Owens v. City of Oakland Housing, Residential Rent etc. Board

Filed 5/29/20 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

JONATHAN OWENS, Plaintiff and Appellant, A157663 v. CITY OF OAKLAND (Alameda County HOUSING, RESIDENTIAL Super. Ct. No. RENT and RELOCATION RG18914638) BOARD, Defendant and Respondent. LAUREN BARGHOUT et al., Real Parties in Interest

When the owner of a single-family home rents bedrooms in the home to separate tenants, does the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Costa- Hawkins, or the Act, Civil Code §1954.50 et seq.)1 exempt each of the tenants’ rooms from local rent control because the home is considered an exempt dwelling under the Act? Jonathan Owens rented out bedrooms in his home to three unrelated individuals. He contends the City of Oakland’s Housing, Residential Rent and Relocation Board (the Rent Board) and the trial court erred when they determined the rented rooms are subject to Oakland’s rent

1 Further statutory citations are to the Civil Code.

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control ordinance. We agree with the Rent Board and the court and affirm the trial court order denying Owens’s petition for writ of mandamus. BACKGROUND Owens owns and resides in a single-family home in Oakland. He rented individual rooms in the home to three unrelated tenants. In May 2016, tenant Lauren Barghout filed a petition pursuant to Oakland’s Rent Adjustment Program alleging her housing became unsuitable due to disruptive construction work and hazardous conditions on the premises. Barghout further alleged Owens failed to provide required notice of the Rent Adjustment Program and retaliated against her by terminating her lease when she complained about the construction work and sought a reduction in rent. Owens responded that Barghout’s rental was exempt from Oakland’s Rent Adjustment Ordinance (the Ordinance) as a single-family home, and he denied her factual allegations. The Rent Board set an administrative hearing for August 25, 2016. On August 3, Owens filed an unlawful detainer complaint against Barghout, to terminate her tenancy of “the premises located at 3420 Rubin Drive, Room A: NW Master Bedroom, including bathroom & fenced patio & 3420 Rubin Drive, Room B: Downstairs Home Office, Oakland, California.” Barghout’s lease, which Owens attached to the complaint, described the rented premises similarly and identified Barghout as a housemate with “sole use of one or more rooms and shared use of common areas (such as kitchen) in the residence.” The tenancy was month to month subject to 60 days’ notice to quit after one year. At the hearing, Owens argued that Barghout’s rental was not subject to the Ordinance because the rooms she rented were in a single-family home that was “ ‘alienable, separate from the title of any other dwelling unit’ ” and,