On November 4, 2008 the voters of San Francisco passed Propositions M and N.
Proposition M will amend the city’s Residential Rent ordinance to prohibit harassment of renters by rental property owners, including:
• Failure to provide required housing services, repairs or maintenance;
• Failure to safely complete repairs once they are begun;
• Attempts to intimidate a tenant into vacating a rental unit;
• Threats of physical harm to the tenant;
• Violation of laws against discrimination;
• Refusal to acknowledge receipt of a rent check, or refusal to cash a rent check for over 30 days; and
• Request of information that could violate a tenant’s right to privacy, including information about residence, citizenship status or Social Security number.
Proposition M was placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors. There were seven aye votes and four no votes. The four no votes were cast by Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, Bevan Dufty and Sean Elsbernd.
Proposition N will increase the real property transfer tax rate to 1.5 percent for the sale of real estate selling for $5 million or more. Proposition N also will extend the transfer tax to real estate lease of 35 years or more. In addition, Proposition N will reduce the transfer tax for residential property by up to 1/3 if, after January 1, 2009, the person selling the real estate had:
• Installed a solar system; or
• Made improvements to increase earthquake safety.
Proposition was placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors. There were nine aye votes and two no votes. The two no votes were cast by Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier and Carmen Chu.
As originally proposed, the increase in the rate of the real property transfer tax would have related to sales of two million or more. But as a result of lobbying efforts, the threshold was increased to five million, putting it out of reach of most residential property sales.
The city’s Department of Elections is expected to certify the results of the November 4 election at the first Board of Supervisors meeting in December. That meeting, however, will not occur until December 9, 2008. Since ordinances become effective by operation of law 10 days after the election results are certified, Propositions M and N are not expected to become effective until December 19, 2008.
A summary of the vote counts for the propositions and the candidates on the municipal ballot can be viewed by clicking on the following link: http://www.sfgov.org/site/elections_index.asp?id=70720.
Source: San Francisco Associaton of Realtors
