Cal. Civ. Code § 3
Local determination of emergency; end of emergency
Operative Text
§ 3. Local determination of emergency; end of emergency. a. The existence of public emergency requiring the regulation of residential rents for all or any class or classes of housing accommodations, including any plot or parcel of land which had been rented prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, for the purpose of permitting the tenant thereof to construct or place his own dwelling thereon and on which plot or parcel of land there exists a dwelling owned and occupied by a tenant of such plot or parcel, heretofore destabilized; heretofore or hereafter decontrolled, exempt, not subject to control, or exempted from regulation and control under the provisions of the emergency housing rent control law, the local emergency housing rent control act or the New York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine; or subject to stabilization or control under such rent stabilization law, shall be a matter for local determination within each city, town or village. Any such determination shall be made by the local legislative body of such city, town or village on the basis of the supply of housing accommodations within such city, town or village, the condition of such accommodations and the need for regulating and controlling residential rents within such city, town or village. A declaration of emergency may be made as to any class of housing accommodations if the vacancy rate for the housing accommodations in such class within such municipality is not in excess of five percent and a declaration of emergency may be made as to all housing accommodations if the vacancy rate for the housing accommodations within such municipality is not in excess of five percent. b. The local governing body of a city, town or village having declared an emergency pursuant to subdivision a of this section may at any time, on the basis of the supply of housing accommodations within such city, town or village, the condition of such accommodations and the need for continued regulation and control of residential rents within such municipality, declare that the emergency is either wholly or partially abated or that the regulation of rents pursuant to this act does not serve to abate such emergency and thereby remove one or more classes of accommodations from regulation under this act. The emergency must be declared at an end once the vacancy rate described in subdivision a of this section exceeds five percent. c. No resolution declaring the existence or end of an emergency, as authorized by subdivisions a and b of this section, may be adopted except after public hearing held on not less than ten days public notice, as the local legislative body may reasonably provide. d. When requested by a municipality or a designee, as a part of a study to determine its vacancy rate, owners, or their agent, of housing accommodations in the class of housing accommodations determined, shall provide the most recent records of rent rolls and, if available, records for the preceding thirty-six months. Such records shall include the tenant's relevant information relating to finding the vacancy rate of such municipality including but not limited to the name, address, and amount paid or charged on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis for each occupied housing accommodation and which housing accommodations are vacant at the time of the survey and available for rent. Such records shall also include any housing accommodations that are vacant and not available for rent and provide the reason why such unit is not available for rent. e. A municipality may impose a civil penalty or fee of up to five hundred dollars on an owner or their agent if the owner or their agent refuses to participate in such vacancy survey and cooperate with the municipality or a designee in such vacancy survey, or submits knowingly and intentionally false vacancy information. f. A nonrespondent owner shall be deemed to have zero vacancies. g. Identifying data or information shall be kept confidential and shall not be shared, traded, given, or sold to any other entity for any purpose outside of such vacancy study.
Under N.Y. Unconsol. Law (ETPA) § 3, the decision to declare a housing emergency — and thereby subject residential rents to regulation — belongs to each individual city, town, or village, not to the state. A local legislative body may declare an emergency when the vacancy rate for the relevant class of housing falls at or below five percent, and it must end the emergency once that rate rises above five percent. The provision also establishes a process for gathering vacancy data from property owners, including confidentiality protections for tenant information and penalties for owners who refuse to cooperate or submit false data.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under ETPA § 3, property owners and their agents in municipalities conducting vacancy surveys are generally expected to provide rent roll records — including current records and, where available, records from the preceding 36 months — along with information about both occupied and vacant units. Compliant operators typically respond fully and accurately to such survey requests, since a municipality may impose a civil penalty of up to $500 for refusal, non-cooperation, or knowingly submitting false information. Owners who do not respond at all may be treated as having zero vacancies, which can affect the municipality's overall vacancy rate calculation and the continued applicability of rent regulation.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
ETPA § 3 establishes that the rent regulation framework tenants may rely on is grounded in a locally declared housing emergency, which can only be put in place — or ended — after a public hearing with at least ten days' notice, giving community members an opportunity to participate. Tenants whose housing accommodations fall within a regulated class have an interest in the accuracy of vacancy surveys, since those surveys directly inform whether an emergency continues to exist. Tenants who believe rent regulation applies to their unit, or who have questions about whether a local emergency declaration is in effect, may consult a local rent board, a tenant-rights organization, or a housing attorney for general information about how ETPA § 3 affects their situation.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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