The City of West Hollywood filled a gap in its tenant protections last council meeting when the council tweaked little noticed but potentially profoundly important fee overpayment law.
Apparently, while the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) gives tenant protections from overpayments on rents, it had not before September 1 protected them from overpayment of fees, primarily late fees.
The RSO did not allow a hearing examiner to order a refund for the payment of excess fees, even though the ordinance sets specific limits for late fees and other fees.
Until the Rent Stabilization department recognized and plugged that loophole, landlords had been able to overcharge people late fees many times the one percent allowed in the RSO.
Until the change, the only remedy for tenants lay in small claims court, a cumbersome and time-consuming process for very many tenants to avail themselves.
Staff reported “that the cases are often heard by judges who are unfamiliar with the RSO,” giving savvy landlords a leg up on tenants unused to appearing in a court.
By making the simple change of “allowing the hearing examiner to order a refund of excess fees will better allow the City to administer its ordinance and ensure that owners are adhering to the limitations placed on rents and fees,” said the report.
Marnie Hull from the Rent Stabilization Department spoke to WeHo News about the new law and said it would go into effect on September 1, 2009, “so no, if you have been paying fees in excess of one percent you are unable to use the RSO to recoup those fees.”
She said that the law affects only payments made beginning Sept. 1 and tenants are only eligible for refunds of up to 3 years' worth of fees collected after that.
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