Ellis Act allows you to remove the unit(s) from the rental market and remove the tenants. In an apartment building you may do this before condo conversation but cities like SF have almost stopped condo conversions.
If you Ellis Act you can re-rent the units are market rate but only after 5 years (or else you have to rent it back to the original tenants at their old rate or new tenants at the old rate).
<strike>Ellis act</strike> Owner movein is for moving yourself or a relative into the unit so you can live in it. Condo conversion is separate from Ellis act and Owner* Move in, it has to do with splitting off units to sell them independently, for example turning a TIC into a condo.
Units that have been Ellised* or Owner Occupied* find it much more difficult to do a condo conversion, as there are laws about how long you need to wait and where you go in the lottery that determines if you get to condo or not. That lottery is itself a complex affair that involves giving more tickets to houses that failed in the past, and for all I know now, giving extra tickets based on victimhood points or something. Although right now I am hazy about the laws. SF housing laws are a labyrinth of absurdity, micromanagement, and graft. They are not even funny.
Ellis Act is different than Owner Move-In (which covers family members too).
Ellis Act, named after the law, was created as the govt can’t compel you to rent - you have the right to remove your home from the rental market.
” The Ellis Act (California Government Code Chapter 12.75)[1] is a 1985 California state law that allows landlords to evict residential tenants to "go out of the rental business" in spite of desires by local governments to compel them to continue providing rental housing.”
The only reason I know is because I thought the same thing! The rent control laws in CA are an absolute rabbit hole you can go down if you have the time!
As an aside, Owner Move-In isn't always available. Around here I sometimes see listings for condos that are priced far below market. The reason is that the unit is occupied by a rent-controlled tenant who can't be evicted, even if the owner wants to move in. Sometimes the tenant will accept a large payment to move out, sometimes not.
If you Ellis Act you can re-rent the units are market rate but only after 5 years (or else you have to rent it back to the original tenants at their old rate or new tenants at the old rate).