Mayor vetoes measure on eviction disclosure

Supervisor Daly says Newsom's action favors his backers in real estate business

By Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Mayor Gavin Newsom has vetoed legislation that would have required property owners to disclose evictions of disabled or elderly tenants to potential home buyers, drawing the wrath of tenant advocates.

Newsom's veto, the third in his career as mayor, came late Friday and was timed apparently to draw as little publicity as possible. In a letter sent to the Board of Supervisors, Newsom said he was vetoing the legislation sponsored by Supervisor Chris Daly because it is "overly vague and difficult to enforce."

Newsom left late Sunday to attend an economic summit in Switzerland , and his office said he needed to veto the legislation by late Friday or miss a 10-day deadline.

Daly accused Newsom of doing the bidding of his political backers in the real estate industry by blocking legislation that placed little burden on property sellers but provided important information about the history of a future home to prospective buyers.

"I think some folks were hoping that the mayor would not just walk the ideological landlord-Realtor line," Daly said. On a Web log written by Daly, the supervisor accused Newsom of "doing all his dirty work on Friday afternoons."

The disclosure bill, which was passed 6-4 last week by the Board of Supervisors, would have required property owners to indicate in marketing materials if there had been any evictions in the history of the property. Critics have said the notification requirements would scare off would-be buyers while unfairly penalizing property owners looking to sell.

"Our objection to the legislation dealt principally with the inability of a seller to identify who might be a prospective buyer," said Jim Fabris of the San Francisco Association of Realtors.

Fabris noted that under standard disclosure laws, sellers already must answer truthfully any questions about the eviction history of their properties or face legal liabilities.

"Realtors support disclosure on all relevant facts," Fabris said.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty sought to amend the disclosure bill last week by requiring notification to serious buyers after a purchase offer had been accepted by a property seller. But his amendment, encouraged by Newsom, was defeated by a majority of the board.

Ted Gullicksen, of the San Francisco Tenants Union, said Monday that he was surprised Newsom vetoed the legislation just a few days after it was passed and after mayoral staffers earlier suggested the mayor was still mulling over the notification bill.

"I was definitely not surprised that it came under the cover of darkness," Gullicksen said of the timing of Newsom's veto. "It's been a (method of operation) of many mayors.

"I think it's ridiculous that he would not sign a simple law requiring people be told when tenants have been evicted," Gullicksen added. "I think it's something that people in San Francisco want to know."

Supervisors have 30 days to attempt a veto override but there doesn't appear to be the eight votes on the Board of Supervisors that is necessary to revive it. "It's not over until the 30 days expire from the date of the veto" Daly said Monday.

In a letter sent to Newsom on Monday, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin rejected the mayor's claim that his administration has taken significant action to protect tenants, outlined in a letter sent to the board last week.

"It is unclear to me that (Newsom administration policies) ... have had a noticeable effect on reducing the number of evictions in San Francisco ," Peskin wrote, urging Newsom to reconsider his decision.

Newsom's late-Friday veto is likely to be followed by another. An accompanying piece of legislation also sponsored by Daly would require hearings by the Planning Commission on all conversions of tenancies-in-common to condominiums. Supervisors are scheduled to make their final vote on that measure today, but Matthew Franklin, head of the mayor's Office of Housing, already has said Newsom will veto it.

Gullicksen said he and fellow tenants' advocates will protest at City Hall on Wednesday over the most recent veto and the one the mayor's office says is coming against a proposal to require hearings for all condo conversions.

"That veto in particular will be disturbing because (the law) would have restricted the number of evictions," Gullicksen said of the measure requiring commission hearings on all condo conversions. "Instead, he is actually promoting evictions. To us, his vetoes mean he's evicting tenants in San Francisco . He might as well be signing and issuing the eviction notices that tenants will be getting this year."

E-mail Charlie Goodyear at cgoodyear@fchronicle.com.