4
rule applies equally to review of local ordinances. (Van Wagner
Communications, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 499, 509,
fn. 9; see Danekas v. San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization &
Arbitration Bd. (2001) 95 Cal.App.4th 638, 645.)
2. The Rent Ordinance and rule 12.14
“The San Francisco rent ordinance restricts tenant evictions except
upon certain specified grounds.” (Reynolds v. Lau (2019) 39 Cal.App.5th 953,
964.) One such ground is set forth in Rent Ordinance section 37.9,
subdivision (a)(8), which allows a landlord to evict a tenant when the
“landlord seeks to recover possession [of the rented property] in good faith,
without ulterior reasons and with honest intent,” for either the landlord’s
own “use or occupancy as his or her principal residence for a period of at least
36 continuous months” (the owner move-in provision) or, under the family
move-in provision, “the use or occupancy of the landlord[’]s grandparents,
grandchildren, parents, children, brother or sister, or the landlord[’]s spouse
or the spouses of such relations, as their principal place of residency for a
period of at least 36 months, in the same building in which the landlord
resides as his or her principal place of residency.” (Rent Ord., § 37.9,
subd. (a)(8)(i)–(ii).) The landlord must also satisfy a number of other
requirements, including, for “landlords who bec[a]me owners of record of the
rental unit after February 21, 1991,” being “an owner of record of at least
25 percent interest in the property.” (Rent Ord. § 37.9, subd. (a)(8)(iii); see
generally Cwynar v. City and County of San Francisco (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th
637, 644–645.)
The Rent Ordinance defines “landlord” as “[a]n owner, lessor, [or]
sublessor, who receives or is entitled to receive rent for the use and occupancy
of any residential rental unit or portion thereof in the City and County of San