stay tuned).
Leno’s SB 364 would add provisions to the Ellis Act providing that, in order to invoke the Ellis Act to “go out of the rental business” an owner would need to own the property for “five continuous years or more”. It would also provide that an owner who even initiated an Ellis Act withdrawal for one building could not do so for a subsequently-acquired building for another ten years (forcing owners to really stand behind the statement, “I don’t want to be a landlord”).
