“Conversion” means a proposed change in the type of ownership of a parcel or parcels of land, together with the existing attached structures, from residential rental realty to a stock cooperative project containing five or more dwelling units, a condominium project, or a Community Apartment project, regardless of whether substantial improvements have been made to such structures. Whenever an occupancy permit has been issued by the city for a multifamily building, any attempt thereafter to make the project a condominium, community apartment, or stock cooperative shall constitute a conversion. Those multifamily residential buildings having building permits but for which no initial certificate of occupancy has ever been issued and which have never been occupied shall be deemed excluded from the definition of “conversion.” This Section shall not apply to a “limited - equity housing cooperative” as defined in Section 11003.4 of the Business and Professions Code. (Prior code § 7-7.01)

At least sixty (60) days prior to filing a tentative map or tentative parcel map for a conversion, the subdivider shall provide all tenants of the building to be converted, individually and in writing, with the following notice:

To the occupant(s) of

_________________________

_________________________

(Address)

The owner(s) of this building, at (address), plan(s) to file an application for a (tentative map or tentative parcel map) with the city to convert this building to a (condominium, community apartment or stock cooperative project). You shall be given notice of each hearing for which notice is required pursuant to Sections 66451.3 and 66452.5 of the Government Code, and you have the right to appear and the right to be heard at any such hearing.

_________________________

(signature of owner or owner’s agent)

_________________________

(date)

Accompanying this notice will be written information describing, in general, what steps and actions the subdivider and others, including governmental agencies, will or must take in order for the building to be converted. It will include information on how the tenant will be involved, informed, and assessed at each step in the process and on what rights the tenant has, whether mandated by state or local government or whether provided voluntarily by the subdivider. It will also include the date on which the subdivider will most likely file the tentative map or tentative parcel map as well as the approximate date on which the subdivider expects the final subdivision public report, if any, to be issued.
Also accompanying this notice will be the notice of tenant rights and the subdivider’s preliminary tenant assistance program, both as set forth in Section 16.36.050, and the information concerning tenant notifications as set forth in Section 16.36.040.
All persons who subsequently become tenants shall also be provided with the above notices.
For each application, all documents referred to in this section shall be approved by the Director of City Planning as to form, correctness, and completeness.
The written notice to tenants required by this section shall be deemed satisfied if it complies with the legal requirements for service by mail. (Prior code § 7-7.02)

Commencing at a date not less than sixty (60) days prior to the filing of a tentative map or tentative parcel map, the subdivider shall give notice of such filing, in the form shown below, to each person applying after such date for rental of a unit in the building to be converted. This notice must be given to the prospective tenant prior to the acceptance of any rent or deposit from said prospective tenant.

The notice shall read as follows:

To the prospective occupant(s) of

_________________________

_________________________

(Address)

The owner(s) of this building, at (address), has filed or plans to file an application for a (tentative map or tentative parcel map) with the city to convert this building to a (condominium, community apartment, or stock cooperative project). No units may be sold in this building unless the conversion is approved by the City or Oakland and, if five or more units are involved, until after a public report is issued by the Department of Real Estate. If you become a tenant of this building, you shall be given notice of each hearing for which notice is required pursuant to Sections 66451.3 and 66452.5 of the Government Code, and you have the right to appear and the right to be heard at any such hearing.

_________________________

(signature of owner or owner’s agent)

_________________________

(date)

I have received this notice on

_________________________

(date)

_________________________

(prospective tenant’s signature)

Prospective tenants shall also receive all accompanying documents described in Section 16.36.020 and all documents set forth in Sections 16.36.040 and 16.36.050.
If the subdivider fails to give notice pursuant to this section, he or she shall pay to each prospective tenant who becomes a tenant and who was entitled to such notice, an amount equal to the sum of the following:
A. Actual moving expenses incurred when moving from the subject property, but not to exceed a maximum amount, if any, that is specified in the final tenant assistance program, as set forth in Section 16.36.080, or five hundred dollars ($500.00), whichever is greater; and
B. The first month’s rent on the tenant’s new rental unit, if any, immediately after moving from the subject property, but not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00). (Prior code § 7-7.03)

Each tenant shall be given a notice containing the information as set forth below:
A. The city shall provide tenants with the following notices:
1. Each tenant will be given at least ten days’ prior written notice of the date, time and place of any public hearing held by the Advisory Agency on the tentative map or tentative parcel map. Such notice shall also advise tenants of their right to appear and be heard.
2. Each tenant will receive a copy of any city report or recommendation concerning tentative map or tentative parcel map at least three days prior to any meeting for which the map appears on the agenda.
3. Each tenant will be given at least three days’ prior written notice of the date, time and place of a hearing held to consider an appeal from an action of the Advisory Agency. Such notice shall also advise tenants of their right to appear and be heard.
Subdivider shall provide the city with a sufficient number of stamped envelopes addressed to tenants to allow the city to carry out the above responsibilities, such number to be determined by the Director of City Planning.
B. In addition to the notice of intention to convert as set forth in Section 16.36.020 and the notice to prospective tenants as set forth in Section 16.36.030, the subdivider shall also be responsible for the following:
1. Each tenant will be given at least five days’ prior written notice of the date, time and place of any meeting held on the tentative map or tentative parcel map other than those set forth in subsections (A)(1) and (A)(3) of this section.
2. Each tenant will be notified individually and in writing of any action taken on the tentative map or tentative parcel map by the Advisory Agency, City Planning Commission, or City Council within two days of such action being taken.
3. Each tenant will be given written notification within ten days of approval of a final map or a parcel map.
4. Each tenant in buildings with five or more units will be given at least ten days’ prior written notice that an application for a subdivision public report will be submitted to the California Department of Real Estate. Such notice shall also state that tenants will be notified within five days of subdivider’s receipt of the final subdivision public report and that copies will be available upon request; it will also state subdivider’s estimate of when the report will be issued.
5. Each tenant in buildings with five or more units will be given written notification within five days of subdivider’s receipt of the final subdivision public report. If the conversion involves four or less units, in which case no public report is issued, each tenant will be given ten days’ prior written notice of the start of subdivider’s sales program.
The Director of City Planning shall be given a copy of all of the above notices at the same time as the tenants receive them. The written notices required by this section shall be deemed satisfied if they comply with the legal requirements for service by mail. (Prior code § 7-7.04)

A. With regard to any conversion as defined in Section 16.36.010, each tenant shall have the following minimum rights which shall be set forth in a notice of tenant rights.
1. After receipt of this notice, each tenant will be entitled to terminate his or her lease or rental agreement without any penalty upon notifying the subdivider in writing thirty (30) days in advance of such termination; provided, however, that this requirement shall cease upon notice to the tenant of the abandonment of subdivider’s efforts to convert the building.
2. No tenant’s rent will be increased from the date of issuance of this notice until at least twelve (12) months after the date subdivider files the tentative map or tentative parcel map with the city; provided, however, that this requirement shall cease upon abandonment of subdivider’s efforts to convert the building.
3. No remodeling of the interior of tenant-occupied units shall begin until at least thirty (30) days after issuance of the final subdivision public report or, if one is not issued, after the start of subdivider’s sales program. (For purposes of this chapter, the start of subdivider’s sales program shall be defined as the start of tenants’ ninety (90) days first-right-of-refusal period set forth below.)
4. Each tenant shall have an exclusive right to contract for the purchase of his or her unit or, at the tenant’s option, any other available unit in the building upon the same or more favorable terms and conditions that such units will be initially offered to the general public, such right to run for at least ninety (90) days from the issuance of the final subdivision public report or, if one is not issued, from the start of subdivider’s sales program.
5. Each tenant shall have a right of occupancy of at least one hundred eighty (180) days from the issuance of the final subdivision public report or, if one is not issued, from the start of subdivider’s sales program, prior to termination of tenancy due to conversion.
6. Tenants in units containing a tenant sixty-two (62) years or older shall be provided a lifetime lease on their unit or, at tenant’s option, on any other available unit in the building. Such leases, to commence no later than the date of issuance of the final subdivision public report, or, if one is not issued, no later than the start of subdivider’s sales program, shall be subject to the following conditions:
a. Tenants shall have the option of cancelling the lease at any time upon thirty (30) days’ written notice to the owner.
b. Tenants cannot be evicted except for just cause.
c. Right of occupancy shall be nontransferable.
d. The first year’s base monthly rent for the unit shall be set at no more than the rent existing on the unit one year prior to the filing of the tentative map or tentative parcel map increased by no more than seventy-five (75) percent of the percentage increase in the residential rent component of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland Metropolitan Area (Bay Area Rental CPI) from the date one year prior to the filing of the tentative map or tentative parcel map to the effective date of the lifetime lease.
e. Subsequent rent adjustments, if any, may be made no sooner than one year from the effective date of the lifetime lease, shall be limited to no more than one per year, and the percentage increase in the Bay Area Rental CPI for the most recent twelve (12) month period.
f. Notwithstanding the above, no rent increase shall exceed any rent increase guidelines adopted by the city.
g. Except as provided hereinabove, terms and conditions of the lifetime lease shall be the same as those contained in tenant’s current lease or rental agreement.
The preliminary tenant assistance program, as set forth in subsection B of this section, shall make provision for the above minimum rights on the terms set forth above or on terms more favorable to the tenant.
B. The subdivider’s preliminary tenant assistance Program (PTAP) shall consist of at least two parts: efforts to minimize tenant displacement, and tenant relocation assistance.
1. In the first part of the PTAP, subdivider shall describe those incentives and inducements that would increase the potential for, and ability of, tenants to become owners in the conversion. Subdivider shall also include actions and procedures to enable hard-to-relocate tenants to remain as tenants.
2. The second part of the PTAP shall include all relocation and moving assistance and information to be provided to each tenant and all steps the subdivider will take to ensure the successful relocation of each tenant in the event that conversion takes place and the tenant chooses not to purchase a unit or remain as a tenant.
In both parts of the PTAP, subdivider shall give particular attention to specific steps that will be taken to assist the elderly, disabled, and other tenants who may encounter difficulty in finding new quarters. (Prior code § 7-7.05)

In addition to other matters required in this title, the subdivider shall submit to the Advisory Agency, along with the tentative map or tentative parcel map of a conversion, one copy of each of the notices and other documents to be provided to all tenants and prospective tenants pursuant to Sections 16.36.020 through 16.36.050. Subdivider shall also certify on the tentative map or tentative parcel map the following:
A. That all tenants have received all documents set forth in Sections 16.36.020, 16.36.040 and 16.36.050 of the Oakland Municipal Code; and that all prospective new tenants have received and will receive said documents, along with the notice set forth in Section 16.36.030 of the Oakland Municipal Code;
B. That all tenants and Director of City Planning will receive all notices as set forth in subsection B of Section 16.36.040 of the Oakland Municipal Code, and that they will receive all information as required in Section 16.36.080 of the Oakland Municipal Code.
The Director of City Planning may require other information to be filed with the tentative map or tentative parcel map which, in the Director’s opinion, will assist in determining whether the project is consistent with the purposes set forth in Section 16.04.010 or will assist in making any of the findings as set forth in Section 16.36.070. Any such determination by the Director of City Planning may be appealed to the City Planning Commission in the manner set forth in Section 17.132.020 of the zoning regulations of the city.
The Director of City Planning may waive the tenant notification requirements contained in Sections 16.36.020 and 16.36.040 where the building proposed for conversion is not tenant-occupied at the time of tentative map or tentative parcel map application. Where the building proposed for conversion is not tenant-occupied and the subdivider declares under penalty of perjury that no unit within the building will be rented prior to final or parcel map approval, the Director of City Planning may waive the tenant assistance requirements set forth in Sections 16.36.050 and 16.36.080. (Prior code § 7-7.06)

Action by the Advisory Agency shall be governed, in addition to that set forth in Section 16.08.030, by the following:
A. The Advisory Agency shall deny approval of a tentative map for the conversion of five or more housing units unless it finds that every converted unit will be replaced with a rental unit added to the City’s housing supply. Such replacement, if made in accordance with provisions of this chapter, shall be found to avoid the negative impact the conversion would otherwise have had on the City’s rental housing supply. Accordingly, a conversion of five or more housing units shall be approved, subject to meeting all other requirements prescribed by state and city, if the subdivider agrees that, prior to final map approval, subdivider will, in a manner acceptable to the Advisory Agency, demonstrate that subdivider owns “conversion rights” equal in number to the units proposed for conversion. “Conversion rights” are generated by projects which add housing units to the city’s rental supply, and one conversion right is equivalent to one housing unit within such a project. Conversion rights may be generated by project(s) either undertaken by the subdivider or by others from whom subdivider has obtained or acquired such “rights” in a legally binding manner. No conversion rights shall be generated by project(s) which are intended to become the property of the Oakland Housing Authority. Subdivider shall provide the Advisory Agency with information concerning the intended location and type of rental units that will generate the conversion rights of which subdivider intends to demonstrate ownership.
B. Project(s) generating conversion rights may involve new rental construction, increasing the number of units in an existing residential rental building, or converting a nonresidential building to residential rental units.
C. Conversion rights may also be generated by bringing back into the supply, through major rehabilitation, a residential rental building that has been vacant for at least one year prior to commencement of work on the rehabilitation project. The conversion rights so generated can be applied to the conversion of the building being rehabilitated. Anyone attempting to generate conversion rights by rehabilitating a vacant residential rental building must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director of City Planning that the building was indeed vacant for at least one year, that the work did indeed involve major rehabilitation, and that the building was not vacated for the purpose of generating conversion rights. For purposes of this chapter, rehabilitation shall be deemed “major” if it equals twenty (20) percent of the total value of the building after rehabilitation.
D. Conversion rights may also be generated by the construction of a condominium, community apartment, or stock cooperative project if the owner of such project, for which final map approval has been obtained, makes an agreement in writing with the city that for a period of not less than seven years, the owner will offer the units in the project to the public as conventional rental units subject to a lease that shall contain no commitment for later purchase of the unit, the form of said lease to be approved by the Director of City Planning. Subsequent sale of any unit prior to the expiration of the seven-year rental period shall be subject to the same terms and conditions stated in said written agreement.
E. Tentative map approval of the conversion must take place no later than seven years from the issuance of a certificate of occupancy on the project(s) generating the conversion rights. Project(s) for which building permits were issued prior to March 18, 1980 cannot generate conversion rights.
F. No units in the building approved for conversion shall be sold until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the City Building Official on the project(s) generating the conversion rights. For buildings of five or more units, subdivider shall request the California Department of Real Estate in writing to not issue the final subdivision public report until said Department has received written notification by the subdivider to issue said report. Said notification must include written approval from the Director of City Planning, which approval shall not be given until all necessary certificates of occupancy have been issued.
G. Notwithstanding the above, the Advisory Agency shall deny approval of a tentative map or tentative parcel map if it finds that the conversion is proposed to take place in the “conversion impact area,” an area of the city whose rental housing supply has been negatively impacted by previous conversions. The conversion impact area shall contain two sections: the primary section consisting of Census Tracts 4034, 4035, 4036, 4037, 4039, 4040, and 4041; and the secondary section consisting of Census Tracts 4038, 4042, 4043, 4052, and 4053.
H. A conversion which would otherwise be denied due to its location within the conversion impact area shall be approved, subject to meeting all other requirements prescribed by state and city, if the subdivider agrees to replace (using the conversion rights method described above) each converted unit with a rental unit according to the following: For conversions to take place in the primary section of the conversion impact area, conversion rights must be generated within the primary section; for conversions to take place in the secondary section, conversion rights must be generated within the conversion impact area.
I. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the Advisory Agency shall deny approval of a tentative map or tentative parcel map if it finds that the subdivider vacated units in the building proposed for conversion in order to avoid providing payments and other benefits to tenants as described in the tenant assistance program. It shall also deny approval if it finds that the subdivider’s preliminary tenant assistance program, as set forth in Section 16.36.050, or any submission required by Section 16.36.020, 16.36.040 or 16.36.060 is unacceptable or otherwise inconsistent with the purpose of this title as it concerns the city’s housing goals and policies. (Prior code § 7-7.07)

If the tentative map or tentative parcel map is approved, subdivider shall prepare a final tenant assistance program (FTAP) in conformity with any conditions of approval relating to the tenant assistance program. Within two days of receiving such approval, subdivider shall distribute a copy of the FTAP to each tenant and to the Director of City Planning. If the Advisory Agency approves the map, the FTAP shall be accompanied by a written notice advising tenants of the action of the Advisory Agency and informing them of their right to appeal the decision to the City Council, if a tentative map is involved, or to the City Planning Commission, if a tentative parcel map is involved, within fifteen (15) days of the date of the decision. (Prior code § 7-7.08)

In addition to other matters required in this title, the following shall be filed with the final or parcel map:
A. A copy of the final tenant assistance program as described in Section 16.36.080;
B. A copy of the notice of subdivision public report or notice of start of sales program as set forth in Section 16.36.110;
C. A certificate of occupancy issued by the City Building Official subsequent to the date of filing of the tentative map or tentative parcel map;
D. One copy each of the following documents more fully described in subsections A, B and C of Section 16.36.120: written notice to be given to prospective buyers; property report; structural pest report; and report describing the building’s utilities, storage space, and laundry facilities;
E. For tentative map or tentative parcel map approvals involving conversion rights, evidence, in the manner specified by the Advisory Agency as set forth in Section 16.36.070, that the subdivider owns conversion rights equal in number to the units to be converted.
No final or parcel map shall be approved until the above requirements have been met. (Prior code § 7-7.09)

In addition to other matters required in this title, the information on the final or parcel map shall show, under the owner’s certificate, the following:
A. For final maps only, a statement pursuant to Section 66427.1 of the State of California Subdivision Map Act;
B. A statement certifying that copies of the property report, structural pest report, and utilities/storage space/laundry facilities report, all more fully described in Section 16.36.120, were submitted along with subdivider’s request for a certificate of occupancy inspection; and, if a final map, that these documents plus a copy of the notice to be given to prospective buyers, more fully described in Section 16.36.120, have been or shall be filed with the California Department of Real Estate in the subdivider’s application for public report; and, if a final map, that the subdivider has requested or shall request that the above-mentioned notice to be given to prospective buyers be included in the subdivision public report;
C. A statement certifying that the Director of City Planning and each tenant in the building to be converted has received or will receive a notice of final or parcel map approval and, for buildings with five or more units, a notice of subdivision public report application as set forth in subsections (B)(3) and (B)(4) of Section 16.36.040;
D. A statement certifying that the Director of City Planning and each tenant in the building to be converted will receive the notice of subdivision public report or notice of start of sales program as set forth in Section 16.36.110;
E. For tentative map or tentative parcel map approvals involving conversion rights, a statement certifying, in conformity with Section 16.36.070, that no unit in the conversion will be offered for sale until a certificate of occupancy will have been issued on those project(s) generating conversion rights;
F. For tentative map approvals involving conversion rights, a statement certifying, in conformity with Section 16.36.070, that the California Department of Real Estate has been or will be requested not to issue the final subdivision public report until so notified in writing by the subdivider, such request to include written approval of the Director of City Planning to the issuance of said report;
G. A statement certifying, in conformity with Section 16.36.130, that no unit in the conversion will be offered for sale until the unit conforms to the noise insulation standards promulgated in Title 25 of the California Administrative Code, Section 1092, or its successor;
H. A statement certifying that informational reports will be submitted to the City Planning Director as required by and set forth in Section 16.36.140.
No final or parcel map shall be approved until the above requirements have been met. (Prior code § 7-7.10)

Within five days of receipt of the final subdivision public report described in Section 11018 of the California Business and Professions Code, the subdivider of a building with five or more units shall notify, in writing, the Director of City Planning and all tenants in the building to be converted of the date of issuance of said report. For buildings with four or less units, the subdivider shall give the Director of City Planning and all tenants in the building to be converted ten days’ prior written notice of the start of the sales program. Said notices, to be accompanied by the subdivider’s final tenant assistance program as set forth in Section 16.36.080, shall also state the following:
A. That, for buildings of five or more units, a copy of the final subdivision public report is available to each tenant upon request;
B. That no remodeling of the interior of tenant-occupied units shall begin until at least thirty (30) days after issuance of said report or start of the sales program;
C. That each tenant has an exclusive right to contract for the purchase of the tenant’s respective unit, or, at the tenant’s option, any other available unit in the building upon the same terms and conditions that such units will be initially offered to the general public or upon terms more favorable to the tenant as indicated in the subdivider’s final tenant assistance program attached to this notice, such right to run for a period of not less than ninety (90) days from the date of issuance of said report or the start of the sales program;
D. That each tenant has a right of occupancy of at least one hundred eighty (180) days from the issuance of said report or the start of the sales program or until the expiration of tenant’s lease, or as specified in the subdivider’s final tenant assistance program attached to this notice, whichever is longer, prior to termination of tenancy due to conversion. This provision shall not alter or abridge the rights or obligations of the parties in performance of their covenants, including but not limited to the provision of services, payment of rent, or the obligations imposed by Sections 1941, 1941.1, and 1941.2 of the California Civil Code;
E. That the subdivider will provide each tenant not wishing to purchase a unit with up-to-date information of available apartments of comparable size, price, and location within the city and will take other steps as indicated in the subdivider’s final tenant assistance program attached to this notice.
The written notices required by this section shall be deemed satisfied if they comply with the legal requirements for service by mail. (Prior code § 7-7.11)

All prospective buyers of converted units shall be given written notices, stating the existence of a seventy-two (72) hour period following an agreement to purchase, during which period a prospective buyer may withdraw from the agreement to purchase without penalty or cost. The written notice shall also state the availability of the following:
A. A property report prepared and signed by an appropriately licensed contractor or engineer. Said report shall:
1. Describe the condition and useful life of the roof and foundations, and the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural elements of all existing structures on the property, and
2. Estimate future property maintenance costs;
B. A structural pest report prepared and signed by a licensed pest control operator, conforming to California Business and Professions Code, Section 8516;
C. A report describing the building with regard to whether utilities are separately metered; water shutoff valves; availability of protected storage space in addition to closet space ordinarily contained within a unit; and laundry facilities, if any;
D. A statement, signed by a person experienced in the field of acoustical testing and engineering, certifying that the converted unit conforms to the noise insulation standards promulgated in Title 25 of the California Administrative Code, Section 1092, or its successor. (Prior code § 7-7.12)

No unit in a building approved for conversion shall be offered for sale unless it conforms to the noise insulation standards promulgated in Title 25 of the California Administrative Code, Section 1092, or its successor. (Prior code § 7-7.13)

Within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the final subdivision public report on the conversion of a building with five or more units or the start of the sales program in a building of four units or less, subdivider shall submit to the Director of City Planning informational reports pertaining to tenants of the conversion displaced since the filing of the tentative map or tentative parcel map, and to buyers of the units being converted. The information, as required, shall be submitted on forms to be provided by the City Planning Department. These informational reports shall be submitted annually, and they shall continue to be submitted until all units in the conversion have been sold. (Prior code § 7-7.14)