A perennial issue we’ve had at Bornstein Law has been communicating the law when it sometimes has the shelf life of a banana peel.…
Landlords are urged to seek legal advice before raising rents north of 10 percent after Governor Brown has once again extended price gouging protections.…
In an ongoing series, we profile the people who are disrupting the rental housing industry, shaping the housing debate in California, or just interesting…
Although we are heavy consumers of housing news curated around the Bay Area, we sometimes get interjected into the stories we read. Such was…
There have been spirited discussions on rent control throughout the Bay Area, but we can’t seem to recall a debate so cantankerous as the…
A perceived rash of resident displacement and rampant homelessness has led to clarion calls for Berkeley to increase housing stock, with the latest proposal…
In between practicing law and going on the speaking circuit lately to talk about the ever-evolving rent control rules of San Francisco and Oakland, there’s…
Oakland is at it again. As the darling of tenant advocates, the city has slowly chiseled away at owner rights like a prison break.…
This author always enjoyed watching Parking Wars, A&E’s popular reality television series that follows traffic enforcement employees as they ticket, “boot,” tow and release…
At Bornstein Law, we love teachers. As parents, we are the first to acknowledge the toils of educators and the indispensable role they…
Tenant advocates are in a celebratory mood after Proposition F sailed to victory in Tuesday’s special election. In an only-in-San-Francisco moment, 56 percent of the voters…
San Francisco’s mayoral race has become charged in a very Bay Area way in an epic battle between progressives and moderates. This New Yorker…
Until recently, San Francisco was the only major Bay Area city with rent-control laws to allow landlords to pass on portions of property taxes…
As proud East Bay residents, we encouragingly watched Oakland become an emerging force throughout the Bay Area. Yet Bornstein Law has always maintained…
When rental relationships sour, even the most studious investment property owners can be slapped with a lawsuit that may cost tens of thousands of…
As its name implies, a tenant buy-out agreement (or in Oakland’s vernacular, a move-out agreement) is an arrangement whereby the tenant voluntarily vacates the…
At Bornstein Law, we marvel at California’s scenery and are the first to recognize that all of us must be good stewards of the…
We came across an intriguing case of a couple that sought court intervention to force their 30-year old son to move out after overwhelming…
We have always acknowledged the crucially important and difficult role of teachers, so Bornstein Law was encouraged to see that their toil in their…
A little bit off the mark? “After weeks of political wrangling, San Francisco is poised today to approve legislation that would allow the creation…
Calvin Coolidge once said that “advertising is the life of trade.” For the rental property industry, we might also add that advertising is the…
Although tenant screening is critically important in any rental business, it seems that the law and a culture of forgiveness stand to obstruct housing…
With Facebook embroiled in controversy as of late, it’s gone from bad to worse. Now is the perfect time for landlords and property managers…
Some time ago, we wrote an article on ‘fake’ emotional support animals and cited proposed legislation aimed at making it more difficult for a…
Since its debut on 60 Minutes, we wanted to circle back to the “leaning tower” of San Francisco to see if any progress has…
Californians have felt the pain of the housing crunch, but perhaps no other group is more acutely affected by the shortfall than students scraping…
Tenant Screening Becomes More Difficult As Concealing Checkered Pasts Become Easier Clearly, tenant screening is one of the most important aspects of your rental business,…
Perhaps one of the most thankless and trying, but necessary duties of a landlord is evicting tenants when the tenant violates one of the…
In a free society, everyone has the prerogative to do what they enjoy, so long as it is legal and does not interfere with…
The Chief Economist for Redfin predicts that rising prices, an uptick in rates, and higher property taxes will lead to more roommate arrangements due…
When resident managers feel aggrieved, the current climate is rife for costly litigation. These onsite managers are becoming more sophisticated in maneuvering the legal…
Progressives and environmentalists are increasingly coming around to the reality that new housing will advance their agenda. Meaningful housing policy changes will be shaped…
Our conclusion? Rather than penalizing landlords, we should come together to focus on solutions. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Our area is…