(A) Notwithstanding Section 37.3, tenants of non-RAP rental units and tenants of RAP rental units in areas designated on or after July 1, 1977, may request arbitration hearings where a landlord has substantially decreased services without a corresponding reduction in rent and/or has failed to perform ordinary repair and maintenance under State or local law and/or has failed to provide the tenant with a clear explanation of the current charges for gas and electricity or bond measure costs passed through to the tenant and/or imposed a nonconforming rent increase which is null and void. The burden of proof is on the tenant.
(B) Tenants of RAP rental units in areas designated prior to July 1, 1977, may petition for a hearing where the landlord has noticed an increase which exceeds the limitations set forth in Section 32.73 of the San Francisco Administrative Code. After a vacancy has occurred in a RAP rental unit in said areas, a new tenant of said unit may petition for a hearing where the landlord has demanded and/or received a rent for that unit which exceeds the rent increase limitations set forth in Section 32.73 of the San Francisco Administrative Code. The burden of proof is on the landlord.
(c) Procedure for Landlord Petitioners.
(1) Filing. The request for arbitration must be filed on a petition form prescribed by the Board and shall be accompanied by such supporting material as the Board shall prescribe, including but not limited to, justification for the proposed rental increase.
(2) Filing Date. The petition must be filed prior to the mailing or delivering to the tenant or tenants legal notice of the rental increase exceeding the limitations as defined in Section 37.3.