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Have condominium conversion rules changed?
In late December 2005, Mayor Gavin Newsom signed a new law introduced by Supervisor Bevan Dufty which will dramatically increase condo lottery odds for buildings that have lost the lottery many times, while decreasing odds for new entrants. Buildings where certain elderly, disabled or catastrophically ill tenants have been evicted since January 1, 1999 would be substantially worse off under the new system. Unless it is renewed next year, the new system will apply only to San Francisco's 2006 condominium conversion lottery, which means that prospective converters should not rely on the new system staying in place for future years. Still pending is a proposal that would make all condominium conversions subject to review by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. (Each of these changes are discussed in separate articles on my website.) This article summarizes the rules we understand to be in effect on the publication date. Buyers and owners should check with the authors for recent developments before making commitments based on information in this article. Owners who qualify for conversion under current rules should file applications immediately.
Why convert a property to condominiums?
Condo conversion usually raises a property's value. The amount of appreciation increases with building size (see chart). Conversion allows co-owners of multi-unit buildings to eliminate many of the risks of co-ownership and obtain more attractive financing. Under some circumstances, condominiums may also be exempt from limits on annual allowable rent increases.
For those of you who remember the fiasco of the City gardeners who spent weeks at a time doing errands rather than working in the City's parks, you'll realize that the City badly needs civil service reform. Mayor Newsom, SPUR and others are leading an effort to improve the efficiency of city government through some real civil service reforms, and they need our help. The Board of Supervisors Government and Audits Oversight Committee will meet on Monday, April 11th at 3 PM City Hall in room 263 - they will hear from Phil Ginsburg (director of the Department of Human Resources) and others about proposed civil service reform, and there will be an opportunity for public comment. Public comment will begin around 4:15 PM. We know that there will be many people there who are opposed to reform, and supporters of reform are needed to attend. If you can't attend this meeting, please consider attending the Civil Service Commission meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, beginning at 9:00 AM in City Hall room 466 (public comment to begin around 10:30 AM).
Rescue MUNI is doing its annual survey of MUNI performance, and they need volunteers to help. Click here for more information if you're interested in helping: http://www.rescuemuni.org/2005surv.pdf
...for further info on TIC's, Ellis Acts, and Condo Conversions:
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