SAAA July 2020 Special Edition Residence Magazine | Page 22

MEMBER ALERT
NEW SAN ANTONIO
CITY ORDINANCE FOR
RENTAL HOUSING PROVIDERS
The City of San Antonio has passed a new city
ordinance that applies to ALL rental housing providers,
multi-family and single-family, within its city’s
boundaries.
The ordinance is the Notice of Tenant Rights and the
purpose is to help educate renters on the eviction
process and to encourage rental housing providers
and renters to work collaboratively to permit
renters to remain in their homes, while at the same
time ensuring rental housing providers will maintain
a level of revenue that will permit them to continue
to provide housing options for tenants.
The San Antonio Apartment Association strongly urges all rental housing providers, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic,
to work with their residents in finding ways to ensure they can remain in their homes. Potential assistance can vary from helping
residents apply for rent payment programs, to working out a multi-month payment plan.
The Notice of Tenant Rights does the following:
• Emphasizes that a Notice to Vacate does not require the renter to leave the premises.
• Advises that the renter enter into a payment plan with the rental housing provider.
• Provides information on City of San Antonio and Bexar County Resources.
• Outlines the eviction process.
This New Ordinance has the following REQUIREMENTS:
• The Notice of Tenant Rights must be delivered within one business day (and you do not count holidays or weekend days
as a “business day”) after delivering a Notice to Vacate for, and ONLY for, non-payment of rent.
• The Notice of Tenant Rights must be in English and Spanish.
• The Notice of Tenant Rights may be delivered by any of the following methods: personal in hand delivery, affixing to the
inside or outside of the main entry door, text message, e-mail, overnight courier, or USPS mail.
Effective Date and Enforcement:
• The new ordinance is effective immediately.
• The City of San Antonio’s Code Enforcement Division will begin enforcing this ordinance on Saturday, July 25, 2020.
• Failure to deliver Notice of Tenant Rights, may lead to a fine of up to $500 (and may include multiple citations; the first
offense is a warning).
A copy of the new Notice of Tenant Rights is on page 23 and you can access the notice on our SAAA website here.
You can also find the full City Council Ordinance on our website here.
If you have any questions, please contact our SAAA team at 210.692.7797..
22
JULY 2020 SPECIAL EDITION | www.saaaonline.org