Rent Control
Definition
Rent control is the government regulation of the maximum rents that landlords may charge their tenants.
Legislation is usually local, not state.
Base rent: the original rent charged between tenants and landlords.
Some landlords are permitted a uniform maximum periodic rent increase..
Sets the maximum rent that the tenant can pay.
Ordinance declares that “this” will be the rent, whatever the market price is on the day of the ordinance takes effect.
Rent control, zoning, land use, all local law. Variance in Iowa City does not necessarily mean the same thing as variance in another. Heavily local practice.
The longer the rent control has been in place, the bigger the disparity between regulated rents and market rents.
Regulating new buildings would inhibit the building of new houses. Exempt new housing. A few years down the line: rent controlled, non rent controlled housing. Dramatically different rents for apartments that look pretty much the same.
Vacancy control (stricter policy): control continues without regard to vacancy. The rent does not bump. Vacancy decontrol: The new tenant’s base rate—market price, or even higher. Vacancy decontrol gives landlord incentive to evict.
Pennell v. City of San Jose
Hearing officer can consider the “hardship to tenant” when determining whether to approve a rent increase proposed by the L.
8% automatic increase entitled to by the L.
Other than the hardship component, all six other factors are objective.
Court: there is no evidence showing that the hardship component has ever been used. No factual setting to back up the claim. Facial challenge: challenge to a statute or provision quite aside from its history of enforcement. You are simply challenging this provision without any evidence of it having been enforced to anybody. Takings challenges really need to be “as applied.”
14th Amendment: the ordinance’s tenant hardship provisions are designed to serve the legitimate purpose of protecting tenants, it can be hardly concluded that it is irrational for the ordinance to treat certain landlord differently on the basis of whether or not they have hardship tenants.
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Servitudes
Introduction
Refers to easements, real covenants, and equitable servitudes
is a kind of encumbersome to land
Private legal mechanisms for controlling land use and access.
Private v. Public: private—created by individual negotiations or under common law; public—statutory or constitutional, creation of which initiated by the government.
Contractual mechanisms for controlling land use or access. Product of bargaining.
Some kind of express or implied agreement among land owners. Relate at least to two d
Easement: entitles the owner of such interest to a limited use or enjoyment of the land in which the interests exists. Entitles him to protection as against third persons from interference in such use or enjoyment.
v. Willard v. First Church of Christi, Scientist, Pacifica
o Easement appurtenant
o McGuigan owned two lots, one of which reserved for church parking during services. She was willing to sell the lot provided that the church could use it for Sunday services. Deed drawn up with easement provision. Deed was recorded. First deed—clause on easement. Second deed—no clause on church’s easement. Peterson conveyed more than what he had.
o P’s argument—CL: one cannot “reserve” an interest in property to a stranger to the title.
o Grantor’s intent is important. This case gives effect to grantor’s intent.
o Injustice: McGuigan discounted the price because of the easement.
o P did not demonstrate a reliance on the old CL rule.
o Old CL rule creates injustice, overruled and Church wins.
