Changing the property into multiple units/Taking it off the rental market (Ellis Act)
If the landlord invokes the Ellis Act, a state law that allows landlords to evict all of a building’s tenants at the same time to take the property off of the rental market, then this may be a valid eviction notice. This is not the same as the landlord simply selling the property or wanting to move in.
- Landlords must give at least a 120-day notice, or one year notice for senior and disabled tenants.
- Ellis Act evictions are complicated but can be successfully resisted by tenants so the best thing to do is to go to the Rent Adjustment Program to verify that the process has started. Because the Ellis Act is so complicated, the landlord has a set of responsibilities and forms to submit to you and the Rent Adjustment Program.
Get legal help or join us at a Tenants Rights Workshop to connect to other tenants fighting eviction.
If it is not a valid eviction, then you will need to write a letter to your landlord stating that the notice is not valid. Send your landlord the signed and dated letter via certified mail and keep a copy.