Under the ordinance, a tenant may be evicted if their landlord—or their landlord’s family member or caregiver —seeks, in good faith, to occupy the unit as their primary residence. This is referred to as an “Owner Move-In.”
Your landlord can not pursue an eviction for an Owner Move-In if any of the following are true:
- Your landlord or a landlord’s family member already occupies a unit on the property unless the landlord can show good cause
- There is another vacant unit on the property
- There is another comparable unit on the property occupied by a tenant who moved onto the property more recently.
- If you have resided on the property for more than three years and are 65 years or older, disabled, or terminally ill UNLESS your landlord’s intended occupant is also disabled or terminally ill and there is no other vacant unit on the property.
Right of Return: If you are displaced due to an Owner Move-In and your former rental unit returns to the market within 3 years, you have the right to return to that unit under the same terms as your former tenancy and with the same rent, plus any lawful adjustments under Fairfax’s Rent Stabilization ordinance.
Relocation: If you are displaced due to an Owner Move-In, your landlord must provide relocation payments equal to two months’ rent at the time they serve your notice of termination. If you or a member of your household is 65 years of age or older, 17 years of age or younger, disabled, or terminally-ill, then you are entitled to an additional one months’ rent relocation payment (3 months’ rent total).