CITY COUNCIL
MEETING
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Staff Presenters:
Michael Roush,
Special Counsel
Bill Chapin,
Rent Program Director
Implementing
SB 567 (State
Rent Control
Laws)
Current Situation
2 • Local Law: Provides better protection (limiting rent increases, relocation payments, reasons for eviction) to tenants than state law • State Law:
• Costa-Hawkins (1995) pre-empts City from enforcing local rent increase limits on multifamily properties built after 1995 and singe-family residences • Statewide rent control limits increases (to 5.0% + cost of living or 10%, whichever is less) for multifamily properties built through 2009 and certain single-family residences
• Enforcement: City not authorized to enforce state law limiting rent increases; tenants typically have to file private legal actions
SB 567
3 • Recent update to state law, effective April 1, 2024. • Requires local law concerning rent control to have express finding that local law provides more protection than does state law
• Authorizes City Attorney to enforce state law limiting rent increases Proposed Amendments
To Alameda’s Rent Ordinance
4 • Include an express finding that Rent Ordinance provides more protection to tenants than does state law
• Authorize City Attorney to enforce state law limiting rent increases • Rephrase definition of “dwelling unit” to create greater consistency with state law 5 5
Regulation of
Rental Units
16,000
rental units
6 6
SFHs, condos,
townhouses
Multifamily
built after 1995
Alameda AGA
(2.9%)
Costa-Hawkins
Exempt
Regulation of
Rental Units
“partially
regulated”
All multifamily built before
1995 (including duplexes)
“fully
regulated”
7 7
Multifamily
built 1995-2009
SFHs, condos,
townhouses
owned by a corp.
Multifamily
built after 2009
SFHs, condos,
townhouses not
owned by a corp.
Alameda AGA
(2.9%)
Statewide Rent
Increase Cap (9.2%)
Costa-Hawkins
Exempt
Duplexes built before 1995
with an owner occupant
Other multifamily
built before 1995
Regulation of
Rental Units
Duplexes built before 1995
without an owner occupant
New Class of State-Law-Regulated
Rental Units
8 • For now, new exemption applies to a limited number of rental units:
• 150-300 single-family homes, condos, and townhouses built prior to 2009 and corporate owned
• 10 rental units at multifamily properties built 1995-2009 • Number of units in this new regulated class will increase annually, because state exemption applies on a rolling basis (to units built in the last 15 years) Exempt from local law’s rent control limits but subject to local enforcement based on statewide rent control limits Implementation Plans
9 • First Step: Update Rent Registry with information on year of construction for each property using County Assessor data.
• Education: Rent Program will update materials, send mailings and conduct workshops to inform landlords and tenants of this new class of regulation. • Complaint-Based Enforcement: Initially, for the new class of rental units where rent increases are regulated by state law with local enforcement options, enforcement will predominately be driven by complaints. • Possible fee adjustment: Staff may return to Council in future with recommendation for a revised annual program fee structure to cover this new class of units.
Rent Program staff weighing options
10 Staff Recommendation:
10 Introduce the Proposed Ordinance to Implement Senate Bill 567 (State Rent Control Laws) by:
1. Adopting a Written Finding That the Just Cause Provisions of the Rent Ordinance Are More Protective Than Civil Code Section 1946.2.
2. Clarifying the City’s Authority to Enforce State Rent Control Laws.
3. Rephrasing the Definition of Rental Units Creating Consistency with State Law.