Glossary
The following resources have been developed by staff with years of experience in tenants’ rights, but they DO NOT substitute for legal advice.
Accessory Dwelling Unit
An ADU is an Accessory Dwelling Unit, sometimes called a “granny flat,” “in-law unit,” or a “back house.” An ADU is a separate dwelling unit on a single parcel of land. ADUs are often stand-alone buildings disconnected from the main house but can also be attached. Where there is a “front house” and an ADU on one parcel, the property is considered a multi-family property.
Banking
In the context of rent control, banking typically means that a landlord can forgo one or more rent increases and take them in the future. For example, if the allowable rent increase in Year A is 3% and in Year B is 2.5%, where banking is allowed a landlord could forgo the rent increase in Year A and then raise the rent in Year B by 5.5%. There are different ways of
Condo
Condo is short for condominium, a type of real estate ownership in which the owner owns a specific unit in a larger multi-unit building. That unit can be bought and sold separately and independently from the rest of the building.
CPI
CPI is the abbreviation for Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation set by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Usually expressed as a percentage, it is an average of how much more expensive things are getting. When CPI is 3% it means that a “basket of goods” costs 3% more than they did one year ago.
Just Cause for Evictions
Just Cause for Evictions (sometimes also called “Good Cause”) refers to a set of laws that protect tenants from being evicted when they are not in violation of the lease or other state and local laws. There are variations in the way cities define these protections but generally, just cause means that you cannot be evicted for no reason. There are a few exceptions to this. See “no-fault eviction.”
No-fault Eviction
A no-fault eviction is a termination of tenancy in which the tenant is not at fault. Even in circumstances in which a city has just cause eviction protections, there are always going to be some no-fault reasons for termination of tenancy that are allowable, such as a government order finding the building is uninhabitable, owner move-in, or demolition.
Unlawful Detainer (UD)
Unlawful Detainer (UD) is the legal term for an eviction lawsuit against a tenant. An unlawful detainer is a formal summons and complaint issued by a court which requires an “answer” within 10 business days. This is different from a 3-day, 30-day, 60-day or other kind of notice. The notice is a warning that must be issued by the owner prior to any formal legal action.
Vacancy Control
Vacancy control is a component of rent stabilization in which the rent is regulated between tenancies. As part of the Costa Hawkins Act, California prohibits vacancy control in local rent stabilization regulations. This means that when a tenant moves out, the landlord is allowed to set the rent for the new tenants at whatever price they want.