Professional Property Management Association of San Francisco (PPMA)

Airbnb operations are the focus of multiple legislative efforts. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu has introduced legislation that would legalize Airbnb hosting. Under the proposed law, hosts must reside in San Francisco, register with the city and cap rentals at three months a year, among other provisions.   http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2014/04/15/chiu-introduces-legislation-airbnb-and-short-term-housing-rentals An online petition calling on San Francisco to   overhaul laws that allow landlords to evict tenants for hosting on Airbnb has amassed more than 26,000 signatures and is backed by Airbnb.  http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Petition-to-alter-S-F-laws-for-Airbnb-rentals-5414140.php Most recently, former San Francisco Planning Commissioner Doug Engmann, housing advocate Calvin Welch, and public relations executive Dale Carlson, have reportedly prepared a ballot measure to limit short-term rentals. More information onf this proposal is ava...

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued five property owners for allegedly evicting long-term tenants so they could rent apartments to tourists through Airbnb Inc. and other online home rental services.   Read what Bloomberg Business Week says about the lawsuit

Image Credit:  www.serviceanimalregistry.com The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is actively pursuing disability discrimination claims against owners and operators of apartment complexes. As the result of a recent settlement, the DOJ will collect nearly $200,000 to resolve a lawsuit claiming that the owners and operators of a large apartment complex discriminated against persons with disabilities who used assistance animals. According to the lawsuit, the apartment complex violated the law by: limiting individuals with assistance animals to a certain portion of the apartment complex; subjecting those individuals to pet fees; requiring assistance animals to be licensed or certified; and, barring uncertified companion animals. If a tenant or prospective tenant asks about housing a companion animal, make sure that you understand the laws protecting that individual and the animal. If you are unsure, get advice. As one apartment complex manager learned, mistakes can be ve...

***PRESS RELEASE*** Treasurer José Cisneros Reminds Landlords with Non-Resident Parking to Register for Parking Tax Simplification and Amnesty by June 30 Deadline Tax Amnesty to Relieve Penalties, Interest and Back Taxes Ends June 30 San Francisco – Landlords and property managers that rent parking to non-residents (individuals that do not live in the building) have until June 30 to apply for a parking tax amnesty, Treasurer José Cisneros announced today.    “The Parking Tax Amnesty is an opportunity to come into compliance with the City’s parking tax and regulatory process,” said Treasurer Cisneros.  “After June 30, those providing parking may face back taxes, penalties, and interest.”  “I proposed this parking tax simplification legislation because many small property owners were renting out parking spots to non-residents and had no idea that they were required to pay parking tax,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener, who authored the legislation....

Deadline to Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors is January 1, 2013 California’s Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 requires that all residential property be equipped with a carbon monoxide alarm when the property has a “fossil fuel” burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage. The law provides that all single-family detached homes (owner or tenant occupied) must be equipped with an alarm on or before July 1, 2011. All other residential units must be equipped with an alarm on or before January 1, 2013. A carbon monoxide alarm may be battery powered, a plug-in device with battery backup, or hard-wired into the dwelling unit with a battery backup. “Fossil fuel” is defined as coal, kerosene, oil, wood, fuel gases, and other petroleum or hydrocarbon products, which emit carbon monoxide as a byproduct of combustion. Carbon monoxide alarms shall be listed as complying with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 2034 and shall be installed and maintained in accor...

The Professional Property Management Association's Annual Meeting and Membership Luncheon will be held on Friday, January 11, 2013 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. To submit your nominations click here. Please fax the completed forms to  (415) 661-5902  or mail them to: PPMA Executive Director 305 Valencia Street, San Francisco 94103. Forms must be received by Friday, December 14, 2012.

There’s never been a better time to get an apar tment loan in San Francisco! Interest rates are down and rents are up.  This makes it an ideal time to get a loan for multi-family properties in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area whether for a purchase or refinance. Why is it a good time to get a loan? 1.     Interest rates are low ·      This means properties will have more cash-flow after debt service which is a good thing for lenders and borrowers alike. 2.     Rents continue to rise ·      For refinances, higher rents result in higher debt service coverage ratios which are used by lenders to qualify a loan.  A higher DCR in conjunction with a low loan to value can allow borrowers to qualify for preferred rates and terms from some lenders or open doors to others that may not be available otherwise (like life insurance companies) 3.     Lenders want to do loans in...

Bed Bug Update by Craig Waddle I met my first bed bugs in 2002 and became fascinated with their physiology.  There wasn’t much data available at that time because, as far as anyone knew, bed bugs had been eradicated in the United States late in the 1940’s through the wide-spread use of DDT.  Protocols were based on what we knew from old research.  Over the past several years these bugs have become a global concern and newer studies have dispelled some of our previous beliefs regarding their behavior. Bed Bugs don’t migrate.   Not true.  Bed bugs do move from country to country, dwelling to dwelling and bed to bed primarily by hitchhiking on people, garments and luggage.  However, we now know that once a population has reached “infestation” level in one dwelling, active well fed, bed bugs will migrate via pipes, wires and through holes into adjoining units. As a result of this new information, once bed bugs have been identified in one apartment an inspection...

The Professional Property Management Association of San Francisco is proud to announce that it is sponsoring the Rebuilding Together project for a second year in a row. Now in its 22nd year, Rebuilding Together San Francisco provides free repairs to low income seniors and free renovations to nonprofit facilities throughout the city. Rebuilding Together insures that low-income seniors in San Francisco remain safe, warm, and independent in their homes and those community members in need can receive services from social service agencies in functional, dignified environments. Every year Rebuilding Together organizes a citywide event called National Rebuilding Day on the last Saturday of April, in which teams of volunteers collect at job sites throughout the city to make these free repairs. We are proud to announce that the PPMA has committed to sponsoring one of these projects again this year. Joe Gibson of Commercial Energy and I have volunteered to be the Volunteer Co-Captains for o...

     The California legislature and governor passed several new laws governing the employer-employee relationship that will take effect on January 1, 2012.  One of these significantly restricts the ability to conduct background checks on current and prospective employees.  Under California Labor Code Section 1024.5, employers may not obtain consumer credit reports for employment purposes.  While this does not seem like a significant issue, the definition of “consumer credit report” is broad, and includes “any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer credit reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity, which is used or is expected to be used, or collected in whole or in part, for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for: (1) credit to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or (2) employment purposes, or (3) hiring...