Drouet

The Ellis Act (Gov. Code, § 7060 et seq.) provides that no statute, ordinance, regulation, or administrative action “shall . . . compel the owner of any residential real property to offer, or to continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease.” (Gov. Code, § 7060, subd. (a).) A landlord who complies with the Ellis Act may therefore go out of the residential rental business by withdrawing the rental property from the market. (Los Angeles Lincoln Place Investors, Ltd. v. City of Los Angeles (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 53, 61 [ 62 Cal.Rptr.2d 600 ].) If necessary, the landlord may institute an action for unlawful detainer to evict the tenants and recover possession of the property. (Gov. Code, § 7060.6.)

In unlawful detainer actions, tenants generally may assert legal or equitable defenses that “directly relate to the issue of possession and which, if established, would result in the tenant’s retention of the premises.” (Green v. Superior Court (1974) 10 Cal.3d 616, 633 [ 111 Cal.Rptr. 704 , 517 P.2d 1168 ].) The defense of retaliatory eviction, codified at Civil Code section 1942.5 (section 1942.5), is one such defense. This defense bars a landlord from…

I agree with the majority that the judgment of the Court of Appeal must be reversed. The Court of Appeal erroneously held that “in unlawful detainer proceedings properly commenced under the Ellis Act, a tenant may not raise an affirmative defense of retaliatory eviction.” The Ellis Act (Gov. Code, § 7060 et seq.) expressly provides that it does not supersede Civil Code section 1942.5, which offers tenants protection against retaliatory eviction. The Ellis Act underscores this point by further stating that it is not intended to “[ojverride procedural protections designed to prevent abuse of the right to evict tenants.” (Gov. Code, § 7060.7, subd. (c).) It is clear, as the majority recognizes, that a tenant may raise the defense of retaliatory eviction in unlawful detainer proceedings brought under the Ellis Act.

I disagree, however, with the majority’s holding that, on remand, the trial court should reconsider the landlord’s motion for summary adjudication under the standard that “a landlord’s bona fide intent to withdraw the property from the rental market under the Ellis Act will defeat the statutory defense of retaliatory eviction.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 588.) As I will…

I concur in the judgment and opinion of the court. I write separately in order to express my understanding on three points the superior court will, upon remand, have to consider in ruling upon the landlord’s motion for summary judgment: (1) The landlord’s filing of a notice of intent to withdraw his property from the rental market, as required by the San Francisco Municipal Code (S.F. Admin. Code, § 37.9A, subd. (f)), creates a nonstatutory rebuttable presumption that the landlord’s intent is *601 bona fide. 1 (2) The tenant will, therefore, bear the burden of producing evidence sufficient to overcome this presumption, i.e., sufficient to establish that the landlord intends to re-rent the property. (3) The landlord’s motive in withdrawing his property from the rental market is irrelevant.

Under the Ellis Act (Gov. Code, § 7060 et seq.), a local government with rent control may require a landlord to provide notice to the local government of the landlord’s intention to withdraw a property from the rental market, and the local government may require that the notice contain statements, made under penalty of perjury, relating to the number and address of the accommodations, the rent…

Law Offices of William M. Simpich, William M. Simpich, Oakland; Law Offices of Philip D. Rapier, Philip D. Rapier, Oakland; Law Offices of Marc S. Janowitz and Marc S. Janowitz, San Francisco, for Real Parties in Interest.

Gen Fujioka, San Francisco; Tom Weathered, Robert Capistrano; Roderick T. Field; and Dara Schur for Asian Law Caucus, Bay Area Legal Aid, The Los Angeles Housing Law Project and The Western Center on Law & Poverty as Amici Curiae on behalf of Real Parties in Interest.

Daniel Berko as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Real Parties in Interest.

BAXTER, J.

The Ellis Act (Gov.Code, § 7060 et seq.) provides that no statute, ordinance, regulation, or administrative action "shall ... compel the owner of any residential real property to offer, or to continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease." (Gov.Code, § 7060, subd. (a).) A landlord who complies with the Ellis Act may therefore go out of the residential rental business by withdrawing the rental property from the market. ( Los Angeles Lincoln Place Investors, Ltd. v. City of Los Angeles (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 53, 61 , 62 Cal.Rptr.2d 600 .) If necessary, the landlord may institute an action for…