12-month lease ordinance for landlords

On December 6, 2016, the City Council passed a 12-month lease ordinance (Municipal Code Chapter 8.53 Residential leases for rental units) finding that tenants have a right to a written lease and that a contractual relationship with a landlord may offer some needed assurances of stability and minimize displacement of tenants in a rental housing market affording tenants few and increasingly expensive options.

What rental units does the ordinance cover?

The ordinance applies to multifamily rental properties, with four or more units.
Rental units not included in the 12-month lease ordinance are:

  • Single-family dwellings
  • Rooms in hotels which are rented for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive days
  • Units in a condominium, community apartment or planned unit development
  • Accommodations in a hospital, skilled nursing, health or care facility, extended-care facility, nonprofit home for the aged
  • Units shared by landlord and tenant
  • Accessory dwelling units
  • Duplexes and triplexes
  • Units rented by a medical institution which are then subleased to a patient or patient’s family
  • Units whose rents are controlled or regulated by any government unit, agency or authority, or whose rent is subsidized by any government unit, agency or authority
  • Units acquired by the city or any other governmental unit, agency or authority intended to be used for public purposes
  • Units in unincorporated Menlo Park

When is the 12-month lease ordinance effective?

This ordinance became effective March 6, 2017.

What is required of the landlord/property owner/property management company? 

A landlord shall offer a tenant or prospective tenant a written lease with a minimum term of one (1) year every twelve months. The written offer must include both the English and Spanish paragraphs below, in all capital letters and in at least size fourteen (14) font:
THE MENLO PARK CITY CODE PROVIDES YOU WITH THE RIGHT TO A WRITTEN LEASE. LANDLORDS MUST OFFER TENANTS THE OPTION TO ENTER INTO A ONE (1) YEAR WRITTEN LEASE. IT IS THE TENANT'S CHOICE WHETHER TO ENTER INTO SUCH A WRITTEN LEASE WITH A LANDLORD. FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE CITY WEBSITE (MENLOPARK.GOV).

EL CODIGO DE LA CIUDAD DE MENLO PARK LE PROPORCIONA EL DERECHO A UN CONTRATO DE ARRENDAMIENTO POR ESCRITO. LOS PROPIETARIOS DEBEN OFRECER A LOS INQUILINOS LA OPCION DE TENER UN CONTRATO DE ARRENDAMIENTO POR ESCRITO POR UN TIEMPO MINIMO QUE INCLUYE UN OPCION: UN ANO. ES LA OPCION DEL INQUILINO SI ESCOGE TIPO CONTRATO POR ESCRITO CON DEL DUENO. PARA MAS INFORMACION VISITE EL SITIO WEB DE LA CIUDAD (MENLOPARK.GOV).

 

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