TICs to bypass condo conversion lottery for a fee?

Posted On: Friday, June 4, 2010 - 3:43pm | Posted By: Aimee Arost
Topics: Laws and Regulations | Tags: affordable housing, condo conversion, mayor's budget, TICs

A controversial idea that's long been bandied about may finally come to fruition as the city grapples with budget cuts. In a bid to raise funds for affordable housing, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Mayor Gavin Newsom has resurrected a proposal to allow owners of tenancies in common (TICs) to pay a one-time fee to bypass the city's lottery requirements and convert to condos.

According to the article, "Currently, about 1,800 tenancies in common, where a group of people own a building together rather than their individual units, have applied for the city's 200 slots a year for condo conversion," said Greg Wagner, Newsom's budget director.

Charging homeowners $4,000 to $20,000 to forgo the lottery would raise a projected $8 million that would be spent on affordable housing, Wagner said."

This is just one issue in the Mayor's proposed budget that may face elimination under review by the Board of Supervisors in the coming month; but you can bet TIC owners citywide will be keeping a close eye on this one.

Aimee Arost

Aimee joined Zephyr Real Estate in 2002 after practicing law in San Francisco for five years.
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