How Does East Palo Alto Just Cause Eviction Affect A Probate Sale?

If you are the Administrator of an East Palo Alto Probate Estate that has rental property to sell you need to be aware of the portion of the East Palo Alto Rent Control law that pertains to Just Cause Eviction. You need to know the rules in order to make sure the property is sold without breaking any laws.

East Palo Alto has both RENT CONTROL and JUST CAUSE EVICTION

Just Cause Eviction means that tenants cannot be asked to vacate just because the lease is up or they are on a month to month rental and you give 30 or 60 days notice (if they have been there a year or more). THEY CAN NOT BE EVICTED EVEN IF THE HOME IS BEING SOLD.

Tenants can only be told to leave an East Palo Alto Rental Property under the following circumstances:

1.)    Failure to Pay Rent
2.)    Continuous Violations of the Rental Agreement
3.)    Willful or Substantial Damage to the Unit or Premises
4.)    Refusal to Sign a Substantially Identical New Rental Agreement (Upon Expiration of Prior Rental Agreement)
5.)    Continued Disorderly Conduct
6.)    Refused the Landlord Access to the Unit
7.)    The landlords right to undertake substantial, necessary repairs as permitted by the City or East Palo Alto
8.)    Removal of the Rental Unit from the market by demolition as permitted by the City of East Palo Alto
9.)    Landlord or immediate family member wishes to occupy the unit as their primary/principal residence
10.)  Failure to vacate the unit under a temporary rental agreement

While single family homes and condos are exempt from rent control they are not exempt from Just Cause Eviction. If you are an Administrator of an East Palo Alto Probate Estate  JUST CAUSE EVICTION rules will apply to the estate.

Some things you should not do before selling the building are:

1. Try to evict the tenants because they make the building look messy.
2.  Try to evict the tenants because the property is dated and you want to upgrade it before putting it on the market.
3.  Raise the rents above the allowable rent increase so the CAP rate looks better and makes the property more valuable.

Some things you can do when you are selling an East Palo Alto home in Probate.

1.           Paint the exterior
2.           Make sure the tenants do not leave personal property outside the home.
3.           Upgrade the landscaping
4.           Give the tenants an incentive to keep their clean and allow showings.
5.           Offer the tenants money in exchange for voluntarily leaving the home. My clients have offered to pay the tenants enough to move. They have paid for moving vans, deposits on new rentals, first months rents, and additional financial incentives.

If the tenants do not want to move you will need to sell the property with the tenants in place and the new buyer can either continue their rental or get the tenants out because the new buyer or a family member is moving in.

Just remember the East Palo Alto real estate market is strong, and even with rent control and Just Cause Eviction there will be buyers for your East Palo Alto home in Probate so relax, hire a great real estate agent who knows Probate (like myself) and let the process work itself out.

If you have any questions about selling or buying Probate property in Santa Clara or San Mateo County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com